Illinois Basketball: Illini have a few targets in the new ESPN 25
The last few recruiting classes have been interesting for the Illinois basketball team.
Illinois’ transition from John Groce to Brad Underwood really mucked up the recruiting waters. The Illini ended up snagging some talented recruits, but we also lost a few players too. The class last season was Underwood’s first real group of players that he put time and energy into. This was a solid class featuring a top 40 player.
The class of 2019 is looking to be pretty good. Kofi Cockburn and Antwan January will surely be joined by another talented recruit. There are players that Illinois is currently eyeing for the class of 2020 as well. These recruits will help build the future. And then we get to the class of 2021. This is a little ways off, but there are some talented recruits who are already being ranked in this class.
It is never too early to start recruiting players. This process sometimes starts at the middle school level but once they enter high school, the recruitment of these players really ramps up. ESPN actually just released their ESPN 25 for the class of 2021. This list features the top 25 ranked players from this class.
There are some names that jump out on this list. One of the names is Max Christie. This kid is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard from Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. He is rated as a five-star recruit who is the No. 9 player in the class of 2021. He has been wowing people in the state of Illinois since coming to the high school ranks. The Illini should be strong after him.
The other player on the list that stands out is Adrian Griffin. He is a 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. He is rated as a five-star recruit who is the No. 12 player in the class of 2021.
Some might ask why Griffin is on this list. Well his brother, Alan, currently plays for the Illini and was a class of 2018 commit. There is a possibility of having both of the Griffin’s on the same team. That would be incredible for Underwood and his coaching staff.
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The class of 2021 is still a few years away, but there are some talented players who the Illini should have their eye on. This could be a class that takes us from a sweet 16 contender to a national title contender.