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Illinois Basketball: Illini class of 2018 confidence meter

By Rees Woodcock

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks reacts in the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks reacts in the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: The ball goes through the hoop during warm ups before the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

5. Tamell Pearson (Confidence: 6 out of 10)

There are a few under-the-radar big men in the class of 2018. Illinois needs this position in the worst way, and Tamell Pearson could be a sneaky pickup.

Pearson is a 6-foot-9, 190-pound power forward from Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Illinois. He isn’t rated by Scout or 247Sports but he is a three-star recruit according to Rivals in the class of 2018. Pearson doesn’t have a ton of recruiting attention yet, though.

As of right now, Pearson has 11 scholarship offers but most of the programs are lower Division I teams. The only power five conference programs to offer Pearson is Illinois, Oklahoma State and Washington State. This bodes well for the Illini in the recruiting game.

Pearson hasn’t really broken his recruitment down but he would be a nice addition to an Illinois team that needs him. They need a No. 5 for 2018 and into the future and that is what he would bring to the table. I could also see Pearson being another reason for Dosunmu to come to Champaign as well. They both play on the same high school and AAU team. These two would be great together in 2018.

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