No. 3 Charlie Moore
I want Illinois to get all sorts of talented players when they are coming out of high school, but then there are the players that I think could bring the Illini back to national prominence with their talents.
Charlie Moore was one of those players when he was coming out of Morgan Park High School. He was so talented and I wanted the previous coaching regime to land him.
But, that didn’t happen and Moore ended up committing to California. He was a four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 72 player in the class of 2016 and the No. 1 player in the state of Illinois. He was also Illinois Mr. Basketball that year as well.
Moore had a good freshman campaign with the Golden Bears. He averaged 28.8 minutes per game and in that time put up 12.2 points, 2 rebounds and 3.5 assists. This is the production I expect from a true freshman.
Now Moore has decided to transfer to move back closer to home due to family issues. I hope everything is okay with his family first and foremost. All of this recruiting stuff is nonsense compared to real life situations. I hope he commits to a program that is best for his family situation, whether it is Illinois or not.
Now, getting back to basketball, if Moore does select the Illini they would add to the best backcourt in the Big Ten that will already be there. Te’Jon Lucas and Trent Frazier are going to be great together, but then you add a player like Moore and I don’t see anyone stopping us.
Moore lands at No. 3 on this list because he would be transferring in and would have to sit a year before playing. But, I still think he would be a great pickup for the Illini.