Media was allowed inside the Irwin Indoor facilities for three period of practice on Thursday. We didn't get see much more than than some position work and a few minutes of team stuff.

I primarily watched the offensive line and came away with a rough draft of the 2-deep.

The standout is JC Davis. He's a stud and a potential All-Big Ten type of lineman.

Surprised to see Priestly withe 1's. He's wearing No. 58 and playing tackle, so maybe a number change is in order. He's not very tall, but he has an intriguing combination of power and quickness. Priestly and Brandon Henderson are likely in a battle at the RT spot.

As much as they love Kruetz and his experience and leadership, there's a chance that MSU transfer Kevin Wigenton will give him a battle at center. Wigenton probably has to get in better shape and get more snaps at the position, but he has a chance.

Overall, it's not a super athletic group, but they have size, power, and more depth than in the past.

LT: JC Davis | Magnus Mueller
LG: Josh Gesky | Hunter Whitenack
C: Josh Kruetz | Kevin Wigenton
RG: Zy Crylser | Dezmond Schuster
RT: Melvin Priestly | Brandon Henderson

I watched defensive line go through drills, but no team stuff so I'm not sure about the depth chart yet.

A few notes...

Two underclassmen to watch are redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Warren and Alex Bray.

Warren looks to have take an big leap forward. He was in the front of the drill line and looks bigger and quicker. He's 300 lbs+ now and is confident and aggressive going through drills.

Bray is a plus athlete and may have the quickest burst and best change of direction of all of the interior defensive linemen. He still looks smallish and is a tweener at 270 pounds, so I'm not sure how ready he is to take on Big Ten offensive linemen. He can really move though. Looks like a different kid than last year.

Ezekiel Holmes went through drills with the interior defensive linemen. Looks like they are testing him there since the OLB room is talented deep. Holmes has length, but he's still thin. Not sure how that's going to work out unless they play some 4-man front.

Other notable items...

JUCO transfer Daniel Brown is still with the OLB group. He's easily the fastest guy they have off the edge. A blur rushing the passer. I'd like to see them try him at WLB so they can have him on the field with Seth Coleman and Gabe Jacas. We'll see.

Justin Stepp is still raving about Malik Elzy, who goes through drills first and is easily the most fluid and physically gifted of the group.

Hank Beatty is the #1 punt returner right now. A bunch of guys are getting reps.

Tanner Arkin looks like the most complete tight end. Arkin, Griffin Moore, and Cole Rusk will all play.

The spring Transfer Portal widow opens up April 16 and Illinois has a few spots open.

I will post all new information on the Portal in this thread as it relates to Illinois targets.

Here's a hot board of the known targets as it stands today (4/4).

Stay tuned.

Will likely hit the Portal today.

USC hires Musselman - good hire for them. Bball will always play second fiddle to football at USC

But I am not seeing it on my listings. Does anyone have any TV channel details?

Big news for WBB. One of the best rebounders in the country and the leader of the team.

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Tipoff coming up at 6 pm CT.

I’ll guess Danny Wolf from Yale.

Just read on Football scoop that he's leaving due to medical reasons!

Your biggest takeaways?

I’ll have mine in a front page notebook.

As a thought exercise, I wanted to see how many hires in the last decade at major programs (I use this term loosely as I'm including the Big East and Mountain West) are better or comparable to Brad Underwood at Illinois. Here's what I came up with:

Better

Hurley/UConn - Two more normal games for his team, he has two nattys in 6 years. Best hire since Coach K at this rate.
Sampson/Houston - Houston was nothing special when he arrived. Now they are a perennial contender and playing in a top tier conference. Just finished 10th year.
Pearl/Auburn - Pearl has Auburn in the mix most years. Made a FF. Another guy who just completed Year 10.

Marginally Better
Tommy Lloyd/Arizona - Great program that could have fallen after the Miller scandal. Instead it hasn't missed a beat. Still underperforming in the postseason tho, the move to a better league in terms of competition may push the seeding down some.
Nate Oats/Alabama - Brilliant basketball mind who just reached his first FF. Like BU, winning with different rosters every year.

Similar
Eric Musselman/Arkansas - Maybe the most similar performance to BU. Took a down program with a good history and has turned it around. Maybe a little less conference and more NCAA success. Tough year in 2024.
Shaka Smart/Marquette - Proven coach who is back to winning with less at Marquette. I don't think his teams are underperforming in the tournament, they just aren't that talented.
TJ Otzelberger - Small sample size, but two S16s at Iowa State in 3 years ... wowza. Also knows how to construct a roster.
Brian Dutcher/SDSU - Took over a great situation, but a national title game appearance and S16 in B2B years at SDSU ... very good. Wins a decent MWC a good amount of the time. I do think there's a growing cap on what you can achieve in hoops with his style.

If you look at the sport, college basketball seems to be the "Cult of Coach" more than anything (in CFB, you tend to see less churn at the top among truly great programs, who tend to win big so long as they have a reasonably good coach). Maybe that applies for UK and NC, but beyond that coaches seem to be the difference makers.

The next step for Underwood over the following 2-3 years. Several more big seasons to cement this around himself and set up a great second decade in charge at Illinois.

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It's essentially a watch list right now, but a couple of guys might emerge as top targets soon.

Some big names still rumored to be hitting the Portal.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Head Coach Brad Underwood announced Tuesday that Jake Davis has signed a Big Ten Tender of Financial Aid with the University of Illinois and will join the Fighting Illini program as a transfer.

Davis is a 6-foot-6-inch, 210-pound forward from McCordsville, Indiana. He played this past season at Mercer, where as a freshman he saw action in all 33 games with 25 starts and led the team with 943 minutes played (28.6 mpg).

Davis ranked third on the Bears in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds. He led Mercer with 60 three-pointers while shooting 38.7% behind the arc (60-155) and paced the team at the free-throw line, shooting a team-high 84.8% (39-46). Davis scored in double figures 12 times with three 20-point games, highlighted by a season-high 26 points vs. Georgia State (12/9/23). He knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers against UNC Greensboro (2/24/24) on his way to a 21-point night, and he also had 21 points with a career-high nine rebounds at Samford (1/20/24).

"Jake is an elite shooter," Underwood said. "He has great size as a wing with the ability to shoot off the move and come off screens. He is a high-IQ player who has been well coached and is a winner. Jake is coming off a great freshman season at Mercer; we're excited about adding him to the roster and his future in our program."

Davis attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, where he helped guide the Fighting Irish to the 2022 IHSAA Class 4A state championship as a junior, and sectional championship as a senior in 2023. He was a two-time honorable mention all-state selection by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and was recognized as an Academic All-State performer.

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He was never going to see the field this year.

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Dates Set for Illini Nights at MLB Parks


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois' annual Illini Nights at the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs are scheduled throughout May, June, and July. Full event details are available here.

Illini Night at Guaranteed Rate Field
White Sox vs. Orioles
Thursday, May 23, 2024
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. CT

Special ticket features a White Sox/Illini hoodie.

Illini Night at Busch Stadium
Cardinals vs. Pirates
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT

Special ticket features a Cardinals/Illini tumbler.

Illini Night at Wrigley
Cubs vs. Phillies
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. CT

Special ticket features a Cubs/Illini baseball cap.