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Illinois Basketball: Illini targets near top of new ESPN 60 recruiting rankings

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 class of 2021 is important for the Illinois basketball team, and there are some top recruits who are eyeing the program.

On Wednesday morning, ESPN released their updated ESPN 60 which features the top 60 recruits for the class of 2021. While the lone commitment so far – Luke Goode – doesn’t check in among the top 60 players, there are a few recruits who the Illini are strongly pursuing.

Jaden Hardy

Jaden Hardy checks in as the highest-rated recruit on the board for the Illini. ESPN has him as a five-star recruit who is the No. 5 player in the class of 2021 and has a grade of 96 out of 100.

Back on April 16, Hardy cut his list down to just 12 programs vying for his commitment. The 12 teams included Arizona, Arizona State, Georgia, UCLA, Texas Tech, Georgetown, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, Memphis, Kansas and Illinois.

I see Hardy coming in and starting from day one at the No. 2 guard spot. He is extremely athletic and has the shot to dominate in the Big Ten. He would also add to a team that is ready to win now.

Moussa Cisse

The next player the Illini are after for 2021 is Moussa Cissa. There are rumors he might try to reclassify for the class of 2020, but we will keep him in this class for now. He is rated as a five-star recruit who is the No. 8 player in the class of 2021 and has a grade of 94 out of 100.

Back on April 12, Cisse decided to trim his list down to his top 10. This list included Kentucky, Alabama, Memphis, Florida State, USC, Tennessee, Georgetown, Georgia, LSU and Illinois.

Cisse is an athletic big man. He isn’t terribly bulky, but he has great size that would help the Illini. I see Cisse coming in and starting for the Illini at the No. 5 spot. Kofi Cockburn might come back, but he would be gone by 2021. This would be a perfect transition.

Max Christie

The final player I want to point out on the ESPN 60 is Max Christie. ESPN rates Christie as a five-star recruit who is the No. 15 player in the class of 2021 and has a grade of 90 out of 100.

There hasn’t been a list cut for Christie yet, but it feels like only a few teams are really vying for his commitment. I would say Duke might have the lead right now. Illinois is right there, though. The winning the Illini have done the past season has to go a long way in pulling in top players like Christie.

Next. 3 reasons landing Luke Goode is huge for the Illini. dark

I love Christie’s game. He is an athletic player who can dominate from anywhere on the court. I could see him coming into the Illinois program and playing either the No. 2 or No. 3 immediately. He would fit seamlessly in with what Brad Underwood is doing.

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