Illinois Basketball: Chaundee Brown’s Crystal Ball not in favor of Illini
The biggest name left in the transfer portal for the Illinois basketball team is Chaundee Brown.
Brown is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound soon-to-be-senior who spent his first three years at Wake Forest. He was sensational with the Demon Deacons, improving every year he was with the program. During his final run with the team, Brown averaged 12.1 points, 6.5 rebound and 1.4 assists per game.
Back on April 25, Brown cut his list down to four teams and kept Gonzaga, LSU, Iowa State and Illinois alive for his commitment. With a list of four programs, one would think the winner of his pledge would come out of this group. That might not be the case, though.
On Monday, Brown announced he would be making a commitment on Tuesday, May 19. This commitment is reportedly coming at 3:00 PM EST. Who is the projected team to land him? No, it isn’t one of the four he was eyeing. 247Sports believes the Michigan Wolverines will be the final destination for the talented recruit.
Michigan being in the mix comes as a surprise to me. I would think the original four teams Brown listed would have been the final four. But head coach Juwan Howard clearly made an impact on Brown and what he thinks his future might hold.
Despite the tides seeming to be in the favor of the Wolverines, the Illini aren’t out of this yet. There is plenty of room on the roster for an explosive guard who can put the ball in the hoop. I believe that is what Brown can do for the Orange and Blue.
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Regardless of what happens on Tuesday afternoon, Illinois should be okay moving forward. Let’s not forget, we have a great class of 2020 coming into the program. We also have the possibility that both Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn come back to Champaign. As we await Brown’s decision just know, he would be the icing on the cake for the Illini.