The Illinois basketball coaching staff continued to show they have recruiting power on Sunday afternoon.
I am impressed with the Illini class of 2022 as of right now. They have three players committed, two of which are in the top 100 nationally. The other, Reggie Bass, is an under-the-radar top 200 recruit. Illinois ranks No. 5 in the country for the 2022 class and No. 2 in the Big Ten.
Brad Underwood and Company are not done recruiting for 2022 just yet. They still have their eyes on some top talent. One of the talented players Illinois is one step closer to landing is Zach Keller.
On Sunday afternoon, Keller took to his Twitter account to release his top six schools. His list is now narrowed down to just Utah, Wake Forest, Colorado, Texas Tech, TCU and Illinois. This will be a tough list for the Illini to take down, but it doesn’t come as a shock that there are so many great teams wanting Keller. This kid is the real deal.
Keller is a 6-foot-9, 220-pound power forward from ThunderRidge High School and resides in Littleton, Colorado. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 76 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 10 power forward in the nation and the best player coming out of the state of Colorado.
Keller would be a massive get for the Illinois basketball program.
The Illini will be losing some serious size when the 2022-23 campaign rolls around. Kofi Cockburn is, most likely, going to be departing from the program. That leaves a big hole in the paint.
I think Omar Payne is going to do well in the two years he is with the Orange and Blue, but he is unproven as of right now. So, getting another big body into the program is going to be huge for the Illini.
Keller is the big body for the future. He can come in and, potentially, start right away for Underwood. Keller has the size to bang around the paint, and he can move really well on the court. He has a lot of the traditional big man abilities that I want at the No. 5.
Illinois making the top five for Keller was surprising, but now I want to win this recruiting battle. Keller would be a massive get for the Illini and a player who could help get us to the promised land.