Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: Illini claim one of the top four in-state recruits

By Rees Woodcock

CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 20: Two basketballs are stuck in a net prior to the game between the Wofford Terriers and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on December 20, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wofford won 79-75. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 20: Two basketballs are stuck in a net prior to the game between the Wofford Terriers and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on December 20, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wofford won 79-75. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Illinois basketball team has a history of snagging some of the top in-state players every year.

Has this waned over the last few coaching regimes? Sure, it has been frustrating at times seeing the best players in the state – usually from the Chicago area – head elsewhere. They should be staying and playing for the Orange and Blue. The class of 2018 kind of echoed the same sentiment except, this time, Illinois secured arguably the best player in the state in Ayo Dosunmu.

Joe Henricksen of the Chicago Sun-Times came out with his final top 13 ranking of the basketball talent in the state of Illinois for 2018. This ranking had some good players from top to bottom, but the top four really caught my eye.

George Conditt came in at No. 4. He is committed to Iowa State but had Illinois on his radar for a while. No. 3 is Zion Griffin. He had some interest from Illinois but also committed to Iowa State. No. 2 on this list ended up being Dosunmu. He is committed to Illinois and is the best player in the state by every other recruiting site. And the No. 1 player according to this ranking is Talen Horton-Tucker. He had Illinois up there the entire time before picking Iowa State as well.

So, Henricksen has three of the top four players in the state of Illinois as Iowa State commits and the one who isn’t is heading to Champaign. A few things stand out to me about this list. One is that the Cyclones did amazing in this class. While it wasn’t the greatest class to come out of Illinois, it is still a solid lot of players.

The second thing that sticks out to me is how great the Maui Invitational is going to be this year. The bracket hasn’t been set, but there is a real possibility the Illini are going to matchup against the Cyclones at some point this winter out in Hawaii. Without really having much of a connection in the past, Iowa State and Illinois could easily develop a rivalry on the court and off with the way the Cyclones are taking the state of Illinois by storm.

Next: Projected Illini starting lineup with Francis Okoro

This upcoming Maui Invitational is going to be fun. Illinois has a chance to possibly play the likes of Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga and Xavier. But, the underrated matchup would be Iowa State. This is something to keep an eye on later this year.

Home/Illinois Basketball