9/15 Big Ten Morning Power Bar: Illinois in Strong Pursuit of 4-Star Forward Landers Nolley

Every week, BTPowerhouse’s Big Ten Morning Power Bar will detail what’s going on across the league on the recruiting trail.

The fall recruiting period has begun. A flurry of in home visits from coaches and official college visits from players led to a slew of developments in the Big Ten recruiting landscape.

Let’s take a look at this week’s recruiting headlines.

Landers Nolley Draws High Interest from Illinois

Since his hire in late March, Brad Underwood has gone to great lengths to leave his recruiting mark on the Illinois program. Though only one recruit has committed, there is certainly bang for the buck. Mark Smith was targeted high and wide, garnering offers from blue bloods around the country, but ultimately elected to stay in state and draw the first notch on Underwood’s recruiting belt. It was a huge win for the new coach and program alike, and most importantly, set the tone for the level of talent that the Fighting Illini would and could successfully pursue. On Saturday, a trimmed list from 4-star forward Landers Nolley would keep that trend running.

In addition to Illinois, Nolley’s list of 8 contains Florida State, UConn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, North Carolina State, and Virginia Tech. Though Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State remain in contention, Nolley refrained from setting an official visit.

Nolley has certainly received the full gamut of what Illinois has to offer in the past two weeks. After an official visit to Champaign to kick of September, Underwood and his staff headed to Georgia for an in-home visit less than a week later. The message they delivered was clear – come to Illinois, and the minutes will follow.

“I would be a good fit there,” Nolley told Zagsblog. “They play high paced with a lot of shots. I could play about 25-28 minutes per game.”

With one visit in and four scheduled visits remaining, the timetable is set, as Nolley will make his commitment on Halloween.

Andrew Nembhard to Visit Ohio State

While R.J. Barrett grabs the headlines, another 2018 reclassified, Canadian, Montverde Academy guard has slowing been building a case for 5-star supremacy. Andrew Nembhard, the 6-foot-4 point guard and Barrett running mate, currently ranks 7^th in his position for the 2018 class, and 31^st overall.

On Thursday, Nembhard released his final four schools. Joining Gonzaga, Florida, and USC are the Ohio State Buckeyes. That comes as welcomed news, as the program is set to host the guard on an official visit to Columbus this weekend.

As the Holtmann era begins, one glaring need for Ohio State remains at the point guard position. Securing a talent like Nembhard would go a long way towards sustaining success in the short term and beyond.

Iggy Brazdeikis Impressed by Michigan on Official Visit

The Michigan Wolverines hosted 4-star wing Iggy Brazdeikis for an official visit last weekend, and he came away impressed.

“[The visit] was really good, they really took care of me and my family,” he told Zagsblog. “We had a great time. We learned a lot and I saw their style of play and the players work out. I enjoyed everything.”

Beilein and co had a busy weekend. In addition to Brazdeikis, the program hosted 3-star wing Justin Ahrens. The action-packed month of September rolls on this weekend, as 4-star guard Noah Locke comes to town.

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Check back next week for more Big Ten recruiting headlines.