Prized recruit Alex Legion Leaves Illini

By Paul M. Banks

Special thanks to Illinois Loyalty.com for the picture

It’s yet another move for the highly heralded recruit, who just can’t seem to find a spot anywhere. Junior guard Alex Legion (Detroit, Mich.) has left the Illinois basketball program. “Alex is a good kid who faced a difficult situation in returning to the court last year at semester break,” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. “He worked hard during his time here and gave great effort. We wish him the best and we’ll do whatever we can to help him in his transition.” When he came to Illinois last year, he was rated the highest recruit of the Bruce Weber era at the time.

Legion de-committed from his hometown Michigan Wolverines twice, and also played at (and left) the University of Kentucky before coming to Champaign. Because of his nomad ways, the peripatetic player has (whether deservedly or not) developed a reputation as sort of a head case. But during his time with the Illini he was a model citizen, avoiding any Jamar Smith/Brian Randle/Rich McBride type incidents.

Legion played in 33 games during his Illini career, totaling 107 points (3.2 avg.). He scored a career-high 15 points last year at Michigan State, and had a season-high 11 points vs. Presbyterian on Nov. 21.

“I appreciate the support from the U of I fans, my teammates and coaches,” Legion said. “I look forward to the next step in my collegiate career.”
That will no doubt be on the D2 or D3 level, where he can step in and be a star (at least) or the main go-to-guy (at most).

For more Legion, here’s The Sports Bank video exclusive we did with him at Media Day this year.