Soon after Ballard High School point guard Quentin Snider announced on Thursday night that he’s committed to Illinois, John Groce’s Illini had another good piece of recruiting news. Five-star Chicago power forward Cliff Alexander announced on Twitter that he’d be taking his fifth official visit to Illinois.
Alexander, the nation’s No. 2 senior, according to ESPN.com, will visit Illinois on Oct. 26. He’s already been to DePaul and has trips scheduled to Arizona this weekend, Kansas on Oct. 4 and Memphis on Oct. 18.
What that means is Alexander won’t be making an official visit to the University of Louisville, which he stated he would do back in July. The Cardinals have been seen as long shots in Alexander’s recruitment, but if he had go through with an official visit, it’s possible U of L could have made up some ground.
The Cards, who are looking for one or two more interior players for their 2014 class, appear to be focusing on five-star Trey Lyles, four-star Chinanu Onuaku and four-star Jonah Bolden as their frontcourt targets. U of L’s coaches visits Bolden, an Australian who plays for Findlay Prep in Nevada, this week. U of L got a commitment this month from four-star Michigan power forward Jaylen Johnson.
Two other prominent teams in Alexander’s recruitment, Michigan State and Kentucky, also will not receive official visits, as has been his plan for a few months. He said that he didn’t feel the need to officially visit either campus because he’s been to both unofficially.
If Groce could pull in Alexander, it would be another signature recruiting victory and give Snider – the nation’s most physically imposing big man – a powerful finisher on the block and in transition.
Snider said after his announcement Thursday night that he planned to text Alexander right away and begin recruiting him to the Illini. Illinois also has commitments from five-star Memphis forward Leron Black and three-star forward Michael Finke.
When Alexander stated this summer that he planned to officially visit Louisville, he said Snider, who was then committed to the Cardinals, is a point guard whose game he respects.
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