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Illinois Basketball: Keon Ambrose keeps Illini in top 10

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: The Lou Henson signature is seen on the court before the start of the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: The Lou Henson signature is seen on the court before the start of the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois basketball team moved one step closer to landing a big-time recruit on Monday night.

Keon Ambrose announced on Twitter that he has cut his top list down to just 10 teams. The 10 programs vying for his commitment include Arkansas, California, Arizona State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Dayton, Saint Louis, VCU, Florida and Illinois.

Ambrose is a 6-foot-8, 200-pound power forward from Andrews Osborne Academy in Toronto, Canada. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 80 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 14 power forward in the nation.

There are a lot of good teams on Ambrose’s list, but I think Illinois probably has an edge on most of the programs. The Illini have been recruiting this kid for most of 2019. A lot of the teams on this list only came in with an offer recently. Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Clemson, VCU and Saint Louis all offered Ambrose within the last 40 days. That is seven out of the other nine programs vying for his commitment.

Illinois is also going to need more help with the No. 4 spot. I would imagine Giorgi Bezhanishvili isn’t going to last four seasons with the program. He will likely have another great year this upcoming season and then play his junior year in Champaign. I would imagine he departs for the NBA after that. So, that would leave Illinois with a huge hole at the No. 4 spot. Ambrose could come in and start as a sophomore.

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I love the work Illinois has done with Ambrose’s recruitment. This coaching staff is good at getting international kids to come play for the Orange and Blue. Players like Andres Feliz and Kofi Cockburn have done wonders and will do wonders for this team. Let’s add another talented player like Ambrose to really help build the pipeline of international players.

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