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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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Feb 18, 2017; Iowa City, IA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) shoots the ball as Iowa Hawkeyes forward Cordell Pemsl (35) defends during the second half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Illinois won 70-66. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4 Class of 2015

No matter how good or bad a class ends up being, that doesn’t affect my rankings. With that being said, the No. 4 class is 2015.

Illinois needed a class to help boost the program back to an NCAA tournament team. That was supposed to be the class of 2015. This class consisted of three players who were all four-star recruits.

The leader of this trio was Jalen Coleman-Lands. He was ranked as the No. 42 player in the class of 2015 and Illinois snagged him from the state of Indiana. He averaged 8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season.

DJ Williams was the next highest ranked player coming in at No. 47 in the class of 2015. He had so much potential for the Illini but under the previous regime wasn’t playing much. He finished last season averaging 2.3 points and .9 rebounds per game.

The final player in this class was Aaron Jordan. He was a four-star like the other two but wasn’t ranked nationally. He was still a great pickup for the Illini, though.

Jordan was from Plainfield, Illinois and when he entered the program many thought he was going to be a three-point specialist. Things haven’t gone as planned, though. He only averaged 1 point and 1.1 rebounds per game this past season.

This class has undoubtedly been disappointing but it came in highly touted. These are three talented players that can still rewrite their history with the Illini.

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