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Illinois head coach Bret Bielema speaking about his recruiting frustrations involving financial inefficiencies in the sport of college football and institutional hurdles at his current employer.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As the highest paid state employee in Illinois, Bret Bielema elected to use part of his local media session Tuesday to point out what he would consider institutional inefficiencies affecting his ability to recruit talent.

When asked Tuesday inside the Smith Family Football Complex if he felt he had the proper resources from the university’s athletics department to acquire top-level talent in the transfer portal, the Illinois fourth-year head coach didn’t hold back on his frustration with specific institution issues to restrict his program’s ability to recruit out of the transfer portal.

“One of the biggest battles we fight here at the University of Illinois is being able to get kids (out of the transfer portal) enrolled in school,” Bielema said on Tuesday.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 21, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois secured an important commitment from Ball State transfer Justin Bowick.

By Larry Smith - Co-Host & Executive Producer, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

December 21, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)

It was December 10, 2007. I joined dozens of other journalists on a brisk morning outside the federal courthouse in Richmond, Virginia awaiting the sentencing of Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick on dogfighting charges.  Sports writer Dan Wetzel and I had enjoyed friendly sports debates over the years and, as we struck up a conversation, we realized that we had independently put together very similar ideas for a 16-team college football playoff, not just the one-game affair that was decided partially on the field and (still) partially by a committee.

Dan and I agreed that the money would be staggering and we both couldn't understand how people smarter than us hadn't figured that out. Basketball is fun, but football is king. A month-long, 16-team tournament with games on Fridays and Saturdays in December? Nothing would get done in millions of households across the country as the affair would be a money-printing machine for colleges and TV networks alike.

I have shared my version many times over the years including in this space, asking 'what might have been?' if we had a March Madness-like postseason national college football tournament.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectaculr

December 20, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

Every time a team loses, and many times when they win, fans and spectators want to know why this guy is playing and this guy is not. It’s human nature. ‘If player X had played, we would have won.’ They could be right. They may be wrong, and the reality is that we will never know what the outcome of the hypothetical would have been, so you can’t be ‘wrong’.

The Illini basketball team has found themselves on the losing end of a couple of key games late and much has been made of the substitution patterns. With that in mind, let’s look at the most productive groups for the Illini on the season. The numbers are what they are, so let’s dive a little deeper.

There are two ends to the floor, and to be successful teams must be good on both ends. So, when looking at the performance it is important to compare how they fare on both offense and defense.

Illinois get 20 points from sophomore guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger […]

By Larry Smith - Co-Host & Executive Producer, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular 

December 20, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

(Editor's Note - Larry is the co-founder of IlliniGuys.com. His journalism career spans nearly four decades and includes more than 60 major championships worldwide and thousands of shows on CNN, TNT, and NBA TV. He is a Murrow, Emmy, and Peabody Award winner who is entering his second season as host of the WNBA on Ion Friday night studio show.)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - It's almost 51 weeks to the day when Terrence Shannon Jr.'s life turned upside down.  The All-American candidate found himself in Lawrence, Kansas answering to a rape allegation while, hundreds of miles away, he was being temporarily removed from the Illinois basketball team. The latter being reversed three weeks later, but only after he won a temporary restraining order against the school he represented.

Shannon maintained his innocence and was later cleared of all charges in Kansas after the season ended and, on February 15th, another step of putting one of the most bizarre turn of events in Illinois athletic history further in the rear-view mirror will be taken when the university will raise his jersey to the rafters.

No one is more deserving.

Ten days into winter portal session officially opening, Illinois football coaches are spinning a lack of acquisition by selling its success of player retention.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 19, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In the midst of meddling public results in this current transfer portal session, the football coaches inside the University of Illinois are pushing a similar narrative that their program is already fully self-sufficient.

With only two known verbal commitments out of the player acquisition mechanism known as the transfer portal, the public relations path for those inside the Smith Family Football Center is to sell the idea of player retention.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting December […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 19, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Wisconsin Athletics)

Illinois made its first portal addition of the offseason Tuesday when Wisconsin outside linebacker Leon Lowery committed to the Illini.  Lowery started his career with Syracuse and had a fairly strong career there before he transferred to the Badgers last year.  However, Lowery had a mediocre year with Wisconsin in 2024 so it made sense for both he and the Badgers for him to seek a change of scenery in 2025.  Lowery will have a sixth year of eligibility in 2025, one of the last guys you'll see that his able to take advantage of a COVID year since he started at Syracuse in 2020 and played so little in 2020 and 2021 that he was able to redshirt.  Lowery is a very good athlete who has shown spurts of star-quality play in college but hasn't put it all together.  In other words, he's exactly the kind of player Illinois should be after because he could make a huge difference, yet Illinois won't need to rely on him if he doesn't take that next step.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 19, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy NIU Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Illinois football is earning a reputation for building its program through depth, player development, and a few proven veteran players rather than becoming a hub for transfer players.

Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton, originally planning to visit Illinois last week, made a detour to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he committed to Wake Forest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuxFdwU1B3g&t=334s    

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 17, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois Fighting Illini added a key transfer to their roster Tuesday night, securing a commitment from defensive end Leon Lowery.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 17, 2024

BETTENDORF, Iowa – The Quad Cities has added another nationally ranked prospect to Illinois' recruiting radar. Jhaliana Guy, a 5-foot-9 combo guard, has showcased an exceptional athletic ability that has drawn the attention of 25 college programs, including the Illini.

Guy, ranked in the top 10 nationally by ESPNW, displayed her talents Friday night when the Bettendorf Bulldogs faced the Assumption Knights. While she didn’t dominate the scoreboard on this night, she did finish with 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting. But here's why she's drawing so much interest:

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) (Cover photo courtesy Joe […]

Despite again having a short bench, Illinois head coach Shauna Green was able to turn to reserves, such as Barry Wallace, to flip the momentum Sunday afternoon. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

Decembere 16, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If she had never suffered an injury to her shooting hand, Berry Wallace’s role off the bench in her freshman season might have been exactly what she showed Sunday afternoon. 

Following a nine-point opening quarter that saw Illinois down early to a upset-minded Southern Indiana team that came four points away from defeating Indiana in Bloomington’s Assembly Hall, Illini head coach Shauna Green turned to arguably the most prestigious women’s basketball signee in the last decade to get them out of an offensive slump. 

Wallace responded to the call by her head coach with 12 points in the second quarter of a 73-50 blowout win by showcasing her ability to do the thing Illinois (9-2) has failed to show consistently throughout these last few weeks - hit jump shots.