Illinois Basketball: Illini target Nimari Burnett has idea on commitment date
The biggest guard out on the transfer market is nearing a decision, and the Illinois basketball team seems to be involved in the action.
Back in mid-February, Illinois was being reported, by Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, to be “heavily in pursuit” of Texas Tech transfer, Nimari Burnett. A little over a month has passed since that news broke, and now there is more news on the Burnett front.
Weingarten is now reporting that Burnett is set to make a commitment between April 6 and April 10. The official commitment date hasn’t been set, but Burnett says he will make a commitment in that timeframe. Weingarten also goes on to mention that Burnett’s unofficial top six includes Alabama, Oregon, USC, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Illinois.
Burnett has now told @Stockrisers that Auburn is added to this list of programs that he will choose from. Pretty interesting, they have entered the mix recently and will have a shot at the former McDonald’s All-American. https://t.co/0I0pLsXmyM
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) March 22, 2021
What does this mean for Illinois basketball fans?
This is what Illinois fans have been clamoring for the last month. We know that Ayo Dosunmu is going to depart the program based on him being a junior and participating in the senior night festivities. That is the signal that is he gone.
We originally missed on Burnett the first time around, but that was when we were a bad team. The Illini have done some building since then, and now there are back-to-back seasons where we have proved that we can make the NCAA tournament as a high-level program on a consistent basis.
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As a fan, it would be huge to snag Burnett. He would be an instant plug-and-play piece. Yes, things didn’t go well at Texas Tech, but sometimes the fit just isn’t right. Could you imagine a backcourt of Andre Curbelo, Adam Miller and Burnett? That would be the most dangerous guard trio in the country.