New Scholarship Offers

C.J. Walker | '16 PG | Indianapolis, IN

Walker is the latest 2016 point guard to receive an offer from the Fighting Illini. The Indianapolis native is currently rated as the No. 152 recruit in 247Sports' composite rankings and he's received offers from Illinois, Mizzou, Butler, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and Xavier. According to his Twitter account (@Cj_Walker1), he'll be narrowing his list to five schools "soon."

Walker decommitted from Purdue a few weeks ago so our friends over at Hammer and Rails have plenty of reading material on him. You can click here and here for more.

Jaren Jackson | '17 SF | Indianapolis, IN

If it isn't obvious already, the Illinois coaching staff has been making a huge push for several top tier prospects from Indianapolis. Jaren Jackson is currently the No. 38 recruit in 247Sports' 2017 composite rankings and he's also garnered interest from Indiana, Purdue, Butler, and Xavier.

Links

LoVett Says Five Schools Working Hardest, Hopes to Decide Soon - ZagsBlog
He probably won't be playing at Illinois next season, but you can try and convince yourself otherwise by reading this.

Da'Monte Williams making his own name - News Gazette
“It was a surprise,” Da’Monte said of his first high-major scholarship offer. “I was very excited to talk to Coach Groce and get the opportunity to be recruited by Illinois, the school that my father went to.”

DaMonte Williams now among state's very best - High School Cube
"This past weekend, while attending the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam All-Star Classic in Fort Wayne, I came away with one definitive opinion: DaMonte Williams is the real deal." ~ Joe Henricksen

Groce angling for special in-state class in 2017 - Rivals
Extending scholarship offers doesn't usually make a splash. But when the Illinois basketball coach offers five in-state prospects in the same class on the same day, it sends some waves.

News & Notes

- Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis is expected to make his decision early this week. He visited Baylor, Illinois, and Oregon in that order over the weekend.

- Alonzo Verge Jr. ('17 PG) was supposed to take an unofficial visit to Champaign on Sunday, but it's been rescheduled to sometime this week. The explosive guard received an Illinois offer last Monday.

- Illinois has reached out to Eastern Illinois transfer Chris Oliver (PF), he'd be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer.

- Illinois has expressed interest in Charles Payton ('17 SF).

- Tyler Cook ('16 PF) will be cutting his list to 6 schools on Wednesday.

- Joey Brunk ('16 C) took an official visit to Oklahoma this weekend.

- Nick Ward ('16 C) has committed to Michigan State; he received an Illinois offer a few weeks ago.

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