Illinois Basketball: Illini target Nimari Burnett sets commitment date

On Sunday night, plans for one of the biggest Illinois basketball targets were finalized.

Everyone has been waiting to see where Texas Tech transfer and Illini target Nimari Burnett would end up. He didn’t like his place with the Red Raiders, so the star guard wants a home where he can flourish. It looks like we will be finding the answer in the coming weeks.

Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers is reporting that Burnett is set to make his college decision on April 8, which would be two Thursdays from now. This decision is coming down to USC, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Illinois.

Whoever ends up landing Burnett is getting a great player who just needs a chance to shine. He wasn’t getting a ton of minutes as a freshman, but the former five-star has the ability to fill up the stat sheet.

Where does the Illinois basketball team stand with Burnett?

As of right now, it seems that Alabama has some momentum in the Burnett sweepstakes. It seems that the rumblings of him heading to the Crimson Tide are getting stronger and stronger. But the recruitment is not over by any means.

Burnett wants playing time right away, and there isn’t a better team suited for providing him playing time than Illinois.

Ayo Dosunmu is departing the program and heading to the NBA. But he isn’t the only Illini guard leaving Champaign. Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams are both, likely, departing the program as well. That means there are two starting jobs open for the future.

I see Andre Curbelo stepping into one of the starting roles. That would leave Burnett for the other spot. Having a backcourt of Curbelo, Burnett and Adam Miller would be dangerous.

No one is completely sure where Burnett will end up playing the rest of his college career. But we now have a commitment date. Hopefully, Illinois can continue getting closer with the star guard, so they can bring him on board.