Basketball

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 31, 2022

The official AAU basketball season is over; there will be a few late tournaments, but the live session is now over. 

Illinois head basketball coach Brad Underwood said, “Although the class of 2023 is deep, there's not a lot of players out there next year who a lot of coaches feel can come in and make a difference right away. Right now, we’re all going to be fighting for those players who can.”

Amani Hansberry is the one key player in the class of 2023 who many slept on early. Illinois assistant coach Chester Frazier has been in constant contact with the 6-foot-8 power forward. 

By IlliniGuys Staff

July 28, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

It's the last weekend in July.  That means the start of the fall semester is just around the corner AND we're now less than 90 days away from the Illini basketball team starting preseason drills in its quest to climb higher among the nation's elite.

After a whirlwind spring that saw two-time All-American Kofi Cockburn change his mind and enter the NBA draft, a pair of athletic, veteran Big 12 transfers join the roster, and arguably the most talented Illini freshman class in years step onto campus, the time is drawing near to see what this group has - and what it needs to do.

IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy takes a sneak peek inside the still-being-renovated Ubben practice facility and updates us on the refurbished project that is Illinois basketball.  A program that's coming off a Big Ten tournament title and conference regular season championship in consecutive years isn't satisfied.

Here's Sturdy's scouting report after two months of the guys working together:

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

July 28, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois High School Basketball)

Illinois women’s basketball coach Shauna Green and staff are taking a page from football coach Bret Bielema: when you see talent in your backyard, you try to go get them.

Earlier this month, Green and company offered Chicago Whitney Young sophomore-to-be Destiny Jackson, a 5-foot-8 guard who already is listed as one of the nation’s top players.

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.