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Former Illinois State assistant Anthony Beane has joined the Southern Illinois coaching staff, and his son Anthony Beane Jr., a high school senior guard, has received his release from his letter of intent from Illinois State and has committed to Southern Illinois.

Beane was an Illinois State assistant from 2000-02 and 2007-2012. He recently departed the staff after head coach Tim Jankovich left Illinois State for SMU and Dan Muller was hired as Jankovich’s replacement.

Beane is the third assistant named to Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson’s staff.

“When they made the selection of Dan Muller, I know Dan, and he’s a really good guy,” Beane said. “I had a previous relationship with him. It made it interesting. The main reason to go ahead to Southern Illinois was I knew coach Hinson, and he’s a very, very experienced coach. It was also closer to an area where we’re familiar with. I also felt my family needed a fresh start at this time.

“It was definitely difficult to leave because I’m very close to the players. I know I’m leaving good people. You have to dispose of personal feeling and do what’s best.”

Beane Jr., a 6-2 guard at Normal Community High School, was recently given his release from Illinois State and followed his father to Southern Illinois. He averaged 16 points, five rebounds and two assists during his senior year. He will be on scholarship at Southern Illinois.

“Certainly as his father, having a chance to coach your son is truly a blessing,” Beane said. “I certainly think he’s stepping into a better situation than at Illinois State. I think he’ll have a chance right from the being to compete and play right away.”

Former Illinois shooting guard Crandall Head committed to SMU on Thursday.

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Illinois State announced Wednesday freshman point guard Nic Moore has been granted his release and will transfer from the program.

Moore started 29 games and averaged 10 points, 3.9 assists and 2.3 rebounds as a freshman. He was named to the Missouri Valley's all-freshman team.

Moore is allowed to transfer to any BCS program.

Moore was recruited by former Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich, who recently departed for SMU. Dan Muller was named Illinois State's coach on Monday.

"As soon as coach Jankovich left, I made up my mind and knew I wanted to go play for a BCS program," Moore said in a statement. "It didn't matter who was going to be the head coach. My decision had already been made."

Muller had no hard feelings over Moore's transfer.

"As a proud alumnus and new head coach here at Illinois State, I appreciate all Nic did for this program on-and-off the court," Muller said in a statement. "I have really enjoyed getting to know Nic over the past couple of days and wish him nothing but the best of luck."

Moore played at Warsaw High School and was the runner-up in Indiana's Mr. Basketball voting in 2011.

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Multiple times during the past month -- in the wee hours of the morning, when he couldn't sleep -- Bruce Weber grabbed his cellphone from the nightstand and began to text.

Often he'd send four or five messages. Other times it was 10 or 20. Eventually, Weber plans to respond to every text he received the week after he was fired from Illinois.

The problem?

There are more than 1,000 of them.

"I've got about 200 left to return," Weber said. "Coaches I didn't even know were contacting me. Former players, guys that are playing in Europe … so many people reached out and said, 'Thank you. You did things right. You affected me.'

"It made me feel so good. I was basically being eulogized every day."

Weber stops and chuckles.

"Somebody actually told me, 'You got to live through your own wake,'" he said.

Weber's time at Illinois may be finished, but his career is far from dead. Twenty-two days after his nine-year run with the Illini came to an end, Weber was hired to replace Frank Martin at Kansas State.

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UIC coach Howard Moore announced the addition of two junior college transfers on Friday.

Jordan Lankster, a 6-foot-5 wing, and Carlos Henderson, a 6-9 center, both transferred from Murray State junior college in Oklahoma to UIC. The pair will have two years of eligibility left.

“Jordan and Carlos are two tremendous additions to our team and our program,” Moore said in a statement. “They come to UIC with some very valuable experience at Murray State College under head coach Randy Rutherford. I expect both Jordan and Carlos to immediately contribute to our team next season.”

Lankster averaged 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds , 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals last season. Henderson averaged 6.3 points and 6.7 rebounds last season.

With the addition of two players, UIC now has seven players in its 2012 recruiting class. The Flames had eight new players last season, but recently announced three of their freshmen were leaving the program.

Former Illinois guard Crandall Head said Wednesday he plans to visit SMU next week, but he is also still considering attending DePaul next year.

Head, a sophomore shooting guard, left Illinois after the school’s first semester in December. He did not enroll in junior college in the spring and will have to sit out all of next season wherever he transfers.

Head said his visit to SMU came about because of his relationship with former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard, who was recently added to Larry Brown’s staff at SMU. Howard recruited Head at Illinois.

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DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke assistant Chris Collins says he's not pursuing the vacant coaching position at Illinois State.

Collins issued a statement through Duke on Monday saying he'll remain the Blue Devils' associate head coach.

Collins says he has "a great love and strong emotional ties to" Illinois State. His father Doug played for the Redbirds before beginning his NBA head coaching career.

Collins says he discussed the job with Illinois State athletic director Gary Friedman on Sunday. Collins says he wants to be a head coach, but "it was not the right fit for me and the university at this time."

