Illinois Basketball: Illini focused on guard play with latest 2022 offer

The list of players the Illinois basketball program is pursuing for 2022 continued to grow on Tuesday.

Illinois is currently after a plethora of talented recruits for the 2022 class. Reggie Bass is the lone commitment right now, but there are sure to be more to pledge over the next 12 months. One of the new names on the list of targets is Jayden Epps.

Epps is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound combo guard from King’s Fork High School and resides in Suffolk, Virginia. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 61 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 11 combo guard in the nation and the No. 4 player coming out of Virginia.

It seemed that the Epps’ recruitment had ended, as he committed to Providence back on March 29. But that commitment lasted less than two months. On May 18, the talented guard reopened his recruitment and the offers started to flow in.

Epps has roughly 15 scholarship offers as of right now, which includes the Illini offer from a few days ago. I will be curious to see if Illinois can get in the mix for Epps. He was offered by new Illini coach Chester Frazier when Frazier was with Virginia Tech. I believe that is the main reason why Illinois came in with an offer to Epps just days ago. This is a Frazier recruitment.

What would Epps bring to the Illinois basketball program?

Epps is an extremely talented guard who can play multiple roles. That is what Illinois would need him for come 2022. The Illini are losing a ton of talent after this season, so having Epps as a top 75 player coming in and being able to play either the No. 1 or No. 2 guard spots would be extremely important. He would see playing time right away and then be a starter within a year or two.

I love the way Epps plays the game of basketball. He has a smoothness about his play that really attracts me to his game. Epps is good at every aspect of basketball. He can hit shots from everywhere. I love that he has a developed body and uses it in the paint. Epps also seems to be a floor general. He is someone who commands the floor, and that is what I want.

The comp that comes to mind when watching Epps is Andres Feliz. Epps has more size, but his style of player reminds me a lot of the former Illini bulldog.

Epps has a bright future ahead. Hopefully, Illinois can get in the mix for him and continue to build what should be a great 2022 class.