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Illinois Basketball: Top target Mac Etienne spurns Illini for UCLA

By Rees Woodcock

TULSA, OK - MARCH 20: A view of the ball during the third round game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at BOK Center on March 20, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
TULSA, OK - MARCH 20: A view of the ball during the third round game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at BOK Center on March 20, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Just as it was revealed that the Illinois basketball team moved up into the top five nationally, the Orange and Blue miss out on their top target for 2021.

After missing out on a couple of big-time recruits, the choices were slim for the Illini. But Mac Etienne remained the top target for the Illinois class of 2021. He was a big-time No. 5 who had a strong relationship with the coaching staff in Champaign.

That relationship came to a screeching halt on Monday afternoon as Etienne decided to end his recruitment. After narrowing his list down to just four teams back on November 16, Etienne decided to put the speculation to bed as he committed to the UCLA Bruins.


After taking his lone official visit to Illinois right before everything was shut down due to the pandemic, it seemed like the Illini were in the driver seat for Etienne. Illinois’ coaching staff even did a couple of Zoom calls with the talented big man.

But the allure of UCLA was just too much at the end. Illinois has again missed out on a talented big man who was needed for this program.

Where does the Illinois class of 2021 look like?

It is pretty simple; Illinois only has one commitment as of right now and that is Luke Goode. While extremely talented and a top 100 recruit, Goode can’t go out there and win a national title by himself.

In addition to just missing out on another big-time recruit, Illinois doesn’t have much in the way of big-man talent moving forward. Kofi Cockburn is most likely gone after this season leaving Illinois looking for answers at the No. 5 spot.

Some of the names Illinois should start pursuing even harder now would be Wesley Cardet Jr., a talented and big guard out of Florida. Honestly, as far as top talent goes, that is probably the only player on the board right now.

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It has been an absolute bloodbath for Illinois when it comes to top guys and the class of 2021. There have been so many close calls, but we keep missing out. The last resort would be the graduate transfer route, and that seems to be more likely by the day.

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