Cliff Alexander Update

I caught a glimpse of Cliff Alexander yesterday as his Chicago Curie team was in Champaign for the annual Shootout at the Hall. The event is normally held on the campus of Univ of Illinois in that mushroom/space ship known as Assembly Hall but this year the NCAA forced them to move the event off campus to the local JUCO for some reason. Cliff has a nice game for a sophomore. Nice mid range J, active feet, runs the floor well. They actually use him on the full court press guarding the inbound passer and he was very active in forcing some turnovers in the backcourt. I didn't see him post up much so that's probably still a developmental area of his game and like most young big guys he needs to improve his free throw shooting. Very big kid with solid frame, not wiry. Probably still growing based on his age and the fact that his feet seem disproportionately big for his body. Bruce Weber and his ace recruiting assistant Jerrance Howard were in the house. In the 2nd half some of the Illini players showed up to watch as well. I know Cliff recently cited MSU as the leader right now but as with any Chicago prospect I have to believe Illinois will end up with a good chance. Cliff was disappointed that he didn't get to play in Assembly Hall but there's talk that the event can be moved back on campus next year and he'll likely get another chance. That's a major recruiting tool. At least 4 or 5 of the current Illini played in the event on campus while in high school.