Illinois Basketball: Illini losing Reggie Bass is best for both parties

The Illinois basketball class of 2022 took a hit on Tuesday night as a member of the family decided to depart.

Entering Tuesday, the Illini had three players committed for 2022. Jayden Epps is the highest-rated recruit checking in at No. 61 nationally. Sencire Harris isn’t too far behind at No. 98 in the 2022 class. And then we had Reggie Bass, who was the No. 188 player in the nation.

Now Illinois only has two players committed as Bass decided to back away from his commitment on Tuesday night. This doesn’t come as a big surprise to many.

What is the meaning of Bass backing away from the Illinois basketball program?

I don’t think Illini fans should put too much negative stock into Bass reopening his recruitment. In the long run, I believe this will be a great thing for the program.

The main recruiter for Bass was former Illini assistant coach, Orlando Antigua. Antigua departed the program and went to Kentucky. Having a new coaching staff at Illinois can make a player rethink his commitment. Thankfully, the other two pledges for the Illini committed with the new coaching staff in place.

For Bass’ career, I am not sure how much playing time he was actually going to get in the first couple of years with the Illini.

Illinois brought in a great guard in Brandin Podziemski and two solid wing players from the 2021 class. For 2022, Epps and Harris are both coming in and they are strong guards who can play the No. 1 through No. 3 spots on the floor, and they are ranked higher than Bass. So, Bass backing out isn’t a terrible business decision on his part.

Let’s look at the Illinois basketball roster construct and how this decision will affect the program.

If you look at the roster and who has a chance to return next season, you will realize that Illinois has 10 scholarships taken just by players returning. Technically, the only players we are guaranteed to lose are Alfonso Plummer, Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams. I also have Kofi Cockburn departing. That leaves 10 coming back in 2022-23.

Prior to Tuesday, Illinois had three players committed for 2022, so that would bring the scholarship count up to 13. That means the Illini wouldn’t have another scholarship available for the class of 2022. This would be bad for the program because there are some big fish we are close to catching.

AJ Casey is still out there and is interested in the Illini. He is the No. 33 player in the class of 2022. Cam Whitmore confirmed with the Writing Illini that Illinois is still in contact with him and is a contender. He is the No. 53 player in the class of 2022. Illinois also needs a big man, and they are in the running for Cameron Corhen. He is the No. 114 player in the class of 2022.

So, some Illinois basketball fans might be worried that we lost a recruit, but I think this will be a good thing in the long run. There are still some big fish to catch, and I think this coaching staff can reel in a monster or two.