Alex Legion finds himself in street clothes, watching the Illini season slip away, waiting for a second chance that never comes.

He was a consensus top-50 prospect nationally when he committed to Kentucky out of high school, filled stat sheets consistently with 20-point performances and had Kentucky fans gushing over possibilities for the next four seasons. Then, his future hit a snag.

Legion, an Oak Hill Academy product and Parade Magazine All-American, said he wasn’t getting enough minutes under head coach Billy Gillispie, and chose to forgo the rest of this season when he transferred to Illinois in January.

He averaged six points per contest while other players his age – the ones at other schools – were popping up in highlight reels everywhere.

Legion, who will emerge next season a viable candidate to start for the Illini at guard, sat down with the Daily Illini to talk about this year’s struggles, why he likes assistant coach Jerrance Howard so much and what fans can expect from next season’s backcourt.

Daily Illini: What’s everything been like since you got on campus?

Alex Legion: It’s cool. You know, it’s a great atmosphere. I’m getting to learn about my teammates a little bit more every day. When I first got here, I wasn’t accustomed to the motion offense – there are a lot of cuts and stuff like that – but I’m just now starting to get used to it. And it’s kind of a bigger campus here than Kentucky, so that’s nice.

DI: I’ve never been to Kentucky.

AL: Well, it’s a lot like here, but not as cold. My classes are straight. But I have to walk farther for stuff here than I did in Kentucky. Our practice facility there was right by the dorm. Here, I got to walk a lot more.

DI: What made you want to come here, leave Kentucky halfway through the season?

AL: Well, I’ve been recruited by Coach Weber since I was in tenth grade or so.

I’ve always liked the system here. But I’ll say probably the most important thing was coach Jerrance (Howard). He was at Kentucky. He was kind of like a big brother to me. Him being an assistant coach here, at a school I always liked, and the personality of Coach Weber had a lot to do with it.

The motion offense is kind of my style of game, coming off screens, catching and shooting and stuff like that.

DI: So Jerrance is a cool guy?

AL: Yea, he is.

DI: You think Illinois hired the right man when they put him up there in an office?

AL: I think he brings a lot of energy to the program. He’s one of those guys that will help you work on technical skills, just the mental part of the game.

As far as individually, it’s an advantage to have a guy like Jerrance on the staff to help you work. If you want to take shots afterwards, he’s that type of assistant coach.

Plus, he’s a great recruiter. So, you always need a coach like that can recruit.

DI: What’s it like for you having to watch this team lose and not being able to do anything about it?

AL: It’s frustrating because all great players, good players, competitors want to play. At the same time I’ve taken on different challenges to work on my weaknesses, taking a humble role, standing back and not being in the limelight all of the time. It’s kind of standing back, watching my teammates and encouraging them.

DI: Does watching them compete motivate you in any way?

AL: Yea, it’s a lot of motivation. Even if the season was going great it’s a lot of motivation for next year because I’m sitting out, I want to go out there and showcase what I can do.

DI: Tell me a little bit about your relationship with Demetri McCamey.

AL: I’ve known Demetri for a while. Our AAU teams used to go at it since we were like freshmen in high school. I knew Demetri and I kind of made a new friend in Jamar (Smith) working out with him every day. I’m kind of close to those two. I’ve known Rodney (Alexander) for a while, too. We played together in high school.

DI: Are you and Jamar able to push each other in practice? What’s that whole deal like?

AL: Jamar, he has a great attitude, he’s a competitor. He’s bringing it out of me. The more I get to work with Jamar the more he brings that side out of me.

DI: What have you been working on the most?

AL: Playing this offense, you have to be able to stop and go, come off cuts and curls, and just kind of working on technical stuff, like footwork and defense especially.

DI: You’re not going to get to play with Brian Randle or Shaun Pruitt before they’re gone. What kind of seasons do you think they’re having?

AL: I think they’re two great Big Ten players. They’re both talented.

It’s unfortunate that I won’t get to play with them but it’s good enough to practice with them and just to know them and to know that down the road you’ll have a friend.

DI: Were there factors that made it hard to leave Kentucky?

AL: Yea, you know I really didn’t want to leave. But the whole sitting out, that’s probably the only factor I had – just to change the climate. Other than that, no.

DI: The people you left, were there any problems there?

AL: Oh, not really. I have a lot of friends here. Coach Gillispie wasn’t happy for me to leave. I don’t think any coach wants a player to leave. But at the same time it’s business. They understand, I understand, and you just go on.

DI: Tell me what kind of backcourt this team is going to have next year.

AL: I think it’s going to be exciting.

We have some great scorers that can get it done, but we’ll just have to wait and see.