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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 15, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy ESPN)

Illinois fans, if the name Malachi Smith rings a bell to you, it should. He is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound shooting guard from Belleville (West), Illinois and he was a thorn in the Illini's side in the opening round of this year's NCAA Tournament.

Playing for Chattanooga, Smith - who averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game for the Mocs - was the leading scorer for the underdog and a big reason they led most of the game before the heavily-favored Illini pulled ahead late. Illinois did hold him to 12 points on 4-of-20 shooting, but credit the defense of Trent Frazier, who made his final season in the orange and blue memorable by making most high-scoring guards work extra to get their points.

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According to the latest agenda for the University of […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 13, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Dayton Daily News)

Illinois' Chester Frazier and his fellow assistant coaches are hitting the recruiting trail hard and getting the attention of top prospects across the country.

Just this week, Jonathan Powell, a 6-foot-5, 175-pound combo guard from Dayton, Ohio, was on campus.  IlliniGuys.com caught up with the class of 2o24 star to give us his thoughts on the visit.

Kedric: This was your first time on the Illinois campus. Can you share with the readers at IlliniGuys what your thoughts were on your visit?

Jonathan: I really liked my Illinois visit, I felt the love right when I got out of the car. They made me feel loved when I walked through the door.

We now know the NCAA is going to start investigating NIL “collectives”. IlliniGuys.com reporter Matthew Stevens looks into what this means for college sports and Illini Guardians in a three-part series.

May 12, 2022

Three messages were sent out through the NCAA office on Monday evening. Two were subtle and the final one was not. 

Let’s take a moment to break down each of them through the past, present and future of what the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors stated in what they’re called “guidance”. 

NCAA Message No. 1 (A subtle one): We didn’t want to be here in the first place but since we are now, a rulebook definition for “pay-for-play” and “improper inducements” is needed. 

By Monday evening, every school’s athletic department was sent what the Indianapolis office of the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors is calling “guidance to schools regarding the intersection between recruiting activities and the name, image and likeness environment”. 

In translation, the correspondence is/was to serve as a reminder that boosters and the money that comes with them are still strictly prohibited from being involved in any way toward recruiting or retaining a player to your roster.

In June 2021, The NCAA Division I Council voted to recommend the NCAA's interim name, image and likeness (NIL) policy to the same Division I Board of Directors to be used as a collective stopgap measure to eliminate the possibility of some athletes at Division I schools in certain states with more loose/liberal NIL laws having a competitive financial earning advantage over athletes at schools in certain states with more strict/conservative NIL laws on the books. 

Illinois senior Crystal Wang plays the final 36 holes […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 11, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Furman Athletics)

Illinois made an important but low-key addition to its offensive line depth chart last week when Furman transfer Dylan Davis pledged to the Illini.  The prior staff recruited Davis to Champaign as a defensive lineman but he chose Furman as his initial college choice.   Davis started two games last fall as a redshirt freshman and played well enough to earn a spot on the Southern Conference All-Freshman team.  However, Furman has two starting tackles returning so Davis entered the portal and Illinois decided to add him to the mix.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Illinois move up to seventh place in its 12-team […]

IlliniGuys Staff

May 9, 2022

After Skyy Clark and then ZZ Clark and then Terrence Shannon Jr. in the span of a couple of weeks, it has been super quiet on the Illini men's basketball recruiting front.

But that's about to change.

The recruiting dead period has ended and, with the NBA and G-League trials about to start, we will start to hear more buzz on future Illini.

This afternoon, IlliniGuys' Brad Sturdy gave us an update on the top targets and where the Illini stand with each.  You're probably out of popcorn by now, so go get a refill and then check out the latest.

Combined, Sturdy and IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince have been doing this stuff for more than a quarter of a century and it shows.  Coaches here and over there, recruits and their families...it seems everyone knows and TRUSTS Brad and/or Ked.  And that makes IlliniGuys.com one cool place to be!

Illinois sits 11th in its 12-team NCAA Regional in […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 9, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy USA Today)

There's definitely some talent in this year's NCAA basketball transfer portal. Last week, I said Northwestern's Pete Nance would be a big asset to Illinois if they could land him.

For players who are still available in the portal, Nance would be the #1 priority and Baylor's Matthew Mayer would be #1A.

IlliniGuys insider Brad Sturdy said Mayer is the most talented big man left in the portal because of the several positions he can play on the court.

For me, Nance edges out Mayer for one reason; I rank him as a better defender.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 6, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Minnesota State Athletics)

Illinois added some quality depth to their secondary with the transfer of Terrell "Rello" Jennings.  Jennings is just about the most unlikely story for a transfer Illinois has ever had, so regardless of what you might think of him as a player, he's a heck of an interesting story:

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

May 7, 2022 Coach Slone appeared on this week's […]

Multiple Illinois coaches have reached out to interest in Rutgers edge rusher Ryan Keeler.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 6, 2022

CHAMPAIGN -- During his introductory media conference in Dec. 2020, Bret Bielema made a public plea to all college football players from Illinois not happy with their current situation.

“If you’re a player from the state of Illinois and you’re somewhere else and there’s a desire and an ability to be somewhere else, I’m listening,” Bielema said. “I think if we are built with a DNA of what we are as a university in the structure of our football program, we have a great chance to have success.”

This statement connected with not Illinois high school coaches but a highly regarded player who officially put his name in the transfer portal last weekend.