University of Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Player Profile - Alex Legion

Player Profile: Alex Legion
Position: Guard
Height: 6'5"
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Detroit, MI

Player Summary

Legion was a highly rated player in high school and was one of the key members of Kentucky's last recruiting class. For whatever reason, it didn't work out at Kentucky and he decided to choose to transfer to Notre Dame or Illinois. Illinois fans will be happy to see him on the court. He'll have a little rust to shake off from sitting out most of last year. And, it's unclear when Legion will be eligible to play this year, but it should be around late December/early January. Whenever he is eligible, he'll have to play his way into the rotation, and it's hard to know how long or difficult that will be.

Statistics for '07-'08 Basketball Season (with Kentucky)

Minutes: 17.5
Points: 6.7
Rebounds: 1.8
Assists: 1.3
Steals: 1.5
Blocks: 0.2

Player Strengths

Admittedly, I haven't seen Alex Legion play very much. From what I've heard, his biggest strength is his shooting and mid-range game. He finds a way to score and is pretty athletic. Legion gives the Illini some needed height in the backcourt. I would guess that he'll have a little bit of a chip on his shoulder and will want to prove that his high school ranking wasn't a fluke.

Player Weaknesses

He's athletic enough to play good defense, but reports are that that is one of his weak spots. Another weakness is simply the fact that he will not have played in over a year when he next steps into a college basketball game.

Player Projections

Alex Legion and Jamar Smith were able to keep each other company in practice and pal around since neither was eligible to play last year. It will be interesting if they developed any chemistry when both are on the floor at the same time during the season. I think Legion will have to ease his way into playing substantial minutes when he is eligible. Depending on how the team and the guards are playing, he might have a lot of competition in the backcourt. But, you can never have enough shooters on the floor. He's eligible for 2 ½ years with the Illini and if he spends all of that time in college (instead of opting for early entrance into the NBA), he could be a real good one for the Illini.

Projected Statistics for Illini '08-'09 Basketball Season

Minutes: 20.0
Points: 8.0
Rebounds: 2.0
Assists: 2.0
Steals: 1.5
Blocks: 0.2

Sources:
www.espn.com
illinois.scout.com/