Courtside with the Kentucky Wildcats
Former Kentucky guard Alex Legion picked Illinois as his new basketball home.
The news leaked out on Saturday. He had also visited Notre Dame.
Legion cited the relationships he quickly developed with the Illinois players and coaches. In particular, he grew close to assistant coach Jerrence Howard, who briefly worked for UK last summer.
“He’s a great guy, a great inspirational guy,” Legion said of Howard in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
Former Kentucky guard Alex Legion is expected to choose Illinois as his new school as soon as Friday.
It hadn’t happened as of 3 p.m. EST, but barring a surprise it will happen.
Legion visited Illinois and Notre Dame earlier this week.
Former UK guard Alex Legion will transfer to Notre Dame, his mother said on Monday.
Such schools as Illinois, Michigan and Arkansas have expressed in interest in Legion.
Legion, a Parade All-American from Detroit, left UK after six games. His godfather, Tim Green, said that Legion would visit Illinois. But the player’s mother, Annette, said Notre Dame would be the choice.
Notre Dame recruited Legion during two of his high school years. He’s also friends with Notre Dame guard Tory Jackson, a sophomore from Saginaw, Mich.
By the way, Legion’s mother said she planned to stay in Lexington, where she works as a minister.
“This is where my ministry is,” she said. “This is where my blessing is.”
Illinois is Alex Legion’s first choice for a new school, the player’s mentor and former AAU coach told the Chicago Tribune on Friday.
“We’re going there (Illinois) for a visit next week,” said Tim Green. “Illinois is No. 1 with him. It’s the only school he’s talked about wanting to visit.
“He had conversation with coach (Bruce) Weber they’ve had a chance to talk, great conversation.”
Illinois had some recruiting contact with Legion two years ago. But the Illini lost interest after getting a commitment from Eric Gordon, who subsequently shifted to Indiana.
Legion, who grew up in the Detroit area, originally signed with Michigan. When the school fired Tommy Amaker as coach, he re-opened his recruitment.
Illinois’s success with guards in a Final Four season of 2005 caught Legion’s eye.
“They’ve been successful with guards like Dee Brown, Deron Williams at Luther Head,” Green said told the Chicago Tribune. “He watched them play against Michigan State a couple of years ago and he likes
the way they play the game. He’s been watching them since ninth grade.
“We also like the Chicago market and what that could mean for a career outside basketball when he’s done playing.”
The Tribune noted that Billy Gillispie’s hard-nosed coaching style made Legion unhappy. Legion averaged 6.7 points and 17.5 minutes through six games for UK.
“It wasn’t a good fit,” Green said. “A coach can be a good coach, but there’s a different philosophy. He (Legion) doesn’t respond to that (style of coaching).”
When the subject turned to freshman Alex Legion, UK Coach Billy Gillispie seemed to indicate that the player was no longer on the team.
“We dealt with that last week,” the UK coach said more than once as reporters asked about Legion at a news conference on Thursday.
During a news conference last week, Gillispie noted that Legion had asked to return to the team. Gillispie’s response was, “We’ll talk,” he said.
If player and coach talked, they reached the conclusion that Legion would look for a new school.
When asked about any public relations setback in having a high-profile player leave after one semester, Gillispie said, “You try to do what’s best for the individual and what’s best for the team, and hope everyone prospers.”
When asked if he had released Legion to play for any team, Gillispie returned to his pat answer. “We dealt with that last week,” he said.
Legion is reportedly considering Illinois, Notre Dame, Michigan and Arkansas as a new basketball home.
Alex Legion will have options to consider when he leaves Kentucky this week.
The Chicago Tribune reported on Thursday that Notre Dame has interest in the guard. The newspaper in Champaign, Ill., reported Thursday that Illinois also has interest.
Assistant Coach Jerrance Howard’s brief stay at Kentucky made him a familiar face to Legion.
In an interview with the Detroit News on Wednesday, Legion said that four schools had expressed an interest: Illinois, Notre Dame, Michigan and Arkansas.
Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie left a message on the cell phone of Oak Hill Academy Coach Steve Smith this week. The message made Smith believe that freshman Alex Legion will transfer from UK.
In his message, Gillispie noted how it appeared Legion would transfer, and the UK coach wanted to thank Smith for his help in the recruiting process. Legion played for Oak Hill last season.
“I took it from that that (Legion) was definitely leaving,” Smith said on Wednesday.
Also this week, Legion’s godfather and AAU coach, Tim Green, said the player had decided to leave UK.
Freshman Alex Legion has decided he wants to transfer from Kentucky, the player’s godfather and mentor said Tuesday. This time there might be no wavering.
According to UK Coach Billy Gillispie, Legion has wavered between staying and leaving over the last two weeks. For instance, UK announced on Dec. 3 that Legion would transfer. Then three days later, Gillispie said Legion had asked to return to the team.
But Tim Green, the player’s godfather and former AAU coach, made it sound as if Legion wants to leave Kentucky and won’t change his mind.
“The bottom line is he’s ready to get out of there,” Green said. “ … Ultimately, in his heart, he wants to move on.”
Legion is still waiting for UK to grant him an official release, Green said. However, UK spokesman Scott Stricklin said Legion had been granted a release and was free to pursue any option.
Legion’s mother, Annette, said last week that playing time was not at the heart of her son’s consideration of a transfer. He was averaging 17.5 minutes and 6.7 points through six games.
Three years ago, Joe Crawford considered a transfer in the middle of his freshman year. Crawford was averaging 13.1 minutes and 3.8 points. He ultimately returned because the conditions set by the national letter of intent require players to stay at the school their entire freshman year. The penalty of not doing so is the loss of a year’s eligibility.
Legion does not face that penalty because he did not sign a letter of intent with Kentucky. He signed with Michigan, then looked for a new school when Tommy Amaker was fired as coach.
Legion was considered a recruiting coup for Kentucky. After changing his mind about Michigan, he had been considering Kansas and UCLA.
Gillispie persuaded Legion to visit UK first. During that visit, Legion had an impromptu meeting with Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry. The player, who has an interest in politics, considered it a “big deal” to meet the mayor.
“No other school did that,” he had said. “That stuck out to me. That told me they were real serious about their basketball. They actually knew I was into politics.”
During the pre-season, Gillispie’s demanding style made an immediate impression on Legion.
“I’ve never had a coach like him in my life,” Legion said before the season. “He expects 110 percent every time.”
Gillispie’s approach produced “the kind of pressure players need,” Legion said.
Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie said on Thursday that freshman Alex Legion wants to return to the team. (Hear Gillispie’s Thursday press conference, where he addressed the Legion situation.)
Legion, who left the team on Monday, told Gillispie of his wish to return during a meeting on Thursday.
Gillispie’s response to that desire? “I said we’ll talk,” the UK coach said.
Gillispie emphasized the need to avoid distractions going into Saturday’s game at rival Indiana.
“You can’t play great teams or become a great team with a lot of distractions,” he said.
Gillispie noted the many distractions this UK team has had to battle.
Freshman Alex Legion has not practiced this week. So if he does return (and that’s still not a done deal), he surely won’t play at Indiana on Saturday.
Billy Gillispie has made a point of saying how playing time is earned in practice. With Legion absent from workouts, it’s hard to imagine he’d play at Indiana.
Meanwhile, Gillispie has a news conference tentatively scheduled for Thursday. That would be a fine time for a conclusive announcement on Legion.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.