The future of Illinois basketball looks to take shape as the Illini recently extended an offer to class of 2022 guard, Noah Best.
Illinois basketball is looking to add a guard to their depth chart, extending an offer to Best. Best will be graduating in 2022 out of Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx, New York. He is currently listed at 6-foot-5 and weighs 166 pounds. The shooting guard is unrated by 247Sports, though.
Illinois officially extended their offer to the high school junior on September 7. The guard has also received offers from Bryant, Manhattan, Robert Morris, and Saint Peter’s. There has been little discussion around where experts believe that Best is going to land.
Currently, the Illini have zero commits for the class of 2022. If Illinois can get the ball rolling with Best, it could set them up nicely to add more depth. Best seems to have a well-balanced game and can spread the court with his perimeter shooting. As my colleague Rees pointed out, development is going to be a key for the Illini and I believe Best could be part of that process.
Assuming that the shooting guard signs with the Illini, where would he fit in?
The Illini have only one commit in forward Luke Goode in the class of 2021 and zero commits for the class of 2022. So, this essentially leaves the current roster as the only way of predicting what a future at Illinois would look like for Best.
Assuming everyone stays, the other guards on the roster would be Jacob Grandison, Andre Curbelo, Edgar Padilla Jr., and Adam Miller. Based on the current prospects of what those guys all bring to the table, I believe that Miller and Curbelo would be the two starters at guard.
However, Best can certainly still play a role from the bench at Illinois. Best initially could play a role similar to that of Andres Feliz in 2019-20, which was coming off the bench with a lot of energy and bringing a spark to the offense. And, if his defense develops, Best could act as a Da’Monte Williams-type player for the Illini.
Regardless of how it turns out, the Illini are looking to strike early on this intriguing prospect. After striking out on a couple of recruits last week, it would certainly be nice to see the Illini get the momentum going with a commit. Let’s see what Brad Underwood and his staff do to bring in the new recruit.