Writing Illini
Fansided

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
Jan 17, 2017; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tracy Abrams (13) tries to get a shot off over Purdue Boilermakers center Isaac Haas (44) in the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2017; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tracy Abrams (13) tries to get a shot off over Purdue Boilermakers center Isaac Haas (44) in the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3 Class of 2011

One of the best looking recruiting classes Illinois has had since I have been alive came in 2011. This class looked to be really special.

The class of 2011 consisted of six recruits and four of those players were ranked in the top 75. That should be enough to contend for a Final 4 berth.

The highest ranked player was Myke Henry from Orr High School. He was a four-star recruit who was the No. 64 player in the country. He didn’t pan out, though. Henry ended up transferring out of the program and attended DePaul.

Nanna Egwu was the next highest rated recruit coming in at No. 67. He was a nice big center who blocked a lot of shots while in Champaign. He ended up being the best player in this class as well. He averaged 6.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game his final season.

Coming in as the No. 71 player in the class of 2011 was Tracy Abrams. He dealt with so many injuries during his career with the Illini and finally finished up this past season.  He averaged 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this year.

The final ranked player was Mike Shaw. He was the No. 75 player in the class of 2015 but ended up transferring to Bradley to finish up his playing career.

The other two players in this class were Devin Langford, who was a three-star recruit, and Ibby Djimde, who was a two-star recruit. Both players would play sparingly over the next few seasons.

This class came into Champaign with high expectations but didn’t pan out. No matter what, though, they still were a highly ranked group of players.

Home/Illinois Basketball