Basketball

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

June 13, 2022

The big man search for Illinois is not over.

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

June 12, 2022

St. Rita High School in Chicago is loaded with basketball and football recruits these days.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

June 10, 2022

Former Illinois basketball coach Nancy Fahey and her staff knew their lack of size was a problem for them. Assistant coach John Patterson left the states to find one.

Liisa Taponen is 6-foot-5, strong with a great upside, but, more importantly, she will be able to rebound and make layups.

Patterson shared with IlliniGuys previously, "It's not a secret we need size badly. We recruit players in the states; we do well, but in the end they pick other programs. I spent a lot of time out of the states, and found Taponen. She's strong, and doesn't really know how good she can be."

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

June 9, 2022

The Illinois men's basketball program figures it is still one big man away from maybe finalizing the 2022-23 basketball roster.

The Pete Nance situation is puzzling at best. I cannot blame Nance for really looking for the right fit, as this is his last go round.

For those who are members on our IlliniGuys message board, I have shared that Illinois will always have another card up its sleeve.

I wasn't sure there was any steam coming from the Illinois end regarding former DePaul and Western Kentucky big man Jaylen Butz, but sources have confirmed that this is someone who might get added to the roster.

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Basketball Writer June 8, 2022 After […]

Three-star OLB Pat Farrell from Chicago’s St. Rita High School is the 12th in-state high school prospect signed by Illinois since Bret Bielema was hired in Dec. 2020. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 5, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Bret Bielema’s rebuild of the Illinois football program has placed the Chicagoland area as a cornerstone to his recruiting philosophy and Pat Farrell continued that tradition Sunday night. 

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

June 3, 2022

It did not take new women's basketball coach Shauna Green long.

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

June 1, 2022

The Fighting Illini class of 2023 is at zero right now; with the nation's 10th best-recruiting class in 2022, and already two top 100 in the class of 2024, it is time to land one of the nation's best juniors.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 31, 2022

Earlier in the week, Illinois women's head basketball coach Shauna Green got the memo: you need more size.

Every team has it, and she has added it. Aicha Ndour is a 6-foot-6 post who originally signed to play with Rutgers.

Ndour does not have a lot of playing time at the DI level, which may not be all bad. Learning a new system under a new coach from the start will pay dividends later.

Ndour started playing basketball at the age of 16. Illini fans can remember a guy named Kofi Cockburn who was a two-time All-American at Illinois but did not start playing until his freshman year of high school.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

May 30, 2022

The new-look Illini and super senior Jacob Grandison have something in common this week: neither has said goodbye yet, but both are looking at a future that doesn't include the other.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 29, 2022

Illinois assistant basketball coach Chester Frazier offered Tafara Gapare well over a month ago. But with the focus now shifting away from transfers, high school prospects are once again taking center stage.

Tafara Gapare is a 6-foot-10, 210-pound small forward from South Kent School in New Zealand.

Make no mistake: Gapare is not "Plan B"; he is currently listed as a 2023, but his camp and several colleges are hoping to get him to reclassify to participate in the class of 2022.

Here at IlliniGuys.com we have shared how scholarships work: sometimes an offer will be put on the table as a "courtesy," but then there are those when everyone is all in.

Gapare said, "I'm learning so much more about Illinois. Because of my schedule, I didn't get to watch a lot of games, not just Illinois but all of the schools recruiting me. I have people in my circle that I trust to help guide me when it's time to decide. I know they know Coach (Chester) Fraizer very well."

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

May 28, 2022

Let us just start this column with a bang--a source close to the program said about the recent commitment from Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer: “Look out, here we come, this roster has five legitimate NBA players on it.”

Matthew Mayer, a four-year player and former starting forward at Baylor, has announced his intention to play his final season of college basketball at Illinois. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 27, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The transfer portal has once again been kind to the University of Illinois men’s basketball program. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   IlliniGuys.com Teams Up with Illini […]

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuy

May 22, 2022

The NBA Draft Combine is over and now the ramifications of player reactions to the information they received from NBA scouts and executives will play out over the next few days.