Illinois Basketball: 10 Impact Recruits in the Last 10 Years

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Feb 7, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward/center Nnanna Egwu (32) stands on the court after a time out during the 2nd half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /

The career of Nnanna Egwu wasn’t the most historic in Illinois basketball history. He was a very impactful player, though.

Egwu came to Illinois via the class of 2011. He was rated as a 4-star recruit that was the No. 67 player in the country.

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I always thought that Egwu would develop into a rebounding machine but that never happened. He was an all-around solid player, though.

Egwu could block shots with the best players in program history.

Right now, Egwu sits as the career leader in blocked shots. He has 201 and the next highest is Deon Thomas who had 177.

Egwu also is second in single-season block total with 73 in 2014. He is only second to Derek Holcomb who had 86 in the 1979 season.

Illinois wasn’t particularly good in the time that Egwu was there. They only made the postseason one time and they also had a coaching change.

But, despite the turmoil at Illinois, Egwu was one of the best shot blockers Illinois fans have seen and may ever see again.

Next: No. 8

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