Posts Tagged ‘Jerrance Howard’

Nic Moore transferring to SMU

Published by Source on June 14th, 2012

Illinois State transfer Nic Moore has made up his mind about where he is headed next. The 5’9″ point guard is headed south to play for the SMU Mustangs. Even though Moore seemed determined to play for a big program in the Midwest, the opportunity to play for former ISU coach Tim Jankovich again was too enticing.

Moore averaged 10.0 points per game in his only season in Normal, which was good for 3rd best on the team. He shined as the team’s starting point guard, dishing out 3.8 assists per game (5th best in the Missouri Valley). The Redbirds made a surprising run in the MVC tournament, beating top-15 ranked Wichita State in the semifinal to face Creighton in the title. Moore scored 20 points in that title game, which was somewhat of a coming out party for the freshman. He followed that up with 24 and 25 point performances in the NIT to go out on a hot streak.

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James decommits from Illini

Published by Source on May 30th, 2012

2013 point guard Jalen James has decided to reopen his recruitment after committing to Illinois last September. Though he had previously told Rivals.com that he would stick with the Illini following the hiring of John Groce, the two sides parted ways Wednesday.

Though the guard runs with the Illinois Wolves AAU team and is a native of the state, he is playing his prep ball at La Lumiere School in LaPorte, Indiana. This past season, his first at the school, he was able to team up with future B1G players Hanner Perea, Jay Simpson and Raphael Davis.

James was influential in the recruitment of Malcolm Hill (SG, Belleville East), who is now the only member of Illinois’ current 2013 class. Hill committed to the Illini just a day after James and has recently confirmed his loyalty to the school and the new coaching staff. Hill is a rising star, currently ranked #52 nationally by Rivals.

The news comes just one day after the Illini lost new assistant coach Isaac Chew to Marquette. According to Mike Mullins, James’ AAU coach, James has already been contacted by Marquette, SMU, DePaul, Nebraska and several others. SMU hired former Illini player/coach Jerrance Howard as an assistant this off-season, as they are entering their first season under Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. Expect to see Kansas State get involved, as their new head coach Bruce Weber is the man who James committed to in the first place.

James tweeted his support for the program shortly after the news was announced: “I wish Coach Groce And The Illini Staff The Best Of Luck In The Future!”


Transfer rundown: 3 guys have new homes

Published by Source on May 12th, 2012

Several players have announced their plans to transfer since the season came to a close, and in the past week three of those guys have made their decisions. We are a bit late with the first two guys, but it was made official today that former Notre Dame guard and Northbrook, IL-native Alex Dragicevich is headed to Boston College.

- Former Illini Crandall Head will follow his old assistant coach Jerrance Howard to SMU. New Mustangs coach Larry Brown is looking to turn the program around and brought in Howard to help recruit. Head is the younger brother of Illinois star Luther Head and a native of Richton Park, Illinois. Though he was highly-touted out of high school, Head never really found his place in Champaign and appeared in just 9 games last season. He will sit out the upcoming season per NCAA rules and have two seasons of eligibility remaining after that.

- Once a top high school prospect, Jordan Sibert is now leaving the Ohio State Buckeyes for the Dayton Flyers of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Sibert averaged just 3.0 points per game as a sophomore and will head to Dayton with two seasons of eligibility remaining. Sibert was a part of Thad Matta’s blockbuster 2010 recruiting class, alongside Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft and DeShaun Thomas. Also in that class was JD Weatherspoon, who announced his plans to transfer with Sibert but has yet to find his next destination.

- As mentioned above, Notre Dame sharp-shooter Alex Dragicevich is headed to the East Coast. The Glenbrook North High School graduate will also have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out next season with the Eagles. Dragicevich chose BC over hometown Loyola (Chicago). He averaged 6.6 points in 20.9 minutes for the Irish last season but decided to transfer because he saw himself getting less minutes in the future.