Class of 2014 SF Keita Bates-Diop from Normal University HS is expected to visit Illinois today.

scott_chihoops

Tue, Nov 27
North Carolina at Indiana
NC State at Michigan
Minnesota at Florida State
Maryland at Northwestern
Iowa at Virginia Tech
Nebraska at Wake Forest

Wed, Nov 28
Ohio State at Duke
Virginia at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Miami
Purdue at Clemson
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Boston College at Penn State

"He has embraced that role by getting on campus whenever there is a big visit weekend, reaching out to other recruits and keeping the current class connected and close," Farrell said.

It might be working already for Illinois. Since Bailey made his decision, four other players have picked the Illini. Including Belleville Althoff defensive lineman Merrick Jackson, who had offers from Iowa, Missouri and others.

Bailey is trying. But he won't be pushy. As he found out in his own recruitment, the decision belongs to the player and his family.

"If that's not their school, it's not their school," Bailey said. "But if it is, I'll try to help out the best way I can."

Asmussen

Julius Mays told CBSSports that he has committed to Kentucky. Has one year left and can play ASAP.

GoodmanCBS

A 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, McLaurin has played more minutes of college ball (2,464) than the other four big men on the UI roster combined (1,448). His introduction to the Big Ten figures to be quite different from what he saw in the Big South -- what McLaurin described as "a guard's league" that didn't have the size he'll see next season.

And McLaurin said he doesn't mind that. On defense, he won't be chasing smaller players around the perimeter. On offense, he must contend with players his size.

"At Coastal we were a bigger team, a high-major sized team in a guard's league," he said. "A lot of times on defense -- all we played was man to man -- I was guarding guys that were 6-3, 6-4, 6-5. There's not a lot of bigs in this league."

Klee

The Ford brothers, former teammates and past rivals at Mid-American Conference programs, have relocated to the state of Illinois. Geno will be headed into his second season as the Bradley head coach. Dustin is a little more than a month into his tenure as an Illinois assistant coach. Now that they're no longer sharing the same league or the same uniform, the Ford brothers act like they'll play nice.

"I don't know if there's ever been a Bradley coach in history that's been a huge Illini fan, but I'll probably be the first," Geno said.

Supinie

2013 Illinois commit Malcolm Hill is bulking up and he is becoming more explosive off the bounce. His frame is already Big Ten ready.

NDKendrick_RR

Class of 2013 G Demetrius Jackson of MBA Select has confirmed he has an offer from Illinois

Demetrius Jackson has a big game for MBA w 25 pts and 10 ast. He was clutch in overtime

scott_chihoops

2015 Cathedral guard Jalen Coleman mentioned Illinois as the newest school to begin expressing interest.

Coleman said he's not thinking too much about recruiting. Plans to decide as a junior/senior.

insidethehall

2015 G Hyron Edwards said Michigan, Michigan St and Illinois have made contact and want him to visit.

JeffRabjohns

One of the most efficient players that we've seen all spring, Jahlil Okafor has had it rolling for the Mac Irvin Fire. Friday night, the big man from Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young was at it again as he dominated on the interior in a win over Louisiana Select. Already a big and strong kid, the No. 3 player in the class of 2014 looks to have grown to around 6-foot-11 and it's not like he needed any other advantages. Already one of the biggest, strongest and most skilled bigs in the country, it's almost a joke how advanced he is for a guy in the post..

Some watch him and say all he does is dunk and get layups. But, that's not because he's just big, it's because he has great footwork, uses his body to seal and punish defenders and has as good a set of hands as there is in the country. He can do more that dunk as well. The five-star sophomore has nimble feet, can put the ball on the floor and is a great passer. On the school front, he rattled off an impossibly long list that included pretty much every major program in the country..

There were some that had been down on the performance of 6-foot-2 class-of-2013 shooting guard Kendrick Nunn so far this spring. The Chicago (Ill.) Simeon star would probably put himself in that group. Friday night, the tough off guard got it rolling for Meanstreets. Nunn first turned it up on the defensive end where he can be one of the best in the country when locked in. Once he got going there, his jumper started dropping and he got out in transition and started making plays. Ranked No. 22 in the 2013 Rivals150, he played up to his ranking on Friday night.

rivals.com

Jaylon Brown 6'0 PG Fishers 2013 said he'll visit Illinois soon as they are still very interested. Virginia has also shown interest lately

INBBallSource

#Illini men's tennis team win the Jay Prosch Cup, defeating Auburn 4-3 to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16.
marcusrjackson

Abdelnour gets a shower after the clinching point! #Illini going to Sweet 16 for 12th time in last 14 years. http://twitpic.com/9kdnvt
IlliniTennis

Let's Go #ILLINI!! http://instagr.am/p/KdjrpPq8Au/

beeskibran

It's graduation weekend at Illinois! Congrats to the 125 #Illini walking today! #B1G #StudentAthletes http://twitpic.com/9k98s9

IlliniAthletics

Who says they're not student-athletes? Congrats to the 23 #Illini graduating this weekend! #B1G #NCAA http://pic.twitter.com/Cg6I6xuq

IlliniFootball

Chicago De La Salle 2013 PF Gavin Schilling has talked to #Illini assnt Jamall Walker a lot in recent weeks. Will set up a visit to C-U soon

freeSAMples5

Q: Who is the biggest impact player that has committed to a Big Ten school out of the class of 2013 in your opinion

A: I might say Aaron Bailey because of how much the Illini program will look to him to be the leader of the turnaround.

ESPN Recruiting Chat

The Illini are also busy finalizing their last major non-conference game. Illinois will play Auburn on Dec. 29 at the United Center in Chicago to fill the final significant game on the schedule.

Andy Katz

Illinois lands Cass Tech DT Kenton Gibbs
AllenTrieu

Will the latest #Illinois Fighting #Illini commitment stick, though. He will keep taking visits http://es.pn/LgFOBC
JShankerESPN

Illinois interested in Wright State 5th year transfer Julius Mays. Mays averaged 14.1 PPG last year and shot 42% from 3 www.lex18.com

Mays would be immediately eligible next year.

UIHoopsRecruits

2013 6'6 Wing Semi Ojeleye interest list: Duke, Arizona, Stanford, UCLA, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kansas, K State, Oregon, Illinois & Missouri.

PremierBall

Illinois, USC, Oregon St, Kansas, UNC, Mizzou, UCLA, UCI, TX, BYU, FSU, UNLV & AZ have all shown interest in 2015 6'4 PG Tyler Dorsey (CA)

PremierBall

ballislife.com

Missouri is the new Transfer U. Tulsa guard Jordan Clarkson told CBSSports he is transferring to the Tigers.

GoodmanCBS

tayandj.podbean.com

Illinois State will hire Vandy assistant Dan Muller as its next head coach, despite earlier report by local paper -- cbssports.com

GoodmanCBS