Illinois lands Virginia forward Davis

Illinois spent all spring and summer chasing down recruits in the Class of 2008 with no official success.

Now that the Illini have caught one of their targets, they plan to bring him into school immediately to give them a seventh newcomer for the 2007-08 season.

Six-foot-8, 200-pound combo forward Mike Davis of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., committed to Illinois at the close of his campus visit over the weekend.

T.C. Williams coach Ivan Thomas, an assistant at Schaumburg when it won the 2001 Class AA title, said Davis plans to sign at 11:30 a.m. today.

"He's a late bloomer," Thomas said. "This year he came out of nowhere like a whirlwind."

Davis, who had offers from Auburn and Clemson and interest from several perennial NCAA Tournament teams, originally planned to attend a postgraduate prep school.

"He qualified when he graduated," Thomas said. "That's not why he was looking at prep school. It was whether he could hold up with the competition -- whether he was strong enough.

"Then he went out on the summer (AAU) circuit and did well. Better than well."

Davis will fill the scholarship that opens once power forward-turned-tight end C.J. Jackson's ride officially switches to the football rolls.

Davis averaged 16.7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks on a 25-4 team that spent most of the season atop the Washington Post's regional rankings. But don't assume he's solely a post player.

"The player he most reminds me of back there is Brian Cook," Thomas said. "The body size, the style of game. Mike can shoot. Mike can put the ball on the floor. Mike can post up.

"This kid is athletic. He can do everything. He's very smooth. He's laid-back, but he's a skilled player."

Though a relatively skinny late-bloomer, Thomas says there has been no talk of Davis being an automatic redshirt.

His addition gives Illinois six freshmen on scholarship to go with one sophomore, four juniors and two seniors.