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Illinois Basketball: Illini move closer to landing Bryce Golden

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: The Lou Henson signature is seen on the court before the start of the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: The Lou Henson signature is seen on the court before the start of the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois basketball team moved a step closer to landing their final member of the class of 2018 on Friday afternoon.

Bryce Golden narrowed his list from six teams down to just four programs. His original list consisted of Wichita State, UConn, Syracuse, Georgetown, Butler and Illinois. But, he has now eliminated Wichita State and UConn. This leaves four talented teams vying for this top big man left in the class of 2018.

Golden is a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward from St. James School in Sharpsburg, Maryland. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 185 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 7 player in the state of Maryland. His recruitment recently ramped up due to him decommitting as well.

Originally, Golden had committed to Pittsburgh. He had been committed to the Panthers since June 2017. He ended up signing with Pittsburgh but decided to reopen his recruitment when they fired their head coach. Now Golden is looking for a new home.

Official visits are still being set up for Golden, but it looks like he did take an official this weekend to Syracuse. I imagine all four programs will get an official, so they can give their pitch. But, Illinois has to be one the most attractive destinations right now.

Illinois needs depth at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots on the court. They took a huge hit when Leron Black decided to head to the NBA about a month ago. This eliminated the starting No. 4 for the Illini next season. Illinois is now looking for his replacement and if they go with the current roster, they would either be really small or too big and inexperienced.

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If Golden comes in, I wouldn’t doubt if he is in serious contention for starting at the No. 4 spot for the Illini. He has the game to be an impact player for this Illinois program. Hopefully, Brad Underwood and the coaching staff can close the deal and finish up the class of 2018 on a strong note.

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