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December 15, 2021

It's the day Bret Bielema has looked forward to since he was hired almost a year ago to the day; his first Signing Day after a full recruiting cycle.

It's a busy day full of excitement, as top prospects across the country - and the world - make good on their verbal pledges.  And the Illini's international recruit - 6'8", 300-pound offensive lineman Magnus Moller of Denmark - wasted no time getting his signed letter of intent into the Illinois football office just after midnight.

Check back with IlliniGuys.com and follow us on Twitter at @Illini_Guys for updates throughout the day!

Here are the newest Illini:

December 14, 2021

Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema is making waves in the recruiting business. Bielema built a house in Champaign, making it known this is his home state and he’s going to win at Illinois and plans to be here for a while.  And considering his history of putting offensive linemen in the NFL, any big man has to at least pause if Bielema or anyone on his staff places a call. 

Tuesday night, three-star OL Isaiah Adams, who stands 6-foot-6, 325 pounds, from Garden City Community College in Kansas, answered the call and committed to Bielema's Illini.

December 14, 2021

This past weekend it was easy to be caught up in one of the biggest non-conference basketball games at the State Farm Center in decades.

If ever there was a time to have one of the nation's top prospects on campus, this was it. Akil Watson, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward from Roselle, New Jersey, saw one of the best college basketball games at the State Farm Center in a while.

IlliniGuys Staff December 14, 2021 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Put […]

December 13, 2021

Oct. 19, 2017, is the date Illinois basketball changed for the better in the late 2000s. Former All-American guard Ayo Dosunmu committed on that date to the Fighting Illini.

Dosunmu, the five-star recruit, picked Illinois over Cincinnati, Florida State, Butler, Iowa State, Kansas, Marquette, Missouri, Oklahoma State, USC, Texas A & M, and Xavier.

Everything about Dosunmu, from my first conversation to my last, has been nothing but first-class; you do not expect an 18-year-old young man to have that kind of charisma and professionalism at the same time.

December 13, 2021

Illinois lost a 4 star grad transfer quarterback this year with the graduation of Brandon Peters, but Friday they added another one in Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito.  DeVito was one of Dino Babers' first big recruit at Syracuse and he got off to a promising start before Babers benched him three games into this season for Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader.  Devito entered the transfer portal soon thereafter and Illinois made quick contact.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The word soft being thrown around after games at State Farm Center is becoming a little too common for Illinois head coach Brad Underwood to handle.

Following a 83-79 loss to No. 11 Arizona Saturday, the Illini fifth-year head coach found himself calling his team that four-letter word to describe his basketball team in clearly the most frustrated Underwood looked and sounded since the loss to Missouri in the 2019 Braggin’ Rights Game.

“Put it in all caps. Softness. Soft,” Underwood stated. “Have you guys ever known my teams to be that? And that I have a hard time with. When people are taking your ball and we’re not tough enough to get a stop on a good player when we need to, that’s something I gotta get right.”

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst

December 12, 2021

The State Farm Center was rocking and Trent Frazier was rolling, but the Illini fell to #1 NET ranked Arizona 83-79 in a high level basketball game. Frazier led Illinois with 27 points and 5 steals, while Alfonso Plummer continued his hot shooting with 25 points, but Ben Mathurin scored 30 to lead an Arizona team that moved to 9-0 on the season.

These 3 Things...

Mike Cagley, IlliniGuy December 12, 2021 The Arizona Wildcats […]

IlliniGuys Staff December 11, 2021 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Trent […]

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Basketball Writer December 11, 2021 The […]

Former Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito has decided to transfer to Illinois and will compete for the starting job in the 2022 season. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 11, 2021

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Let’s be very clear about this very early, Bret Bielema doesn’t need my help, will never require my help and Lord knows he shouldn’t ever ask for my help in identifying talent. 

Illinois sophomore point guard Andre Curbelo continues to categorized as inactive with the reasoning for his absence being publicly withheld. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 11, 2021

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois will likely be, once again, without one of its star pieces for a matchup against a Top 15 opponent this weekend with the reason and timetable being a mystery. 

Former Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito has decided to transfer […]

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

December 10, 2021

Akil Watson, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound small forward from Roselle, New Jersey, is one of the nation's top forwards, ranked nationally in the top 60 in the 2023 class. It is no longer a secret that the Illinois basketball staff has put themselves in the best position in over a decade when it comes to recruiting. They are consistently landing top four or five recruits, which will pay dividends on the court. 

Watson is a recruit Illinois has put the hard press on and is a prospect this staff would love to land.  This weekend, it is Watson who will take a very hard look at Illinois with a visit to campus and a deeper dive into all that this program - and the U of I community - has to offer.