Illinois Basketball: Mindset is shifting for Illini class of 2019

As the days go on I continue to think about what would be the best case scenario for the Illinois basketball team when it comes to the class of 2019.

No matter how many best-case scenarios I have come up with over the past year, none of them have come to fruition. I remember the days of potentially landing a top 10 player in Kahlil Whitney. That was a fun four seconds of my life and I am clearly over it. There have been other top players Illinois failed land for 2019 as well.

So, while kind of pessimistic, my brain has started to shift from thinking in terms of best case scenario to thinking about would I be happy with this class if it came out a certain way. This starts with players who I think the Illini are more likely than not to land for 2019. Considering Illinois only has three scholarships available for this class, it will be interesting to see who they land.

I would put Terrence Shannon in the category of more likely than not to land. Since he backed away from his commitment to DePaul I believe Illinois has had the lead. Come November 1, when he makes his decision, I think Shannon picks the Illini.

I think the next most likely player Illinois can land for the class of 2019 is Jason Jitoboh. He is a big man who has Illinois in his top four. A commitment date isn’t set, but Jitoboh is taking his official visit to Champaign starting on Thursday, October 11.

And the third most likely player for Illinois to land right now is Quincy Guerrier. This would be a great pickup for the Orange and Blue. He just took an official visit to Champaign this past weekend. Illinois could use a player like Guerrier.

So, would I be happy with a class comprised of the No. 48 player in Guerrier, No. 81 player in Shannon and No. 219 player in Jitoboh? Well, this gives the Illini two top 100 players who both play the wing and a big man in Jitoboh for depth in the frontcourt. I think this would fill the voids on the team. Illinois has a good backcourt right now and will for, probably, next year as well. So, yes, I would be happy if Illinois landed this class.

There are a few pipedreams out there as well. Illinois is still alive for a player like Drew Timme who is the No. 41 player for 2019. They technically still have a shot at Oscar Tshiebwe who is the No. 22 player and Kofi Cockburn who is the No. 31 player. But, for these individuals, I am not going to hold my breath.

The class, I believe, Illinois can land this year is listed above. Those three players would help fill voids on the team and gives Illinois more talent at different positions. I think Illinois can be a top-tier Big Ten team with the addition of these three recruits.