NFL
By: Melo Williams
AJ Storr the 2023 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year from St. John’s, turned Wisconsin Badger earned 2024 2nd Team All-Big Ten and 2024 Big Ten All-Tournament Team Honors in his sophomore season with the Badgers have declared for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility.
— Aj storr (@storr_aj) March 26, 2024
Storr made his presence felt immediately on the Big Ten scene in his debut against Arkansas State scoring 15 points, then scored a team-high 17 points against No. 9 Tennessee. In the first match-up against Michigan State, Storr delivered a game-high 22 points along with 5 rebounds against Michigan State. He then scored a game-high 29 points against Chicago State.
AJ’s first double-double of the season was against Minnesota, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He then scored 28 points in back-to-back games against Michigan State and Nebraska. His second double-double of the year was vs Ohio State scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in a win. Against Iowa, Storr finished with 21 points and gave the Badgers 19 points and 7 rebounds in a win against Rutgers.
In the regular season for the Badgers, Storr averaged 16.8 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 43.4% from the field, and averaged 22.5 points per game during the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, which included a career-high 30-point performance against Northwestern earning 2024 Big Ten All-Tournament Team Honors.
This is where I believe it gets interesting for AJ Storr.
Though AJ has entered his name into the NBA Draft leaving open his college eligibility, as of now Storr hasn’t entered his name into the transfer portal. I believe Storr gathers information about his draft stock and then makes another decision if returning to college or remaining in the 2024 NBA Draft is his best option.
I spoke with NBA Draft Historian about Storr’s NBA Draft potential, he said this.
“Off the top of my head, he’s a top 75 player if everyone comes out that we suspect. He’s got a chance in the second round but I would be surprised if he stayed in the process. A lot of players use this time as information gathering which is smart. I suspect he will wait to see what NBA teams are telling him before making the final judgment on staying in the draft or going back to school.”
I have a feeling that AJ Storr returns to college and enters his name into the transfer portal seeing what that market presents for him for the second time, which was a success the first time joining the Wisconsin Badgers.
I believe AJ Storr commit to the University of Illinois where he originally committed in 2022 before decommitting after lead recruiter, Coach Chin Coleman left Illinois for an assistant coaching position at Kentucky.
Illinois will lose Terrance Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask to the NBA Draft.
According to 247Sports, Illinois has the 20th ranked class in the 2024 overall rankings with commitments from 4-Star Morez Johnson Thornton Township (Harvey, IL), 4-Star Jase Butler The Branson School (Point Reyes Station, CA), and 3-Star Jason Jakstys Yorkville (Yorkville, IL).
With the possibility of Ty Rodgers, Dain Dainja, Luke Goode, Justin Harmon, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, and Amani Hansberry all returning, without Storr will make Illinois pre-season favorites to win the Big Ten next season even with Washington, UCLA, USC and Oregon joining the Big Ten Conference. Add AJ Storr to the rotation and Illinois is set up to run the Big Ten conference depending on how this season’s March Madness tournament ends, Illinois could be in contention for back-to-back National Championships.
After losing to Illinois in the Big Ten Championship, watching Illinois advance to the Sweet 16 and possibly further, previously committing to Illinois with thoughts knowing he could’ve been a part of this Fighting Illini run, and being from Rockford, IL, I believe is all weighing heavy on Storr’s mind.
At the end of it all, I believe Storr gathers his draft stock information, enters his name into the transfer portal, and the University of Illinois presents AJ with a national championship caliber team, a great coach in Brian Underwood, and a nice NIL deal with other opportunities bringing him back home to Illinois and enter his name into the 2025 NBA Draft.
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