Illinois Basketball: Jordan Nesbitt picks Memphis over Illini, Saint Louis
The Illinois basketball team received some bad news on Thursday afternoon.
Brad Underwood and the Illini had a handful of prime targets for the class of 2021 heading into October. But one of those targets has decided on greener pastures.
On Thursday, St. Louis product Jordan Nesbitt decided to pick Memphis over Illinois and Saint Louis. This is a move that saddens Illini Nation but was expected after seeing momentum swing the last couple of days.
Just last week, the 247Sports “experts” had their Crystal Ball Predictions pointed toward Illinois. But this week, that all changed. The Crystal Ball’s started coming in for Memphis. More predictions followed and, on Thursday, every prediction had the talented wing heading to the Tigers.
Where does this leave Illinois?
Nesbitt is a fine player who would have helped the program, but he isn’t the be-all and end-all for the class of 2021. The 6-foot-6, 180-pound small forward was ranked as the No. 73 player in the class of 2021. He isn’t a top 50 recruit we just lost out on.
Also, players on the wing are easier to come by then a great point guard or legendary big man. Illinois needs to focus their time and energy on landing a replacement for Kofi Cockburn. I am talking about someone like Mac Etienne.
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Don’t get me wrong, Memphis is getting a really good player in Nesbitt. But this isn’t the end of the world for Illinois. We have options out there who could fill the scholarships we have left on the table. Let’s finish the class of 2021 strong.