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Former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard said Monday his departure from the Illini’s staff was best for the program and himself.

Howard, a former Illinois assistant and player, spoke publicly Monday for the first time since leaving Illinois and joining Larry Brown’s staff at SMU. Howard had been an assistant under former Illinois coach Bruce Weber for five seasons and was named the Illini’s interim head coach when Weber was fired in March.

Illinois named John Groce as Weber’s full-time replacement, and Groce decided to not retain Howard on his staff. Howard was still under contract with Illinois until he resigned to join SMU’s staff.

“It was difficult,” Howard said of leaving Illinois. “I thought it was the right thing for Coach Groce to move in a different direction. I think it was the best decision for everybody. Change is hard. Sometimes with change, the best thing is to start from scratch.

“I didn’t want the players to use me as a crutch. If they didn’t like something, I didn’t want them coming to me complaining every time. I think it was best for everybody.”

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Illinois-Chicago coach Howard Moore announced Friday that freshmen Jerome Brown, Rob Robinson and Greg Travis will not return to the team next season.

All three are former Chicago Public League players. Brown attended Morgan Park, Robinson went to Simeon, and Travis was from Curie.

“We would like to thank Jerome, Rob and Greg for their contributions to the UIC basketball program, and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors," Moore said in a statement.

Brown averaged 2.8 points in eight games last season. Robinson averaged 1.6 points in 11 games. Travis averaged 4.0 points and 2.1 assists in 25 games, which included four starts.

Freshman point guard Anthony Fields will transfer from Wake Forest to Bradley.

Field averaged one point and one assist in 24 games during his freshman season at Wake Forest. He will sit out the 2012-2013 season and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“We are very excited to add Anthony to this year’s recruiting class,” Bradley coach Geno Ford said in a statement. “He is a leader, great kid and high-quality student. We are expecting him to have an impact to our program in many areas.”

Fields joins Oak Park (Ill.) senior guard Ka’Darryl Bell and Dodge City Community College forward Tyshon Pickett in Bradley’s 2012 recruiting class.

Southern Illinois freshmen Dantiel Daniels and Treg Setty and recruits Bobo Drummond and Travis Wilkins have all requested their releases, but none of them have granted yet, according to a school spokesperson on Wednesday.

Daniels, a 6-foot-6 forward, started 25 games and averaged 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks during his freshman season.

Setty, a 6-9 forward, started 10 games and averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds during his freshman season.

Drummond, a 5-10 high school senior, was considered the Salukis’ point guard of the future. He played for La Lumiere Academy in Indiana and for the Illinois Wolves’ club program. He signed with Southern Illinois in November.

Wilkins, a 6-3 guard, also signed in November and played this past season at Snow Junior College in Utah. He spent this first two years after graduating from high school on a Mormon mission.

All four players were recruited by former Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery. Lowery was fired in March after eight seasons. Barry Hinson was named his replacement last month.

Illinois coach John Groce and new assistant Isaac Chew made the rounds at Chicago area high schools on Monday and Tuesday.

The coaches hit up Curie, Orr, Proviso East and Whitney Young on Monday. Their first stop was at Simeon on Wednesday, and they planned to visit up to four or five other schools before the day was done.

“It was the first two days I could be out,” Groce said by phone after leaving Simeon. “I wanted to make sure we establish we’re very interested in Chicago and continue to build relationships with people we already know and meeting others we need to get to know better. The state of Illinois is very important to us, and Chicago is a big part of it.”

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Prospect senior guard Mike LaTulip said he will remain a preferred walk-on at Illinois after meeting with new Illini coach John Groce on Friday.

LaTulip, a 5-foot-11 combo guard, was recruited by former Illinois coach Bruce Weber. He originally committed to the Illini in September.

LaTulip averaged 22 points and four assists and made 77 3-pointers during his senior season.

“I had a fantastic day, and I’m without a doubt sticking with Illinois,” LaTulip said. “The new coaching staff across the board was phenomenal.”

LaTulip is Illinois’ lone Class of 2012 recruit. Crete-Monee point guard Michael Orris received a release from his letter of intent from Illinois on Friday.

Former Louisville forward Jared Swopshire will transfer to Northwestern, according to a source familiar with the situation.

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Chicago native Isaac Chew has been the final assistant added to new Illinois coach John Groce’s staff, according to a source.

Chew joins the Illini after one season as an assistant at Missouri. He also previously was an assistant at Murray State for four seasons, an assistant at Indian Hills Community College and an AAU coach for the Kansas City Pump ‘n Run.

Chew grew up in Chicago and starred at Wells High School in the Chicago Public League. He was the Public League Blue West Player of the Year during his senior season. He played collegiately at Iowa Lake Community College and Avila University in Kansas City.

Groce named Dustin Ford and Jamall Walker, who were assistants to Groce at Ohio, to his staff on Monday.

Groce announced Tuesday he would not retain Jerrance Howard, a four-year Illini assistant and former Illinois player. Howard is still under contract with Illinois and will not be paid for his two remaining years if he takes a position at another school, according to a school spokesperson.