Basketball

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!

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

June 26, 2022

Jeremiah Fears is a 6-foot combo guard at Joliet West High School

Class: 2025

Why Illinois:  Let us clear this air with this right now: after a long in-depth conversation with Jeremy Fears Sr., Jeremy Fears Jr., and Jeremiah are not the same players.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

July 3 , 2022

 Amani Hansberry is a 6-7, 215-pound power forward from Washington, DC., a four-star recruit and a star in the class of 2023.

Illinois has a roster of young but very talented guys. There’s not a lot of room for recruits in the class of 2023, so they can’t make a mistake and must find that player that can make an impact. Why? Because each year the college basketball rosters will change drastically, Illinois will be no different.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 1, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy WMBD)

Remember the name A.J. Guyton, the Peoria native who chose to play his college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers?

A.J. has a daughter named Aaliyah Guyton, a 5-foot-11 2024 combo guard who was recently offered by Illinois head coach Shauna Green.

This staff is recruiting the best of the best. Aaliyah is one of the top guards in the country, one the new staff at Illinois would love to have on their roster. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 1, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy FIBA Basketball)

Who is Zacharie Perrin? Is this another roster filler? If he was any good, how did Illinois get him without a fight? Those are all questions that are fair, but keep in mind Perrin is a 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward from Grandfontaine, France.

You’re not going to have a fair assessment from some of the nation's top recruiting sites. Besides, assistant coach Geoff Alexander couldn’t care less about ranking or what others think of this surprise recruit, choosing to rely instead on his own expertise gleaned from more than two decades of coaching and evaluating international talent. 

Zain Bando, IlliniGuys Student Correspondent June 30, 2022 The […]

New Illinois wing forward Ty Rodgers thinks he can take the team-first, scoring second attitude straight from Team USA this summer to Champaign as he begins offseason workouts.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 29, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The next likely candidate to be Brad Underwood’s glue guy is the 18-year-old with a gold medal in his trophy case. 

Ty Rodgers has returned from his championship-winning experience in Mexico as part of Team USA’s Under-18 national team convinced that his dirty work, egoless and the opposite of stats conscious role on that team can absolutely translate to his contributions as a freshman at Illinois. 

During the Team USA tryouts, Rodgers was able to beat out higher-ranked players in his recruiting class according to multiple recruiting services for a roster spot representing his country by committing to a style of play that doesn’t involve worrying about scoring. 

“I learned that every team you try to make is going to be about trying to find a role and I really felt like my two weeks starting with training camp in Houston allowed me to play to a role,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “Every team is going to have scorers. What it comes down to is what can you do besides score. I feel like the answer to that question is why I made the (Team USA) roster and was my impact on the team.” 

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Basketball Writer June 29, 2022 Until […]

Former Illinois star and two-time Big Ten Conference Champion Nick Hardy is playing his best career golf following a major wrist injury. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 28, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Golf Digest)

Nick Hardy proved last week he’s not interested in having the 2022 U.S. Open be his career-defining moment but yet an introduction to what he hopes is a long professional golf career. 

One week after being in contention to win throughout all four days of a major championship and finished tied for 14th place in front of a worldwide audience at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Hardy didn’t have time to let any memories sink in. 

The goal for the 26-year-old, who is playing his best golf coming off a major wrist injury, was to show the trait Illinois head coach Mike Small preaches to each and every one of his players during their time in Champaign: consistency. Hardy did just that at TPC River Highlands, just outside of Hartford, Conn., as he posted his first ever Top 10 finish on the PGA Tour (tied for eighth) and now sees his world golf ranking at its highest point (235th) in nearly calendar year.  

June 27, 2022

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst

(Cover photo courtesy Envergure)

On Monday, the Illini added French big man Zacharie Perrin to their class of 2022. The 6 10 Center joins an already top 10 class and provides a much-needed frontcourt boost to a team that lost All-American Kofi Cockburn.

Perrin committed on Friday to Illini head coach Brad Underwood and lead recruiter Geoff Alexander and ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony announced the commitment on Monday. Perrin chose the Illini over offers from Texas and UCLA. 

The 6-foot-10 Perrin will be on the Illinois campus in August after playing in the European Championships July 30 to Aug 4. Perrin will turn 18 on August 30th after his arrival.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

June 27, 2022

(Photos courtesy IlliniGuys)

Back in the late 80s, Kendall Gill played on the Illinois team known as the Flyin’ Illini. Gill was a second team All-American and is arguably one of the best Illini of all time.

After a great 13-year career in the NBA, Kendall now works for NBC Sports in Chicago as an analyst for the Chicago Bulls.

Illini great Kendall Gill (front row, second from right) watches his son Phoenix play in the Riverside Brookfield Shootout earlier this month. (Courtesy IlliniGuys)

When Kendall arrived at Illinois as a long 6-foot-5 freshman; very athletic but struggled like most freshmen. But - even though the thought crossed his mind several times - he never quit.

Now Kendall is the proud father of a rising high school sophomore.   Phoenix Gill from Chicago Saint Ignatius High School is looking to carve out his own niche in the basketball world. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound combo guard starts on a team with another potential DI prospect is 6-foot-7, 215-pound power forward Richard Barron. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

June 26, 2022

Illinois assistant basketball coach Chester Fraizier is very selective when it comes to recruiting. He’s not a star guy - not a guy who gets caught up in where a player is ranked, but more of a fit and talent. The former Illini point-guard trusts his own judgment when it comes to finding the “right” guy.

When Frazier first got the job at Illinois, he challenged me with a player who was a former five-star recruit coming out of high school versus a three star candidate. Frazier took the freshman stats over both players who started for their teams, but deleted the picture.  Frazier then said, “KP, tell me if you were coaching Illinois which player would you take?” I struck out, because I took the player with the better stats.  Turns out he was the three-star prospect. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

June 24, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Prep Girls Hoops)

Makaela Quimby, a 5-foot-9 2023 combo guard out of McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland. She will make an official visit this weekend to Illinois.

IlliniGuys caught up with the dynamic guard before arriving in Champaign to update her recruitment and where Illinois stands in the big picture.