Illinois Basketball: Illini future could change with Oscar Tshiebwe decision

This could potentially be a big week for the Illinois basketball team when it comes to the class of 2019.

Kedric Prince of Rivals.com published via Twitter on Sunday the recruiting plans of big-time Illini target, Oscar Tshiebwe. According to the post, it looks like on Wednesday, Tshiewbe will call coaches and let them know his decision. He will then make an official announcement on Saturday. This is big for the Illini.

Prince goes on to write that Tshiebwe says that Illinois told him how important he is to the program and why they need him. I think there are so many obvious reasons why this Illini program needs this big man.

Let’s first start off with depth. Illinois doesn’t have a big-time No. 5 on the team as of right now. If this coaching staff wants to get back to the Sweet 16 or better, then they are going to need a big man at the No. 5 spot that other teams fear. That isn’t happening with what we have right now. It could happen if some of the talent we have develops, but I am not going to hold my breath with that one.

So, depth is a huge sell on why Illinois needs Tshiebwe. Another sell is playing time. Playing time goes hand-in-hand with the lack of depth on the roster. Tshiebwe can come into the Illinois program and start day one and play as many minutes as humanly possible. Honestly, I don’t think the other three programs that are on his list can offer the same deal.

Another strong pitch for coming to Champaign would be development. Brad Underwood took Leron Black and made him into a much better player than he was the year before. Black went from averaging 8.1 points per game to 15.3 PPG. I believe he could make Tshiebwe into a dominant player as well.

The final pitch for the Illini would be the surrounding cast. Tshiebwe could come into this Illinois program and have a team around him that is ready to win. The Illini backcourt is really talented, and they also have some great wing players as well. This team is young and hungry.

This upcoming Saturday is going to be huge for the Illini. They could possibly land a top 20 player for the class of 2019. Do I think they will pull it off? History says no, but I have seen weirder things. This would be a big one for Underwood and Company.