They have a full 13-man roster right now, but there's about a 50% chance (or higher) that a spot opens up. They are working through some things.
If a ride does open up, I believe the preference is to fill it rather than to go into the season with 12 scholarship players. The clock is ticking, though, as schools begin summer classes. That's not a hard deadline, but it's significant.
They won't really know what to expect from Jeremiah Williams until they get him in the gym and have him checked out by trainers, etc.
Personally, I see him more of a multi-year project than immediate help. If he can play this year and be effective, that's a bonus. A pass-first point guard with size who defends isn't a bad thing when you have wings who can score. But is he 100%?
Adding a veteran with multiple years left made sense. They lose five seniors, and I doubt Underwood wanted to rely on a bunch of freshmen and another madcap chase in the Portal with so much uncertainty.
Illinois will be interested in Antonio Reeves if he leaves Kentucky. He's not a point guard per se, but they would make it work. Adding shooting was an offseason priority.
The Illini will kick the tires on 2023 guards Chris Johnson and Simeon Wilcher. I don't think they would be the leader for either one. IMO, both kids had schools in mind when they asked out of their letters of intent from KU and UNC respectively.
NLI collectives aren't letting up even with signed players. It's crazy. People who I've talked to aren't sure who the major players will be for either kid yet, but should know very soon.
I really like both Johnson and Wilcher. When you have a chance to add high school talent of that caliber, you have to pursue it.
All of the newcomers aren't on campus yet. There's a different timetable for each kid. (That's not an alarm bell for anyone, at least not yet).
There are other possibilities. Stay tuned.
If a ride does open up, I believe the preference is to fill it rather than to go into the season with 12 scholarship players. The clock is ticking, though, as schools begin summer classes. That's not a hard deadline, but it's significant.
They won't really know what to expect from Jeremiah Williams until they get him in the gym and have him checked out by trainers, etc.
Personally, I see him more of a multi-year project than immediate help. If he can play this year and be effective, that's a bonus. A pass-first point guard with size who defends isn't a bad thing when you have wings who can score. But is he 100%?
Adding a veteran with multiple years left made sense. They lose five seniors, and I doubt Underwood wanted to rely on a bunch of freshmen and another madcap chase in the Portal with so much uncertainty.
Illinois will be interested in Antonio Reeves if he leaves Kentucky. He's not a point guard per se, but they would make it work. Adding shooting was an offseason priority.
The Illini will kick the tires on 2023 guards Chris Johnson and Simeon Wilcher. I don't think they would be the leader for either one. IMO, both kids had schools in mind when they asked out of their letters of intent from KU and UNC respectively.
NLI collectives aren't letting up even with signed players. It's crazy. People who I've talked to aren't sure who the major players will be for either kid yet, but should know very soon.
I really like both Johnson and Wilcher. When you have a chance to add high school talent of that caliber, you have to pursue it.
All of the newcomers aren't on campus yet. There's a different timetable for each kid. (That's not an alarm bell for anyone, at least not yet).
There are other possibilities. Stay tuned.
