Illini focus on another Morgan Park star
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FirstWordwithJeremyWernerisaquicktakeonthelatestinIlliniathletics.Enjoyiteveryweekdaymorningwithyourmorningcoffee.
Illinoisbasketball'spursuitofoneformerMorganParkstariscomingtoaclosewithBradleytransferJoshCunningham'sdecisionimminent.
OnceCunninghamdecidesbetweenIllinoisandDayton,theIlliniwillfocusevenmoreonacurrentMorganParkstar.
Lastweek,Illinoisgotaroundtoextendingascholarshipofferto2016pointguardCharlieMoore.Itwastime.
The5-foot-10MooremightnotbetheprototypepointguardforwhichJohnGrocehassearchedforthreerecruitingclasses.He'snotasbigandathleticasDemetriusJackson,aspolishedasJalenBrunsonorasfastasJawunEvansorhisrecentMorganParkteammateMarcusLoVett.
MooremightnotbethetranscendentpointguardIllinois,buthecanhelpIllinois-andIllinoisneedsplentyofhelpatpointguard.That'swhythestaffhascastsuchawidenetin2016-theIlliniarepursuingOhio'sXavierSimpson,NewJersey'sBryceAiken,Louisiana'sLamarPeters,Georgia'sAlteriqueGilbertandPennsylvania'sTonyCarr-whichnowincludesMoore.
PlayingalongsideLoVett,Rivals'No.62prospectintheClassof2015,Mooreplayedofftheballlastseason,averagingmorethan20pointspergameforMorganParkasajunior.Buthedisprovedthetheorythathe'sa"chucker",alaformerIlliniAhmadStarks,byrunningthepointeffectivelyfortheMacIrvinFirethisspring.
"Illinoisneedsa(pointguard)in2016andtheyhavebeensearchingfarandwide,butwhenaguylikeMoorehasblownupinstatethisspringtheyhadtooffer,"OrangeandBlueNews.comanalystBradSturdysaid."MooremaynothavetheupsideofanAlteriqueGilbert,buthe'sonthesamelevelasmostoftheotherkidstheyhaveofferedin2016.Hehasgreatrangeandcanreallyshootitfromdeep,andalthoughhedidn'tplaywiththeballmuchinhighschoolhisperformanceatpointguardintheNikeEYBLearnedhimtheoffer.IllinoiswillhavetobeatoutsomeotherBigTenschoolstogetthecovetedpointguardbuttheopportunityisthereforwhomeverdecidestotakeitin2016."
Thingis,Illinoisprobablydidn'thaveextremeconfidencethatitledforanyofitspreviousoffers.Butthestaffmighthavethebestshotatthein-statekidMoore,whosefirstpower-fiveconferenceoffercamefromIowa.
Moorecandribble,shootanddistribute.Hemaynotbethebestatanyofthem,butIllinoiscan'tenter2016withonlyaseniorseasonofJaylonTate.EvenifIllinoislandsMoore,itmayeventuallyaddafifth-yeartransfertosupplementtheposition.
ButMoorewouldcertainlyhelptheIllini'slong-termhealthatpointguard.That'swhytheIllinihadtooffer.
Jeremy Werner is the co-host and Illinois reporter for the "Tay and J Show," which airs weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN Radio 93.5 in Champaign-Urbana and streams online at espncu.comClick Here to view this Link.. You can contact him at jeremy@espncu.com or follow him on Twitter @WernerESPNCUClick Here to view this Link.