Illinois Basketball: 5 players to watch from the updated 2022 ESPN 60

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 18: A. Illinois Fighting Illini logo is seen on the side of a basketball before the start of the during the college basketball game between the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 18, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Gradey Dick

Illinois is losing a lot of shooting talent in the coming years. It will be sad to see a player like Trent Frazier depart the program. But Brad Underwood has been great about reloading the team. Someone like Gradey Dick would help tremendously.

Dick is a 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard from Sunrise Christian Academy and resides in Wichita, Kansas. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 28 player in the class of 2022 and the No. 6 shooting guard in the nation. He is also the second-best player in the state of Kansas.

The new 2022 ESPN 60 has Dick a little higher than most of the recruiting sites. He tends to trend somewhere in the mid-30s but ESPN checks him in the top 30. Either way, this kid is a top 40 recruit and for a good reason.

Dick is a fun player to watch on the court. He can do a lot of things well. I love his ability to run the court. He is athletic and that is always a great thing for a wing player. His shooting ability is solid as well. Dick should be able to put up points when needed. The player he reminds me of is someone like Grayson Allen. The athletic and scoring ability combination is dangerous.

It is still really early in Dick’s recruitment, but Illinois is one of the teams who are contacting the kid. He does have a handful of scholarship offers including the likes of Kansas, Iowa State, Creighton and Baylor. I would bet the Illini come in with an offer soon too. Much like Mark Mitchell, it is going to be difficult to pull a kid out of the state of Kansas.

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