Illinois Basketball: Ranking the Illini Recruiting Classes for the Last Decade

When the class of 2010 rolled around there was excitement in the air for the Illinois basketball fans.

This was supposed to be the class that took the Illini back to the promise land.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Weber landed a class that consisted of a 5-star and two 4-star players.

The prized recruit in this class was Meyers Leonard.

Leonard was a 5-star recruit who was the No. 19 player in the class.

The highest rated player that Weber ever snagged was Leonard.  This marriage didn’t turn out the way it was planned, though.

Leonard didn’t play much as a freshman but then burst onto the scene as a sophomore.  That year was going smoothly until the team completely collapsed.

Illinois finished 17-15 that year and Weber was fired.

Leonard would then declare for the NBA Draft.  He has since made a name for himself and just signed a big contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The other two in the class, Crandall Head and Jereme Richmond, were both 4-star recruits and ranked No. 80 and No. 31 in the class of 2010, respectively.

I thought this trio was going to be special but Head ended up transferring out of the program after two seasons with the team.

Richmond would go on and attempt to get drafted.  He failed to do so and then got in some serious legal trouble that landed him in jail for multiple years.

The class of 2010 came in with so much potential but flamed out in such heartbreak.  They still rank as the No. 2 class in the last ten years.

Next: No. 1 Recruiting Class