Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team:
Brandon Weston cut his list to a top six on Monday, narrowing his potential college basketball destinations down to Illinois, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Wake Forest and Western Illinois. Here's how I see the fit at each:
Illinois
The conversation about adding a wing in the Class of 2021 has to start with the fact the Illini already have one in Luke Goode. That doesn't make the pursuit of Weston a non-starter, though. They're different players. Goode is considered more of a shooter, while Weston is more of a slasher.
Michigan
The last thing the rest of the Big Ten probably wants to see is Juwan Howard establish a recruiting foothold in Chicago. But it's starting. The Wolverines already landed a commitment from 2021 wing Isaiah Barnes (Simeon via Oak Park-River Forest via Romeoville). Barnes and Weston are a bit more similar, with the former being a slightly bigger version, but wing minutes will be available at Michigan in 2021-22 with Isaiah Livers graduating and the off chance Franz Wagner turns pro.
Pittsburgh
Recruiting has gotten somewhat better for the Panthers under Jeff Capel, but the program is still in the midst of a rebuild. Weston would be the seventh-best recruit ever for Pittsburgh in the online rankings era. The Panthers don't necessarily have a "that guy" on the wing either now that Trey McGowens has transferred, although incoming freshman William Jeffress could become that.
Seton Hall
The return of Sandro Mamukelashvili and addition of Harvard grad transfer Bryce Aiken helps Seton Hall in the short term for 2020-21. But the Pirates are in a bit of transitory phase. The Class of 2014 (Isaiah Whitehead, Angel Delgado, etc.) was huge for Seton Hall. Then the baton was passed to Class of 2016 recruit Myles Powell. Now they're all gone, and adding Weston would be another, needed infusion of talent.
Wake Forest
Steve Forbes was not the first Wake Forest coach to recruit Weston. Former Morgan Park teammate Marcus Watson Jr. won't be in Winston-Salem, N.C., either since his flip after Danny Manning was fired. But Weston must have liked the idea of Wake Forest more than coaching staff/roster situation. Wake Forest hit the reset button in the Manning-to-Forbes change, so opportunity is abundant for Weston with Demon Deacons.
Western Illinois
New Western Illinois coach Rob Jeter made a shrewd move when he hired former Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin as an assistant. Since he did the Leathernecks have added some rather notable in-state names, including Watson, Curie star Ramean Hinton, UAB transfer and Morgan Park grad Tamell Pearson and both Cam Burrell (Morgan Park) and Colton Sandage (Bloomington) from the JUCO ranks. Western Illinois could be a player when it comes to in-state recruiting. Will it mean landing top 65 guys like Weston? Even if the chances aren't high, being a finalist gets the Leathernecks' name out there.
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August 18, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Good Morning, Illini Nation: Breaking down Brandon Weston's top six - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
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