Basketball

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 24, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

Today’s high school basketball and football players no longer say to coaches or recruiting gurus: “I’m going to a school that will help me get to the NBA.” Now they say “I want a coaching staff that can develop my talent and maximize it.”

Prior to Illinois head basketball coach Brad Underwood, Illinois having players who play in the NBA was like saying they would reach the Final Four for six consecutive years.

Illinois landed highly touted guard Ayo Dosunmu from Morgan Park, who developed into a first team All-American, did things at Illinois and college in general that other players could not do for years. Dosunmu was drafted by the Chicago Bulls late in the 2021 second round, 38th pick to be exact, shocking those who watched him play and all those who coached him.

Underwood said he believes the 2022-23 roster has a few guys that could potentially play in the NBA.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 23, 2022

Cam Ward is a freshman who plays AAU basketball for Team Durant, a teammate of prime Illinois target Amani Hansberry. 

Sitting court-side Thursday for their game against Mokan Elite was Illini head coach Brad Underwood and assistant coaches Chester Frazier and Geoff Alexander. 

The staff was tracking Hansberry of course, but also saw all they needed to offer the 6-foot-6, 180-pound forward from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, a scholarship as soon as the game was over. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 22, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Rich Barron's Twitter page)

Last year at this time, St. Ignatius power forward Richard Barron made an unofficial visit to the University of Illinois.  Barron is a teammate of Phoenix Gill, a current freshman who received a scholarship offer from the Fighting Illini.

Barron is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound shooting guard who Illinois watched a few times this summer. He is an interesting prospect who likes Illinois a lot, but he is what you might call a “tweener.”  He is big, strong and that works for high school, but would have to see that translate to college.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 21, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Chicago Tribune)

There is no downtime in July; it is AAU/UAA basketball season, a couple weeks off and a couple of live periods for coaches to evaluate.

In the city of Bedford Park, Illinois, near Chicago, is a new basketball facility named the Wintrust Sports Complex. This week the UAA Finals, with plenty of talented players and DI coaches, are there.

Illinois recently offered Rolling Meadows outstanding shooting guard Cameron Christie, a 6-foot-3, 160-pound shooting guard; most recruiting services list him at a three-star prospect. 

In my most recent IlliniGuys state recruiting rankings, I listed Christie as the third best player in the state (2023), behind Davius Loury and Dai Dai Ames, both from Kenwood. 

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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 18th, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Davius Loury's Twitter page)

The state of Illinois is always rich in basketball talent, the class of 2023 and 2024 will be no different. The Fighting Illini men’s basketball staff is traveling the country to find the next big time target, but Illinois remains a hotbed.

Here’s my list of the top ten targets in 2023-24.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

July 14, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Prep Hoops)

Jackson Kotecki is a 6-foot-9, 210 pound forward from St. Ignatius High School who has battled hard this summer and may have turned a few heads.

Class: 2023

Why Illinois:  Looking for players to maybe backup others would be what Kotecki is; he is not going to make you spill your popcorn, but he would be a nice piece to add to the rotation that will give you some size. He is not weak, he is not a "project," but has good footwork and is a willing passer. He battled big men all weekend at the Riverside Brookfield Shootout last month and Illinois coaches took notice.

By IlliniGuys Staff

(Cover photo courtesy Shaw Local)

The busy recruiting/evaluation period of July is underway and nobody has his eye on the ball like IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy.

For anyone who wants to know where Illinois basketball stands in recruiting, this is a must-read:

By Zain Bando - IlliniGuys Student Correspondent July 12, […]

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Staff Writer July 11, 2022 Thanks […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst

July 10, 2022

(Cover phot0 courtesy @DFritzphotos)

The Illini coaching staff and head coach Brad Underwood have long coveted Amani Hansberry and how he produces on the court and other coaches and evaluators are beginning to catch up after a big weekend in Kansas City for the 6’8 power forward. 

His height has been much debated but he set the record straight for us. 

“I’m 6’8 now. I grew.”

Shauna Green doesn’t remember why or when she came up with the marketing phrase of ‘one way’ to describe her coaching philosophy but knows the mentality calmed any tension she’s had since.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

July 8, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- For the new women’s basketball head coach at Illinois, there’s not many roads leading to its version of Rome.

What Shauna Green calls “one way” since she accepted the head coaching position at Dayton in Sept. 2016, has become more than a social media hashtag for a coach nearly six years later attempting to navigate an aggressive rebuild of a Power Five Conference program without a history of success.

“I remember having a lot of thoughts in my mind when I took the Dayton (head coaching) job and so my staff and I were trying to come up with a way to brand and I kept coming up with a difficult question,” Green said. “How can I come up with one word or two words to define everything in my mind?”

Don’t ask the origin of it because Green has trouble figuring out the genesis of what became the definition of what would turn into five Atlantic 10 regular season championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances, three Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors and 127 total wins at Dayton.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 8th, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Varsity Stream)

According to Illinois head coach Brad Underwood you can never have enough good shooters and defenders. 

The new-look Illinois basketball program post Kofi Cockburn area is "position-less basketball". Underwood said to me a few weeks ago. “Ked, have you watched the NBA Finals?  The game is changing, that’s the kind of system players like to play in and coaches love to coach.”

Illinois has a roster right now full of players that are interchangeable, but are looking to add much more depth. Trent Pierce, a 6-foot-7, 180-pound wing from Tulsa, Ok., (Compass Prep AZ) went public earlier this week with his top 6 schools: Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

July 8, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Illini coaches are out on the recruiting trail, but they know the team is in good hands back in Champaign.  The players are working out every day, getting to know each other and pushing each other to reach their individual and collective potential.

IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy posted an update this morning with some exciting developments within the team.  

--Which player is a "dog" who pushes his teammates the hardest?

--Which player is the best athlete on the team?

--Who is the biggest surprise of the summer?

Good stuff right here only on IlliniGuys.com.  Sign up for our free 7-day trial for continuous updates and premium content about your favorite sports team.

Now -- here's Mr. Sturdy!

July 6, 2023

We're getting into the heat of summer and that means camps and weekend tournaments are heating up as well.

This summer is unique because of the transfer portal and the non-stop work by the Illini coaching staff, which - according to one website - put together the best haul of transfer talent in the country.

IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy hits the road as well.  He posted his notes on what lies ahead in these next few days on the message forums this morning.

Join IlliniGuys.com to read this and other insider information.  Sturdy, IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince, and IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst Matt Stevens keep you in the know on and off the field and court of play.  And you're just in time for our series of Summer Giveaways -- there's always something going on inside IlliniGuys.com!