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Illinois Basketball: Rerating every Illini recruit from the 2010s

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - MARCH 08: Kofi Cockburn #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini breaks up a scuffle between Da'Monte Williams #20 of the Illinois Fighting Illini and Connor McCaffery #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the game at State Farm Center on March 8, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - MARCH 08: Kofi Cockburn #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini breaks up a scuffle between Da'Monte Williams #20 of the Illinois Fighting Illini and Connor McCaffery #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the game at State Farm Center on March 8, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 22: Jereme Richmond #22 of the Illinois Fighting Illini goes to the basket against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Assembly Hall on January 22, 2011 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State won 73-68. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 22: Jereme Richmond #22 of the Illinois Fighting Illini goes to the basket against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Assembly Hall on January 22, 2011 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State won 73-68. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

10. Jereme Richmond (Old: 4-star/0.9890 – New: 4-star/0.9586)

There have been a few players through the 2010s who have frustrated me by the fact they didn’t pan out the way they should have panned out. Jereme Richmond is one of the players I think about and ask, “what if?”

Richmond was a 6-foot-7, 205-pound small forward coming out of Waukegan High School and residing in Waukegan, Illinois. He was rated as a four-star recruit who was the No. 29 player in the class of 2010 and the No. 6 small forward in the nation. He also had a composite rating of 0.9890.

To the day, Richmond is one of the most talented kids Illinois has landed in the last couple of decades. He had all of the hype in the world and showed it in his first season with the Illini. Richmond had a chance to play in 31 games and started in five of those contests under Bruce Weber. He averaged 7.6 points, 5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Richmond should have stayed around for at least another season. But he got some bad advice and departed for the NBA. This ended up being a mistake. He would go undrafted and end up getting himself into some legal trouble that would land him in prison. The kid is getting his life back on track the last time I checked, though.

It kills me to think about what the Illini could have been with Richmond. He came into the program as a four-star with a rating of 0.9890. I think he was a great player, but I would drop him a little bit. I see him more as a four-star with a rating of 0.9586.

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