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Illinois basketball one step closer to landing Aaron Henry

By Rees Woodcock

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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The Illinois basketball team moved one step closer to securing their first class of 2018 commitment.

Aaron Henry decided to take the weekend to cut down his top list. He ended up eliminating all but five programs which included Ohio State, Butler, Michigan State, Xavier and Illinois. This is a solid list of programs that all would value getting a player like Henry.

Henry is a 6-foot-5, 200-pound small forward from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 197 player according to 247Sports and the No. 344 player according to Scout in the class of 2018. When looking at the recruiting sites it is hard to get a good feel for this kid. The recruiting sites differ so dramatically.

When I watch this kid play basketball I see someone who should probably be ranked around No. 100. He has some skills that could put him higher but he seems to have a few limitations. Let’s start with the deficiencies first.

Henry seems a little slow on the court. Brad Underwood is going to want to run the ball up and down the court and having a slower player isn’t conducive to his offense. But, that can all change with a good offseason workout plan, and we all know how good Adam Fletcher is as the strength and conditioning coach.

I also think Henry’s shooting can improve as well. Can he shoot from the outside, sure, but it isn’t one of the things that he specializes in. Again, Underwood’s offense shoots at a high rate so having someone who can shoot from the perimeter is important. But, Henry brings an aspect to Underwood’s offense that he will need as well.

Despite Henry not being terribly fast, he can find a gap to get into the lane. This enables him to get a closer shot to the basket and the closer the better because that creates points. Underwood wants to score in bunches and Henry can help with this cause.

I really do like Henry as a player, and the way he plays reminds me so much of Malcolm Hill coming out of high school. Hill could shoot and wasn’t too fast, but his specialties were driving the ball. He could glide through the lane and get the ball into the hoop with buttery touch. That is exactly what I see with Henry.

Next: Illinois Basketball 2018 roster with top in-state recruits

Henry has talent and I am glad he kept the Illini in his top five. He could be the first domino to fall for Illinois in the class of 2018.

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