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Illinois Basketball: Ranking the last 10 recruiting classes

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders run on the court before a basketball game against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders run on the court before a basketball game against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 9, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Leron Black (12) shoots the ball as Michigan Wolverines forward D.J. Wilson (5) defends in the first half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 8 Class of 2014

Illinois needed to get back on track after missing the NCAA tournament the year prior to the class of 2014. They should have had more depth to this class but only managed to get two players.

These two players were pretty talented, though. The highest rated of the two recruits was Leron Black.

Black was a four-star recruit from Memphis, Tennessee. He was rated as the No. 49 player in the nation for the class of 2014 and Illini fans were excited to see what he could do.

The career of Black has been shaky so far. He shows promise every year and he can clearly do some special things on the court. This past season he averaged 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the 20.2 minutes he was receiving. If he can stay out of foul trouble and trouble off the court then I think the next two years will be great.

Michael Finke was the other recruit in this class. He was a three-star forward who could do a lot of different things on the basketball court.

Finke was a great pickup for the Illini because he is so versatile. Hailing from Champaign, Illinois, this hometown kid still has a chance to put a mark on this program.

If the class of 2014 would have had more players added to it, the ranking would have been higher. No matter what, though, this class consisted of two special players.

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