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Illinois Basketball: Blue bloods starting in on Francis Okoro

By Rees Woodcock

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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The class of 2019 is about the big men for Brad Underwood and the Illinois basketball team.

Illinois is already thin in the paint heading into the 2017-2018 season and that will likely continue through the following year as well. But, the class of 2019 could start changing things for the Orange and Blue

The biggest target for the Illini in the class of 2019 is Francis Okoro. He is a 6-foot-9, 225-pound power forward from Normal Community West High School in Normal, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 27 player according to 247Sports and the No. 35 player according to Scout in the class of 2019. He is also the No. 1 player in the state of Illinois that year as well.

Okoro will start blowing up in the recruiting game. He already has a few handfuls of scholarship offers from good programs but last night one of the blue bloods came in with an offer. Kansas decided to start recruiting Okoro in hopes of landing another big man from the state of Illinois.

This offer really makes me nervous because Bill Self, Jerrance Howard and company all have ties to the state of Illinois and can recruit well. They have pulled talented players from this state and Okoro looks to be next on their radar. This is going to be a big challenge for Underwood.  But need will, hopefully, be a big draw for the Illini.

When 2019 rolls around all Illinois will have in the paint is Greg Eboigbodin and Matic Vesel. They haven’t played a single minute of college basketball so, as of right now, you can’t put too much stock into what they will bring the team. That means there will likely be plenty of room for Okoro to step in day one and start for this Illinois program.

In addition to the time Illinois can provide him on the court, he also doesn’t live too far away from campus either. Normal is less than an hour away and all you have to do is hit I-74 and you are there. The accessibility would make it easy for Okoro’s family and friends to see him play every night. That is a luxury very few teams can provide.

Next: Adam Miller has Illini as a top interest

Yes, the scholarship offer by Kansas worries me. They can recruit well and they have a great winning history, but Illinois still has a ton to offer Okoro. Location and playing time are two huge factors in any recruit’s decision and, hopefully, they are important to him during his recruitment as well.

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