From his 45-point sectional championship game against Danville to the various facial expressions after every dunk he makes, senior point guard Mark Smith has always had a flare for the dramatic on the court—and the announcement of his National Letter of Intent was no different.

With just 21 days remaining to sign with a Division I school, 4-star Smith announced on Wednesday, April 26, that he will be playing basketball at University of Illinois next year by revealing an Illini polo shirt underneath his Tiger basketball pullover during a press conference at EHS.

“Throughout the recruiting process, (University of Illinois) stood out above the rest,” Smith said. “It has everything I was looking for: a world class academic reputation, a passionate fan base, a great history and tradition, a style of play that is exciting and offers me the opportunity to be a part of something big and take one of the best college programs back to the top again.”

The Lucco-Jackson Gym was crawling with coaches, teammates and fans, as it had been most of this season. All had high hopes as they sat on the bleachers awaiting the announcement of EHS’s first Mr. Basketball—and for good reason.

“He was pretty vague on specific schools throughout the recruiting process,” senior teammate Zach Doornink said. “He didn’t have much of a reaction to the big schools.”

In the end, it was the first Big 10 school to offer him that caught Smith’s eye. Smith is the fifth EHS player to continue his academic and athletic career at University of Illinois, joining Don Ohl, Mannie Jackson, Govoner Vaughn and Tom Dezort—but Smith will be the first to do so since 1970.

“I’m excited to play there. I want to make my state proud,” Smith said. “I think (coach Underwood) has a good plan for me.”

And coach Underwood is just happy to have Smith in Champaign helping him execute his plan to revive Illinois basketball.

“He will impact our program in many different areas,” coach Underwood said. “This is a big day for both us and (Smith), as he has now achieved the goal of being able to represent his home state by wearing the Fighting Illini jersey.”