While most of us expected the outcome of the Francis Okoro commitment last night, it still hurt deep down for many reasons. One of the reasons it hurts is that Okoro is playing high school basketball less than an hour away from Champaign. The location was so close and yet, the recruitment was so far away.
Another reason the loss of Okoro to Oregon hurt so bad was that Illinois needed a player like him. With the departure of Leron Black, Illinois has little to no experience at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots on the floor.