Basketball

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

September 6, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

One of Illinois head coach Brad Underwood's favorite buzzwords is “Elite.” What Underwood has done in just six years at Illinois has put together an elite group of assistant coaches.

The future of any collegiate program is how well teams can recruit. During Underwood's short time at Illinois, he has put together some of the best staffs in the game.  Twice!

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

September 4, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Nashville Tennessean)

It's Labor Day weekend and that means we are this much closer to the first official day of college basketball practice. 

It does not matter if you are a Big Ten fan or not, the conference and its rich history deserve your respect. Some of the best players to ever play the game came from the Big Ten. 

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said once, "The coaching in this league is tough; you better bring it night in and night out or you will get beat."

For example, last year the Nebraska Cornhuskers finished the season in conference play at 4-14 and went on the road to beat first-place Wisconsin - which finished at 15-5 - 74-73 with two of their best players out of action.

Now comes a new group of talented freshmen who will be expected to continue to keep the bar at the top when it comes to recruiting. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 30, 2022

How successful has Illinois recruiting been?  Barring a surprise, their class of 2023 is now complete with priority target Amani Hansberry committed.  That leaves the coaches to spend their valuable time on the class of 2024 and, yes, even the incoming sophomore class. 

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuy

August 28, 2022

Amani Hansberry became the first

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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 21, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

When Coleman Hawkins committed to Illinois, he was not considered a "can't-miss" prospect as was ranked by most recruiting services and consensus a three-star recruit.

 But Illinois head coach Brad Underwood saw the high potential in Hawkins.  During his freshman year, Underwood said, "We don't care about rankings, that's for you guys and the fans. I really think Coleman has unlimited potential because of his size and passing ability."

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 20, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Los Angeles Daily News)

Brady Dunlap's basketball scholarship offers - and his playing future - continue to rise each week as he enters his senior season.  

The 6-foot-7 wing from Harvard West Lake High School in California is a three-star prospect who has already received offers from the likes of Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Wyoming and San Diego State.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

August 18, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Detroit Free Press)

(Editor's note: Michigan State's Tom Izzo signed a contract extension after this interview was conducted.)

Illinois had one of the nation's top guards in the county on campus recently. Trey McKenney is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Orchard Lake, Michigan. ESPN ranks McKinney as a top 20 prep in the class of 2025. I caught up with Trey again for additional information. 

Kedric: What were your thoughts on the Illinois visit recently? It's been reported that growing up, MSU was your favorite or dream school.

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

August 13, 2022

Illinois recently offered a scholarship to one of the top prospects in the country.

By Zain Bando - IlliniGuys Student Correspondent

August 12, 2022

Ayo Dosunmu played for the Illini from 2018-2021 and was one of the catalysts that helped Illinois go from the basement of the Big Ten to regular season champs just four years later.

But let’s back up a step — 2018. Illinois was in the midst of an extensive rebuild after the firing of John Groce and the hiring of Brad Underwood the previous year. Not many Illini fans were pleased with the move, considering his lack of major Division 1 college basketball head coaching experience. But he had a belief that if he could make Chicago basketball important in Champaign again, something special could happen. And it did. Although it took a little bit of time to adjust. Not just for the program, but the fanbase as well.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 11, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- We all catch ourselves saying things that are drastically outdated and well, stupid. 

For example, I will still, to this day, say “I’m taping that '' or “I am recording that”' when asked about an upcoming game or television/ streaming service show. The fact is there is no physical tape and because I’m a streaming television/service customer, it doesn’t actually record as much as get placed in a file of stuff I intend to watch whenever I have time to binge. So, why do I say “I’m taping that”? Because my appreciation for the language I make a living writing causes me to almost audibly sigh when we’re forced to turn the DVR process into a verb (DVRing). Whether it’s the vocabulary we use or the beliefs we illogically hold onto, the social marketplace will always dictate the most important aspect of life: Relevancy. 

One would think that in 2022, the sophisticated fan wouldn’t need this refresher course on this issue but unfortunately there are those who are following famous talking heads spouting outdated and borderline platitudes that cloud the reality of what is college sports.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 11, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Raleigh News Observer)

Illinois entered Tar Heel nation to offer Colt Langdon, a forward from Raleigh, North Carolina. Even though Langdon does not have an offer from North Carolina, he is still getting offers from great college basketball programs. Examples are Ole Miss and Virginia Tech.

Langdon is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound scoring wing who plays like a seasoned veteran, but is only a freshman.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

August 9, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Rock Island Dispatch Argus)

Class: 2025

Why Illinois:  Divine Bourrage is a leader, not a follower. She comes from a family that is talented and rich in basketball history. Her mother Leanne Binion competed against Shauna (Geronzin) Green while in high school. Leanne’s uncle Devon Binion, a former honorable mention All-State basketball player in Illinois, competed in the IHSA State finals when Rock Island took on Chicago Simeon’s Ben Wilson’s team at the Assembly Hall.

The Davenport (IA) North star is a tough-nosed basketball player; she defends in the open court, half court and literally asks every coach she plays for if she could guard the other team's best player.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 8, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Prep Hoops)

In November 2021, Illinois received an oral commitment from Morez Johnson, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound power forward from St. Rita High School and the Meanstreets AAU basketball program. 

A lot of fans did not really know what they were getting in this commitment, other than a big kid from the state of Illinois who plays with another giant in James Brown, who is also 6-foot-9.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 6, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy MLive.com)

The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team had some major talent on campus recently, sophomore-to-be Trey McKenney, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Orchard Lake, Michigan. 

McKenney is a four-star recruit, but listed by ESPN as the 19th overall prospect in the class of 2025. Illinois was able to get the top prospect on campus and did a wonderful job of selling the Illinois program and what they can do for the star guard. 

His dad John McKenney came away in awe of his time spent in Champaign.