Semrau commits shortly after visit

One. That is how many visits Richard Semrau needed to decide on where he'd spend his college years. The 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward from Lutheran West High School in Rocky River, Ohio made his first, and now last, official visit and decided that was enough. The four-star prospect pulled the trigger and committed to one of the top programs in the country on Sunday evening.

After officially visiting Illinois, Semrau decided that he wanted to be a part of the Fighting Illini and verbally committed to the Big Ten power.

"I just got that feeling that I knew that was the place that I wanted to go," Semrau told Rivals.com on Sunday night. "That is where I want to be at.

"I was thinking a lot before the visit, about the players and coaches and how they all interact. I wanted to know how they all got along. They did. That just made it real easy."

Semrau said he was thinking about making a visit to Florida but "I just felt really good about Illinois and the situation there."

The big man should help the frontline with his ability to step out to the three point line and knock down the perimeter shot. His passing skills on the high blocks and improving rebounding skills will also factor into the rotation. Semrau believes he can help on the offensive side of the ball right away after playing with the team on his trip.

"I feel like my shooting ability can really help the team a lot. When I was there, we played for like two hours and I was hitting all of my shots," Semrau said. "But I know I got to get stronger. (James) Augustine is a big guy and he's real good. That just let me know that I need to get bigger. Plus, the pace of the game is so much faster than AAU and high school. That will be something I have to adjust to."

Getting Illinois back to the big dance is also on his to-do list.

"It means a lot to go there. I know most of the players will be gone when I get there but that makes me want to work harder and help get them back to the national championship game."