Busting Brackets
Fansided

Quick Hits: Mitch Lightfoot Trims His List and Illinois Finally Finds a Point Guard

By Chris Godfrey

facebooktwitterreddit

After a busy weekend of college hoops news, it seemed like an appropriate time to draw up a play, send our best shooter off a double screen, and check out some some quick hits from around the country. 

More from Illinois Fighting Illini

  • After decommitting from New Mexico in April, Mitch Lightfoot has narrowed his new list of schools down to five. Lightfoot, who attends Gilbert Christian in Phoenix, plans to decide between Arizona and four other schools. The schools being considered along with the Wildcats are Stanford, Kansas, St. John’s and Utah. 247Sports’ Crystal Ball projection has Lightfoot leaning heavily towards Stanford at the moment.
  • Pittsburgh is losing their starting point guard of the future. Josh Newkirk, who was expected to take a redshirt year to recover from knee surgery, has instead decided to leave the program. Newkirk cited the desire to be closer to home during his recovery. The sophomore guard would have been Pitt’s starting point guard in 2016-2017 due to the impending departure of senior starter James Robinson. Newkirk is from Raleigh, NC. This means there will be no shortage of division schools that will fit the description of being close to home.
  • Illinois has been looking far and wide for a point guard to add to their 2015-2016 roster. With expected starter Tracy Abrams sidelined for the season due to a rupture Achilles, the team was desperate for help at the position. After a very long flirtation with Chicago prospect Marcus Lovett yielded nothing but empty feelings (Lovett eventually committed to St. John’s), it looked like the Illini might be out of luck. That sentiment changed after the team announced the signing of graduate transfer Khalid Lewis from LaSalle. Lewis didn’t light it up for the Explorers, averaging about six points per game, but he will serve as a veteran presence for the Illini offense.
  • Over the weekend, Busting Brackets covered T.J. Leaf’s decommitment from Arizona. He has since narrowed his new list of schools to eight. Kentucky, UCLA, Texas, California, Kansas, San Diego State, Gonzaga, and Indiana.
  • Lauri Markannen, a highly regarded player from Finland, has narrowed his list of potential destinations to three. The 6-foot-10 power forward will visit Utah, North Carolina, and Arizona later this year. North Carolina should have the edge in securing the commitment due to a bit of basketball related nepotism. Roy Williams coached Lauri’s dad Pekka for a season while he was the head coach at Kansas.
  • Rashad Muhammad, the brother of former UCLA star Shabazz Muhammad, is transferring from San Jose State to Miami (FL). The 6’6 guard averaged a shade under 14 points a game last season for the Spartans. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining when he suits up for the Hurricanes.

Next: Busting Bracket Way Too Early Top 25

More from Busting Brackets

Home/Illinois Fighting Illini