Illinois Basketball: Illini target David Jones’ Crystal Ball has changed
It looks like there is growing confidence about who the next commitment for the Illinois basketball program will be.
It seems like a lot of momentum from the Luke Goode commitment has gone away. There were numerous targets out there for the Illini, but most of those targets have gone their separate ways. But the recruiting landscape continues to change by, what seems, the day. It looks like Illinois is in the mix and could be the landing spot for a player like David Jones.
Jones is a 6-foot-6, 195-pound small forward from Teays Valley Christian School and resides in Scott Depot, West Virginia. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 94 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 19 small forward in the nation. He is also the second-best player to come out of the state of West Virginia.
On Monday, Derek Piper of 247Sports put in his coveted Crystal Ball prediction for Jones. He has the talented wing player picking Illinois with a confidence of 7 out of 10. That means there is a solid chance this might happen.
This is an interesting update in the recruitment of Jones. It was almost a month ago today that Jones narrowed his list down to seven teams and included Pittsburgh, Houston, Maryland, Clemson, Oregon, Louisville and Illinois. Now it looks like the Illini may have taken a strong lead.
Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me to see Illinois in the lead for Jones. Coach Orlando Antigua has been a great recruiter for the Orange and Blue, and he has been able to land players with relative consistency. I also believe we have strong ties to the Dominican Republic. Jones is from the DR and that is where Andres Feliz was from as well.
I want a player like Jones on the team in the future. I love watching this kid play the game. The game comes naturally to him. He can hit shots from anywhere on the court. He is physical anywhere on the court. Some Illinois fans might not like to hear this, but Jones reminds me so much of Talent Horton-Tucker.
Next. Rerating every Illini recruit from the 2010s.. dark
Hopefully, the Crystal Ball prediction by Piper is on-point. Snagging another top 100 player would be good for the program. We could always use another wing player on the Illinois roster too.