Illinois Basketball: Illini recruiting options for final two offers

The Illinois basketball team has had a few departures that will hurt the team moving forward.

Everyone knew Mark Alstork was going to be gone, but Leron Black and Mark Smith leaving the program really leaves a hole in the roster. To fill that hole, the Illini will need to add a few players. They currently have 11 scholarship players on the roster which includes the incoming class of 2018.

So, that means Illinois has two scholarships to play with right now for next season. What are some of the options to fill those two remaining slots?

Well, the obvious answer is Illinois needs another big player. I am not necessarily talking about someone who is 7-foot tall but someone that can fill the void left by Black. I want a 6-foot-7 or bigger traditional forward who can pull down rebounds and be a monster from 10-feet and in.

The player that has been on the Illini board for quite some time would be junior college transfer Austin Trice. He is a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward who is the No. 5 JUCO player in the class of 2018. Illinois is the favorite to land Trice right now with 67-percent on 247Sports. I would welcome in Trice because I think he would be a suitable replacement for Black. He can score and has a great knack for rebounding.

Another option as a big would be Jordan Caroline. He is more of a pipedream option, though. Caroline is a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward who is currently dominating with Nevada in the NCAA tournament. He is from Champaign and will be graduating this season. He would be a great addition to his 17.8 point and 8.7 rebound average.

Illinois has also been after Giori Bezhanishvili as well. He is a 6-foot-9, 230-pound big man who has some solid offers, but Illinois is projected to land him. I don’t know how much he would help year one but would be another body in the paint. He is also taking an official visit to Champaign next weekend.

Either of these three would take up one of the scholarship offers. Illinois needs another big player who can rebound. That is what they would get with all three of these players. I think the Illini could use another guard too, and that is where the other scholarship should go.

The No. 1 target for the Illini right now is Courtney Ramey. He is a four-star recruit how is ranked as the No. 40 player in the class of 2018. Ramey would become a starter day one for the Illini. He is the golden goose of the recruiting world right now, and Illinois has been recruiting him hard. I think they are right in the thick of things with his recruitment.

Tevian Jones is another option for the Illini. It seems like his recruitment slowed down a little bit after he visited on March 9, but he is going to take a few more official visits soon. He is a 6-foot-6 wing player who is a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 117 player in the class of 2018. I think Jones is going to be hard to snag. Illinois was his first visit which means they won’t have the freshest impression on him. Hopefully, they can still pull off a win for the program with the commitment of Jones, though.

Next: Top 5 Illini targets from Trinity Catholic

These are the main options for the final two scholarship offers right now. There have been more scholarship offers handed out over the last few months, but these are the primary players in my books. Who do I want? Realistically, I want Trice and Ramey. I think these two would really help the Illini immediately. But, recruiting is so fluid. Who knows what will happen in the next month or so. All I know is, the Illini need another guard and a big man.