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Illinois Basketball: 5 biggest misses in the last 5 Illini recruiting classes

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 7, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; The national anthem is preformed prior to the first half before a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; The national anthem is preformed prior to the first half before a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
CHAMPAIGN , IL – NOVEMBER 13: The Illinois Fighting Illini logo on a pair of shorts during a college basketball game against the Georgetown Hoyas at the State Farm Center on November 13, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

The last five recruiting classes have helped shape what we see today with the Illinois basketball team.

Some of the most legendary players have come through the Illinois program in the last five recruiting classes. Ayo Dosunmu is one of the players who come to mind. He took a chance on Brad Underwood and a struggling Illini team. This chance has paid off as the Orange and Blue are one of the best teams in the nation heading into the upcoming campaign.

Kofi Cockburn was also in the last five recruiting classes. Illinois fans have rarely seen a physical specimen of his ilk and might not see one like him anytime soon. There is a solid chance that Kofi goes down as the greatest big man in the history of the program.

But throughout the last five recruiting classes, there have also been some pretty big misses on paper. Some of the misses you can blame on the previous coaching regime and the lack of being able to land the big fish. This was a trend in the John Groce era.

You can blame some of the misses on a coaching change at Illinois that was good for the long run but affected recruiting in the short term. And then you have some recruiting anomalies that you might not ever find out the full truth about.

Here are the five biggest misses in the last five Illini recruiting classes.

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