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Illinois Basketball: Mac Irvin Fire key for the Illini in 2023

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball has seen success the past couple of seasons in part because they were able to recruit well from the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program.

Ayo Dosunmu is the most notable former Mac Irvin Fire player. He joined the Illini from the class of 2018 and helped elevate the Orange and Blue to two-straight NCAA tournament-caliber seasons. Just this past season, the Illini had three former members of the Mac Irvin Fire in Ayo, Adam Miller and Da’Monte Williams. It isn’t a coincidence that the Illini were a No. 1 seed in the postseason.

While the 2022 class might be coming to a close for Illinois, they have yet to have a commitment for 2023. This is where the Mac Irvin Fire could come into play.

Mac Irvin Fire could hold the key to Illinois basketball recruiting in 2023.

There have been some pretty amazing AAU teams Mac Irvin Fire has fielded over the years, and the 2023 group is up there with one of the best ever.

Leading the way for the Mac Irvin Fire is JJ Taylor. The 6-foot-8, 185-pound forward is a five-star recruit and the No. 3 player in the class of 2023. Taylor has north of 16 scholarship offers with the most recent coming from North Carolina. His recruitment is going to be difficult to win, but Illinois hasn’t had a player like Taylor come through their program in quite some time.

Illinois was one of the first teams to come in with an offer to Mac Irvin Fire star Matas Buzelis back in November 2020. The 6-foot-8, 175-pound forward quickly rose in the rankings and is the No. 33 player for the 2023 class. Needless to say, Mac Irvin Fire has some tremendous size.

Those are just the two big fish in the pond right now. The Mac Irvin Fire has a myriad of other players who aren’t ranked quite yet but have a tremendous amount of recruiting attention.

Davius Loury is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward who already has six scholarship offers, one being from Illinois. Darrin Ames, a 6-foot-3, 160-pound point guard, has roughly seven scholarship offers. Illinois has already offered him as well.

The 2023 class for the Mac Irvin Fire has some of the best players in the country, and colleges are validating that fact with scholarship offers. The Illini are trying to get a piece of that action.

Next. Chicago Bulls are setting up Ayo Dosunmu for success in the NBA. dark

Illinois is recruiting players from the Mac Irvin Fire because they do produce some of the best players in the country. The Illini have seen great success in recent years due to the fact they have been able to recruit the Mac Irvin Fire program well. Hopefully, this tremendous recruiting success continues into 2023, because the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program may hold the key to the future of Illinois basketball.

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