CHAMPAIGN – Decades ago, fellow reporters told me of a story about traveling to Chicago one night when Corey Maggette was scheduled to reveal his college choice. Basketball recruiting had already exploded, recruiting sites popped up everywhere and Maggette was the latest star in the Chicago hoops scene.
Maggette’s popularity had sky-rocketed, and he was set to announce his future live on the studio set of a cable TV sports show in Chicago. So my reporter friends left for Chicago (my editor wasn’t interested in letting me go) to get the scoop. The night turned out to be an orange-and-blue goose chase.
Maggette chose Duke over several other schools, including Illinois. It was another moment when the Illini finished in second place for a local kid who happened to be one of the nation’s best. Maggette wasn’t the first one to shun the state school, and he surely wasn’t the last.
For every Dee Brown, there’s a Chris Collins or Julian Wright. A couple years ago, Chicago had two of the best big men in the country, and it appeared the Illini may grab one of them. But Jahlil Okafor switched in his recruitment late and went with Duke, leaving Kansas for Cliff Alexander. The trend lately has been for the Illini hat to be left on the table on announcement day.
So it brings us to Jeremiah Tilmon, the East St Louis five-star center who left Illinois hanging more than once over the last year or so. Tilmon first committed to Illinois while playing at La Lumiere Prep School in Indiana, then left Illini fans trembling when he transfered back to East St. Louis for his senior year. The anxiety proved real when Tilmon didn’t jump to sign during the early signing period before another trip to the St. Louis’ Metro-East by the Illini coaching staff.
