Illinois Basketball: Illini pitch to Francis Okoro is one of the strongest

While finishing the class of 2018 remains a high priority for the Illinois basketball team, the class of 2019 isn’t being ignored.

There are so many big-time players coming from the class of 2019 who would make the Illini go from a first or second round tournament team to a national title contender. Some of these players are must-gets for Brad Underwood.

The biggest recruit – in size and for depth – is Francis Okoro. He is a 6-foot-9, 225-pound big man from Normal Community West High School in Normal, Illinois. He is currently rated as a five-star recruit who is the No. 27 player in the class of 2019.

Okoro’s high school is literally one hour away from the State Farm Center when you google maps it. It is just a swing down I-74 and you are there. That is a huge advantage for the Illini when it comes to his recruitment. He can not only play for a Big Ten team who is competing, but he can also do it in front of his family and friends.

The Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament is going on right now and Okoro’s Normal West team is competing in it. They won in the first round over Limestone 59-51. Okoro ended up dropping 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. He also added seven rebounds as well.

Getting Okoro would be a huge accomplishment for Underwood and his coaching staff. This seems to be becoming a possibility as the days go on as well. After the first game, Kedric Prince had a chance to speak with Okoro about his future and what he is thinking college wise.

Okoro told Prince he will be at the Illinois game on Saturday against Grand Canyon. He will also cut his list to five programs and the Illini will make that list. This is great news if you are an Illini fan. We are about to be in the top five for a player who is one of the best in the class of 2019.

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I am curious who else will don this list, though. I imagine, in addition to Illinois, Okoro will add DePaul, Kansas, Vanderbilt and Alabama to his top five. This is a pretty stout list to compete with, but I think Illinois has a great pitch. They can give him great coaching. They can give him location. And, they can give him as much playing time as he can handle. That is going to be a hard pitch to beat.