Illini an option as 3 Rockford greats enter transfer portal
Rockford may never have had three bigger men’s basketball stars in the same season as AJ Storr, Sincere Parker and Marcus Hill this year.
All are now looking for new homes. ESPN reported Thursday that Storr, a second-team All-Big Ten guard from Wisconsin, has entered the transfer portal. Hill, a first-team all-Mid-American Conference pick who scored the fifth-most points in Bowling Green history this year (698), announced Wednesday that he was entering the portal. Parker, the first St. Louis player in 30 years to score 30 or more points in three straight games, entered the portal last week.
While Storr looks to be leaving one local Big Ten school, Parker may be joining one.
Parker, a second-team All-Stater at Rockford East when he led the E-Rabs to the state tournament as a junior in 2019, could join Illinois, which has advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Joe Tipton of on3.com now reports that Illinois is one of the teams that has contacted Porter.
Other teams that have reached out to Parker, Tipton reports, include basketball powers from around the nation: Mississippi, Georgia, Arizona State, DePaul, Oregon, Californica and Missouri, among others.
Parker, a 6-3 senior guard, was bothered by foot and shoulder injuries this year but averaged 15.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 16 games as a junior at St. Louis. He played only one year at East before moving to a prep school in Arizona, but led the E-Rabs to their first NIC-10 title in 37 years his junior season.
Storr, who moved to Kankakee after
his freshman year at Rockford Lutheran, led Wisconsin to a No. 6-ranking midway through the season. He averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 sophomore guard made the Big East all-freshman team the year before at St. John’s. Storr had earlier announced he was going to test the NBA Draft waters but retain his college eligibility.
Illini fans are also dreaming of landing Storr, according to clutchreports.com.
Storr, like Parker, has bounced around since leaving Rockford. His next school will be his eighth school since starting at Lutheran. He finished the season particularly strong. Storr scored 90 points in four Big Ten Tournament games, where the Badgers finished second to Illinois. He had 13 points and four rebounds in a firstround NCAA loss.
Hill, a 6-4 junior guard from Rockford Christian, averaged 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a junior for Bowling Green. He led the nation with nine consecutive 20-point games. He played only one year at Bowling Green after playing at a junior college in Alabama for two years.
Both Hill and Parker have one season of eligibility left. Storr has two.