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Illinois Basketball: Illini one step closer to landing Colin Castleton

By Rees Woodcock

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)
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) /
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Illinois basketball fans had a reason to get excited last night. The Illini are now in the top two for a top 100 recruit.

Colin Castleton took to Twitter to announce that he has cut his list down to just two programs. Those two teams are Michigan and Illinois. This young up-and-comer is going to be heading to the Big Ten and either Illinois fans are going to be excited or they will be upset because the team will have to play against this kid twice a year.

This cut to two teams comes about a month after he cut his list down to eight programs. That came on August 21 and now he has cut out Notre Dame, Florida State, Ohio State, Baylor, Purdue and most notably, Florida. Dropping Florida was a shocker to me.

Just two days after Castleton cut his list to eight teams he was offered a scholarship by Florida. He was then quoted in saying the Gators was his dream school. He also took an official visit there on September 15 and that is when I thought Illinois would lose him. I thought there was no way Castleton was leaving the Florida official visit without a commitment. I was wrong, though. I was extremely wrong and now extremely surprised.

Illinois was actually Castleton’s first official visit and him keeping the Illini alive means they really made an impact on this kid. Now all Illinois has to do is get past Michigan and they have a really good player signed up for 2018. The Wolverines had their head coach, John Beilein, visit Castleton on September 20 and the official visit is scheduled for September 29.

Location clearly isn’t a factor for Castleton. He didn’t commit to Florida which likely means he wouldn’t see playing time early on in his career. That bodes well for Illinois. They could use this kid immediately and I think he would have an edge on the starting No. 5 spot in 2018. He is a 6-foot-10, 215-pound big man who is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 70 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 20 power forward in the nation. Getting him would be a big accomplishment for Brad Underwood.

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At one time I counted out Castleton but it looks like Illinois is now in the thick of things. They are in his top two and I think they are going to land this talented kid from the Sunshine State.

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