Top recruit Landers Nolley reopens recruitment

Tribune News Service

Illinois men’s head basketball coach Brad Underwood gets another chance at recruiting Landers Nolley of Langston Hughes High School, who recently de-committed from Georgia.

By Tommy Polcyn, Illini Hoops Columnist

Just one day after committing to the University of Georgia, top recruit Landers Nolley has reopened his recruitment.

Illinois was in his final three — along with Georgia and Virginia Tech — before he ultimately decided to stay home in Georgia. But, just one day later, the four-star small forward is back on the market.

This is a really surprising development that could potentially turn out nicely for the Illini. Things were looking really good in terms of head coach Brad Underwood and co. potentially landing the standout forward last week, and with his recruitment back open, Nolley to Champaign is certainly not out of the question.

Moving along with this, I am not really sure where things will go. He has taken official visits to Georgia, Virginia Tech and Illinois, so one could assume they are still the three leaders, but there is really no precedent. It is possible that something happened with Georgia that caused Nolley and his family to reconsider the choice, but from Nolley’s statement on Twitter, nothing is really clear as of now.

I would assume he might take a few more visits to other schools, but as I said before, there is no clear path to where he will go from here.

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Hopefully, Underwood and his staff can sell Nolley on a career in Champaign, and I’d definitely say there’s a solid chance. Nolley seemed to like the idea of playing for Underwood and was sold on the idea of making an early impact. Plus, he has a great relationship with many of the other recruits Illinois is currently chasing.

@TPolc

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