Besides Illinois, what other schools were recruiting you in high school?

“Tennessee, Florida, Ohio State, Marquette, Minnesota, there were a lot of Big Ten schools.”

What stood out about Illinois?

“It’s my home-state school. And it’s close to home. And actually before I committed, I wanted to play with Jamar Smith so bad ‘cause he’s like part of my family, so that was another main reason I wanted to come here. When I was about to come here, he got in a situation, so I still was just dedicated to my situation coming here.”

Are you glad you did that now?

“Yeah, I’m glad I still came here. It was the best school. Two Peoria coaches (associate head coach Wayne McClain and assistant coach Jerrance Howard) are here I know that (they will) be after me and help me get to the next level.”

What Illinois events did you attend as a recruit before you came here?

“I’ve been coming to the Orange and Blue Scrimmage since I was like a sophomore, so I was at almost every Orange and Blue, and I came to a couple of games.”

What did you do on your signing day?

“My signing day I was in Las Vegas, 7 o’clock in the morning, it was 9 o’clock here, so right before school. It was at the kitchen table, so me and two of my other teammates, signed — Avery Bradley (Texas) and Carlos Lopez (UNLV) — so we all signed at the same time.”

Did you do anything special to celebrate?

“No, I just got a lot of text messages from my friends and family and they were happy … they were excited (with my choice).”

Did your family like the fact that you would be close enough for them to attend games?

“They were very pleased with that. My family loves to come see me play and just enjoy this Illinois crowd. Playing in an environment like this, they love it.”

Do you remember the first time you got a call from coach Weber?

“I think it was in the summertime, in my junior year I think. The first time he called, I just talked to him for a little while. We just talked about me coming here, and I already knew I was going to commit here.”