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When asked how he approaches players who inform him they’re entering the transfer portal, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said the conversation isn’t lengthy. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 16, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN -- If you’re a player informing Illinois head coach Brad Underwood that you’re entering the transfer portal, the conversation is concise and to the point.

Underwood made this idea very clear Wednesday during the media conference announcing the signing of five-star guard Skyy Clark inside Memorial Stadium. When asked about the conversations he’s had with the three players (Andre Curbelo, Omar Payne and Brandin Podziemski) who have entered the portal from the 2021-22 roster, Underwood stressed the level of re-recruitment on his end is almost non-existent.

“Best of luck. Best of luck. Good luck,” Underwood said when asked what his response is to players informing him of a transfer decision. “I am 100 percent acceptance of everybody who wants to leave. I wish them nothing but the best. I’m going to say it again and I’m sure you guys are sick of me saying it. Winning is really hard and if you’re not both feet in, go.” 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 15, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Louisville Courier-Journal)

Most Illini fans are familiar with the name Bryce Hopkins, after their pitch came up short a little more than a year ago.

The 5-star forward from Oak Park, Illinois committed to Louisville instead, but an ongoing NCAA investigation into the Cardinals program drove him to Lexington and the Kentucky Wildcats instead.

That didn't turn out the way the 6-foot-6, 220-pounder had hoped.  Hopkins saw very little playing time for coach John Calipari, averaging 2.1. points and 1.4 rebounds a game while shooting 43 percent from the field.

Former Western Illinois wide receiver Dallas Daniels hoping to get scholarship offer from Illinois after entering transfer portal last month. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 15, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Western Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN -- Dallas Daniels is hoping this official visit to Illinois results in his first offer from a Power Five Conference school. 

Daniels confirmed to IlliniGuys.com that he would be on the Illinois campus for the Thursday morning spring practice and is hoping to receive a scholarship offer from the Illini coaching staff. Daniels, a 6-foot-1 and 170-pound target originally from Dayton, Ohio, had 892 receiving yards and four touchdowns over his last two years at Western Illinois. Daniels was named a selection to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer team following the 2020 season after he transferred from Arizona Western College through Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. 

Bryce Barnes, who has been mixed and matched by this Illinois coaching from outside linebacker to defensive end, has found comfort as a 275-pound end when his hand in the ground. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 14, 2021

CHAMPAIGN -- Here are some quick notes of what IlliniGuys.com heard from Thursday morning:

By Larry Smith - IlliniGuys Staff

April 14, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

In a word: wow!

So...I'm about to walk out the door this morning for a road trip when IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy did an insider information dump...and I just had to get it posted!

The latest on Kofi, it looks like a final decision has been made on Curbelo, and what about potential transfer Terrence Shannon or an Adam Miller return? Other players in the transfer portal of interest? A possible top target for 2023?

There's a lot here to dissect and the IlliniGuys.com members are doing that right now.  It's a pretty interesting conversation.  Click the orange bar at the top of our front page and find out why IlliniGuys.com is the fastest growing Illini insider website around!

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 14, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Jake Cook Hudl page)

Jake Cook, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive line from Westerville, Ohio, recently took a visit to the University of Illinois. We caught up with Cook for a brief Q and A session on his visit plus the next move for Jake regarding the Illini.

Kedric: Could you explain your thoughts on the visit, and did it meet your expectations?

Jake: It was fantastic! Great coaches, atmosphere and facilities! I'm definitely coming back for camp, I can't wait to be a part of that. I had a great time.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood expresses little to no concern about the partial tear of the ACL that newly signed five-star prospect Skyy Clark suffered last summer.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 13, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Larry McCormack/Nashville Tennessean)

CHAMPAIGN -- On the day he signed the program’s highest-rated guard in nearly two decades, Brad Underwood publicly denied any concerns over the left knee of highly-touted guard Skyy Clark.

Clark made his verbal commitment official Wednesday on the first day of the spring period by signing his National Letter-of-Intent with Illinois at Montverde Academy in Florida. The talk around the five-star prospect, who decommitted from Kentucky in early March, has been the injury suffered to his left knee last summer at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in July. The injury produced a lengthy rehabilitation process and forced him to be inactive for most of his senior season of high school and most of the grassroots circuit this spring.

April 13, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Purdue Athletics)

The thing about recruiting and the transfer portal...things can change in a snap.

Some interesting stuff posted a few hours ago by IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy.  Inside details on what led to Brandin Podziemski's decision, Terrence Shannon, and - maybe the biggest surprise of all - the latest on Andre Curbelo.

Let's get to it!

By Larry Smith - IlliniGuys Staff 

April 12, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

There are no games being played on the court at the moment - of course! - but work continues at Ubben both physically and on paper.  The renovation of the Illinois basketball facility is clearly obvious, while the roster construction for the 2022-23 season is also constantly in motion.

You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you that IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy and IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince were constantly working the phones, but it's true!  It's not unusual for them to put their cellphones down for a few hours while on the day job and pick it up with 100+ text messages waiting.  I've sat next to them on press row and at dinner and it is non-stop!

The cool thing for US is...they only share their knowledge on IlliniGuys.com!

I'll share a true story with you:  we recently had a new subscriber sign up and a couple of days later send us an email asking to cancel his subscription.  Naturally, we'd rather that not be the case, but we obliged and gave him instructions on how to do.  A day later, he wrote back: "hey, is it too late to change my mind?  You guys have better info!"

