Illinois Basketball: Dynamic Florida forward receives Illini offer

New Illinois basketball assistant coach Chester Frazier is putting in the recruiting work in hopes of continuing the recent success of the program.

I think it is fair to say Frazier has had a positive impact on the Illini since joining the staff a few months back. While it did hurt to lose the talented coaches who helped lead us to the NCAA tournament the last couple of years, Frazier has done a solid job picking up where they left off.

Already, Frazier has been a key force in landing top 100 recruit, Sencire Harris. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard out of northeast Ohio will be a big-time player for the Orange and Blue in the coming years. Frazier is also looking at the distant future with his relationship building, as he recently offered a scholarship to Ryan Jones.

Jones is a 6-foot-8, 200-pound small forward from The Rock School and resides in Gainesville, Florida. He isn’t rated or ranked just yet because he is from the class of 2024, and the rankings for this class aren’t even close to being fully out.

Jones would bring tremendous size and talent to the Illinois basketball program.

It doesn’t surprise me that Frazier is offering Jones a scholarship this early in the game. You can tell Jones is going to be a pretty good player, and his size already jumps off the page. Jones is only entering his sophomore season in high school and is 6-foot-8. He will dominate in the state of Florida.

Jones isn’t just a big body at the high school level, though. He is going to dominate you, but he does it in multiple ways. Physically, Jones can bully his way in the paint and finish with great touch. I also love his ability to step back and hit shots from anywhere on the court. He has an extremely versatile game.

I look at what Jones does on the court and he reminds me of someone like Michael Porter Jr. He has the big body to do work in the paint but has a killer three-point shot. I would imagine Jones grows a couple of more inches to reach the 6-foot-10 height that Porter plays with as well.

Look for Jones to rise in the recruiting rankings for 2024. This kid is a special talent. Frazier and the Illini are smart for offering this kid early in his recruitment. Hopefully, that relationship continues to grow and get stronger.