Illinois basketball’s pursuit of four-star point guard Paul Scruggs has come to an end. The Indy Star's Kyle Neddenriep reported on Monday that the two sides recently reached an understanding that was described as a, "tough conversation but a good one." Scruggs’ previously scheduled official visit to Champaign (September 4-6) has also been cancelled.
Two official visits complete for Southport's Paul Scruggs. One school out of mix. Update: https://t.co/cxCOQOvOfs pic.twitter.com/zJ43U8Wreu
— Kyle Neddenriep (@KyleNeddenriep) August 29, 2016
Scruggs is rated as the nation’s No. 28 overall player; UConn, Xavier, Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Michigan State are still under consideration. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 14.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game this Summer while playing for the Indy Hoosiers (Under Armour Association).
While this news is slightly disappointing, it was somewhat expected because four-star point guard Trent Frazier has already committed to the program. The Fighting Illini weren’t going to take another lead guard in this recruiting class, so continuing to waste resources wouldn’t have been a smart move. Moreover, it’ll allow the coaching staff to pursue their top 2018 targets (Ayo Dosunmo, Courtney Ramey) without blocking their path for playing time even further.
Hopefully this decision to move on won’t impact the recruitment of five-star wing Kris Wilkes, who’s been one of Scruggs’ AAU teammate for the past several years. The pitch of playing together in college obviously won’t be able to happen at Illinois now, though the Illini still stand to have plenty of appeal at this point in time. Wilkes will be in Champaign from September 9-11 for an official visit.
Paul Scruggs Highlights