Now, please know this:  we have tremendous respect for our competitors.  But we take great pride in what we do and receiving emails like that lets us know we're on the right track.

Just like the workers who are shaping the future look of Ubben AND of Illini basketball, we are also always building.  100+ new members in the past month - 15 on Monday alone! - and an ever expanding staff and platform, we're excited to see what each day brings.

Our members got the very latest scoop on Illini basketball today from Mr. Sturdy and his notes are below.  If you can't see them, we invite you to click the orange bar above and sign up for a free 7-day trial.   Access to all of our feature stories and analysis awaits and be sure to check out our Multimedia section for our latest podcasts and episodes from the IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular syndicated radio show that's heard on 25 stations in six states every weekend.

Three generations of Illini coaching eras were represented at the Gordyville Coaches vs. Cancer event in Rantoul with the return of Lon Kruger & Bill Self to Central Illinois. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 12, 2022

GIFFORD, Ill. -- The past, present and future of the men’s basketball program at the University of Illinois were honored Tuesday night at the Gordyville USA event hall. 

Three eras of head coaching for the Illini program were the honored as current Illini coach Brad Underwood wanted to bridge the gap for fans, produce some history and make some money for the American Cancer Society in a National Association of Basketball Coaches event by bringing back Lon Kruger and Bill Self to Central Illinois for one night. 

“We don’t get to do that nearly enough anymore,” Underwood said Tuesday night. “For the three of us to be able to connect with other people in something that isn’t basketball related is really special.”

The evening, which was the first University of Illinois Coaches vs. Cancer dinner and auction since 2019, allowed the public to see three men who have combined for 253 all-time total wins, eight all-time NCAA Tournament appearances and four regular season Big Ten Conference championships. 

The event was held just eight days removed from Self’s Kansas program winning the 2022 national championship in New Orleans after the Jayhawks took down North Carolina 72-69 in the title game. 
For Kruger, who hasn’t been the leader of the Illini program since 2000, the temporary return to Champaign brought back some nostalgic memories as he noted he was around when the Ubben Practice Facility was being built and during a campus tour, he was able to see the construction of the new renovations of the building this spring. 

After one season at Illinois, Brandin Podziemski has reportedly […]

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 12, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN -- Despite being moved inside last season, photographic evidence has suggested Alex Palczewski has been seeing playing time this spring. These photos provided by the Illinois athletics department suggest the sixth-year veteran is getting looked at again for the right tackle spot at least to avoid an issue if injuries arose in the upcoming 2022 season. It also suggests another obvious idea that was confirmed by the comments following the team’s 10th spring practice of the season.

“Palcho is having a phenomenal spring. He’s probably one of the guys on this roster who is as game-ready as you can be now,” Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller said Tuesday. “He’s able to move better than he has in a long time and since I’ve seen him. Look, he’s healthy for the first time in a long time. You can see it on the backside cutoff (blocks). You watch the scrimmage and he’s able to get to landmarks now that he was never able to get to last year because of health.”

After trying to quickly recover from a serious knee injury that required reconstructive surgery during the 2020 season, Palczewski started the first seven games of Bret Bielema’s first season as the Illini head coach last season at tackle. It was clear in those seven games that Miller wasn’t thrilled with Palczewski’s lack of explosion coming off this injury and some of what he called “bad habits” he’d learned during his previous years at Illinois that didn’t translate to the fundamentals of what Bielema’s staff wanted to implement.

“Someone has told me that I’m officially the old man now around here,” Palczewski said on March 22. “I already love playing for (Barry Lunney Jr.) because he’s a player’s coach. He looks us in the eyes and tells us what we’re going to do.”

Vanderbilt defensive tackle Raashaan Wilkins Jr., who has one year of eligibility left, announces he’ll be “going home” by transferring to Illinois. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 12, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy George Walker IV/Nashville Tennessean)

CHAMPAIGN -- After a long and nationwide journey in his college experience, Raashaan Wilkins Jr.says he’s “going home” with an intention to transfer to Illinois. 

The 6-foot-3, 310-pound multi-year starter at Vanderbilt, who entered the transfer portal in February, confirmed via his Instagram page that he's committed to playing his final season of eligibility at Illinois.

In the last two seasons at Vanderbilt, Wilkins has started 19 of 21 games at defensive tackle and recorded 21 tackles, two tackles for loss. He signed with Vanderbilt out of Monterey Peninsula College in California when Illinois cornerbacks coach Aaron Henry was on the Commodores staff in 2020. When Wilkins arrives for fall camp at Illinois, he’ll be expected to compete for instant playing time at the nose tackle position along with Northwestern transfer TeRah Edwards, senior-to-be Calvin Avery and junior-to-be Verdis Brown. 

Zain Bando, IlliniGuys Student Correspondent

April 12, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Bret Bielema met with reporters Saturday afternoon in the foyer of the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility to discuss a variety of topics, which included Josh McCray’s growth and development, recruiting, a young offensive line, and Ryan Johnson.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 11, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

When the staff at IlliniGuys.com told you Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was looking to change his team's look, he wasn't kidding!

Last season, Illinois broke through more than a decade of futility and won the Big Ten tournament. This year they won the Big Ten conference title for the first time since 2005. All of that is nice, but to Underwood it's also water under the proverbial bridge. It's time to push the needle and win more in the NCAA Tournament.

How do you do that? Upgrade your roster. The biggest omission from the Illini this season was more of the uber-athletic 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-8 range wings who are very common in the top program and blue bloods.