University of Illinois Fighting Illini officially announced Wednesday the addition of two new players to their college basketball program. Devin Langford of Huntsville, Ala. signed a national letter of intent on the first day of the spring period while Bradley University transfer Sam Maniscalco, a badly needed true point guard, signed a tender of financial aid.
Langford is a 6-7, 190-pound swingman from Lee High School. He registered 17 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game, earning All-Tournament Team honors. Langford averaged 17.4 points and 7.0 assists as a senior. He earned a number of individual honors, including First-Team All-State by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, Elite First-Team by the Huntsville Times, and No. 3-ranked Super Senior by the Birmingham News. Following his senior season, he was selected to play in the 21st annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.
“He played practically every position for his high school, brought the ball up at times, played some center, and did a little bit of everything whether it was scoring, rebounding or blocking shots,” Weber said in a statement
Maniscalco is a 6-0, 175-pound point guard from right here in Chicago. He spent the last four seasons at Bradley downstate and will transfer to Illinois after receiving his bachelor’s degree in May. Maniscalco has applied for a medical hardship waiver and Illinois will apply for a transfer year of residence waiver in order for him to be eligible next season.
Maniscalco played in six games this past season before he was sidelined by an ankle injury and subsequent surgery. He averaged 13.1 points and 3.4 assists during his junior season, receiving Second-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference and NABC All-District 16 honors.
“Sam gives us a veteran presence and experience at the point guard position,” Weber said.
Langford and Maniscalco join the four Illini recruits who signed last November: point guard Tracy Abrams (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel), center Nnanna Egwu (Chicago, Ill./Saint Ignatius), guard/forward Mycheal Henry (Chicago, Ill./Orr) and forward Mike Shaw (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle).
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