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Illinois Basketball: Top 5 recruiting targets for Brad Underwood

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 14, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood reacts during the game against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood reacts during the game against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 9, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Fans hold signs from the stands in the first half between the Michigan Wolverines and the Illinois Fighting Illini during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 Mark Smith – Class of 2017

The Mark Smith train continues to gain speed as he continues to impress on the basketball court. He is now one of the only prized recruits left in the class of 2017.

Illinois started early on Smith back in late 2016. He wasn’t a known commodity before bursting onto the scene in some tournaments during the high school season.

Smith wasn’t even ranked nationally before a great senior campaign. Now he is the No. 78 player in the class of 2017 and he also won the Illinois Mr. Basketball award as well.

After Illinois offered Smith a scholarship a few months back, a bunch of teams started hopping onto the bandwagon. He now boasts 12 scholarship offers and he also has the likes of Kansas and Kentucky keeping an eye on him as well.

The recruitment of Smith has become more difficult now. He has all of these other programs after him and that really can get to a kids head. In addition to that, those teams can also say there was a coaching switch and that looks like instability in the program.

My comeback to that is the fact that the coaching change is a great thing. Winning is on the horizon for this Illinois program. They also kept Jamall Walker on staff, who is Smith’s main recruiter.

Next: Ranking the last 10 recruiting classes

Underwood has a tough task ahead of him. He needs to land Smith so the Illini can continue building this team into a powerhouse.

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