Was Illinois ever in serious competition for him? Seems like we don't do well in the QC area.
I'm with you. The QC has never seemed to be a strong area for recruiting. I think that part of the state, despite being in Illinois, seems so much more tied to Iowa. It's a shorter drive to the Iowa campus and media coverage matters too. The Iowa influence is stronger there. In Carton's case, that's obviously not the case- he's eliminated Iowa and Illinois so he's got his own reasons but historically I agree- the QC is a tough spot.
Bruce Douglas is the last one I can remember...and that was a long, long time ago.
I grew up near the Quad Cities and the fan base used to be more evenly split. Now the whole area is very firmly held by Iowa. For example, the airport is on the Illinois side (Moline), but the gift shop has racks of Iowa gear and zero Illinois gear. The Quad City Times also dropped its Illinois beat reporter years ago.
I can't remember a single Illinois football or basketball player from the Iowa side (Davenport, Bettendorf) and only a few football players from the Illinois side (Moline, Rock Island). Moline and Rock Island have produced a few basketball players over the years (e.g., Chasson Randle), but we haven't landed them. Ethan Happ was from a small Illinois town 30 mins outside the QC.
Bruce Douglas was from Quincy which might as well be in a different state. It's closer to Columbia, MO and Iowa City.
I'm always skeptical when I see recruiting targets from the QC or Quincy.