Illinois Basketball: Ranking the last 10 Illini recruiting classes

3. Class of 2011

When the class of 2011 came into the Illinois basketball program, I thought this was the start of another run to the national title. But, I was wrong. This was another class that had so much potential on paper.

The best player out of this class probably ended up being Nnanna Egwu. He was a four-star star recruit who was the No. 75 player in the class of 2011 and the No. 9 center in the nation. Egwu would go on to be a dominant shot blocker and okay on offense. He will always be loved by Illini fans. He is also floating around the G-League and overseas.

Tracy Abrams was the other player who made a big impact on the Illini from this class. He was a four-star recruit who was the No. 65 player in the class of 2011 and the No. 12 point guard in the nation. Abrams started his career off well but dealt with injuries for two straight years. He would end up only making one NCAA tournament.

Mychael Henry was the highest rated recruit in this class. He was a four-star small forward who was the No. 61 player in the class of 2011 and the No. 12 small forward in the nation. Henry played two years at Illinois and then finished with DePaul. He played a lot with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA this past year.

Mike Shaw was another highly rated recruit in the class of 2011. He was a four-star recruit who was the No. 63 player in the class of 2011 and the No. 13 small forward in the nation. He spent two years at Illinois as well and then finished up at Bradley.

Illinois also had Devin Langford and Ibrahima Djimde in this class. They would both play for the Illini but never contribute very much.

The class of 2011 had so much potential coming in. It was depressing when Henry and Shaw transferred out because I think Illinois could have had some special teams. But, there were a few impactful players who ended up being special in the minds of the Illini fan base.