Basketball

Charlie Moore (Chicago, IL) has scheduled four official visits to California (9/11), Pittsburgh (9/18), Illinois (9/25), and Memphis (10/02). The four-star point guard hasn't publicly cut his list of schools, but it's very surprising to see that he hasn't scheduled a visit to Iowa yet.

Xavier Sneed (Florissant, MO) will also be taking an official visit to Champaign next weekend (8/28). The three-star small forward cut his list to Illinois, Creighton, Kansas State, Witchita State and Xavier earlier this month. When asked if he had any other visits planned, Sneed told Illini Inquirer that, "all I know is that I will be [at Illinois] next weekend." That's surely a good sign for John Groce and the Illini. With the current scholarship situation--and it may change very soon depending on Darius Paul--it looks like Illinois will accept a commitment from only one of Sneed or Zach Norvell (Chicago, IL). They can't take both given the team's other needs.

The Illini have reportedly snuck a scholarship offer to four-star center James Banks (Atlanta, GA). The Georgia native just announced that he'll be transferring to La Lumiere Prep for his senior season. That's the same school that produced Jalen Coleman-Lands and John Groce has a great relationship with the coaching staff. Banks has offers from 20 high-major programs (most notably Georgetown, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Texas), but it appears that he hasn't really started his recruiting process.

Alonzo Verge (Villa Park, IL) has transferred to Proviso West. There were rumors that the four-star guard was planning a move from Willowbrook high school to a prep school in Florida. That's good news for Illinois because Verge is one of their primary targets in the 2017 recruiting class.

Football

Three-star linebacker Tim Walton (Detroit, MI) committed to Illinois on Sunday. He had other offers from Cincinnati, Navy, Western Michigan, Buffalo, Toledo, Ball State, Kent State, and Eastern Michigan. You can view some of his highlights here.

That's really the only news on the football recruiting front, but here are some other names to keep an eye on as we get closer to the start of the college/high school seasons.

• Bryce Banks (Columbia, MO) - The three-star defensive back decommitted from Mizzou after taking a visit to Champaign a few weeks ago. A decision timeframe hasn't been made public, but it's safe to assume that the Illini are in a good position here.
• Braxton Pickard (Edmond, OK) - Pickard is one of the top kickers in the country and he was offered a scholarship while visiting Illinois in early August. The Illini need a quality kicker in the worst way so there'd be an opportunity for him to contribute immediately.
• Harry Ballard (Florissant, MO) - There hasn't been much news surrounding the three-star wide receiver, but a decision is expected before the start of his senior season.

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