The recruiting trail has cooled over the past few weeks for the Illinois basketball team.
Jayden Epps was the most recent commitment, and he verbally pledged back on July 13. Since then, the Illini have actually lost a commitment. The team now has two players committed for 2022, and a national recruiting ranking of No. 17.
With at least one scholarship now available for 2022, Illinois needs to find a player who can come in and put in minutes early on in his career. They may have found that in Cameron Corhen.
Corhen is a 6-foot-9, 205-pound center from Sunrise Christian Academy and resides in Allen, Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 114 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 18 center in the nation and the No. 4 player coming out of the state of Texas.
On Saturday, the confidence Illinois will be able to land Corhen increased tremendously as Derek Piper of 247Sports put in a Crystal Ball prediction for Corhen. He has the Illini landing the big man with a seven out of 10 confidence. Anything above a six out of 10 is a near lock in my eyes.
Corhen is the big man of the future for the Illinois basketball program.
I think all Illini fans need to feel lucky that Kofi Cockburn returned for the 2021-22 campaign. I had him pegged as gone, and I think most fans thought he wasn’t coming back whether that be via the NBA or transfer portal.
Kofi is back for another year, but I would imagine this is his final season with the Illini. That means the No. 5 spot is going to be wide open in 2022.
The best option seems to be Omar Payne, but we haven’t seen him on the floor yet. Payne was also a lackluster player in two seasons with the Florida Gators. Another option would be to go more athletic and more of a stretch player in Coleman Hawkins, but this wouldn’t be an ideal situation considering Hawkins is more of a No. 4 than a No. 5.
With that being said, Corhen would be an instant contender for the No. 5 spot as a freshman. He would, at minimum, be in a timeshare with Payne in the role. That is how much of an impact I think Corhen can make on the Illini.
Corhen is an athletic freak who can do anything you want him to do on a basketball court. He has good handles for his size and can work his way around the paint. His paint presence is amazing as well. Corhen can rebound and use his great physical strength to get the ball to the hoop.
I haven’t even mentioned his ability to actually shoot the ball. While Corhen dominates the paint with his inside presence and shot-blocking ability, he is also a tremendous shooter. He can step out and shoot the three-point shot. I also love his 10-foot mid-range game. He is the complete package.
Honestly, I am not sure why Corhen isn’t inside the top 100 nationally. The kid is a beast and would be a great addition to the Orange and Blue. Let’s make this happen.