Illinois Basketball: Illini in top 9 for top Michigan recruit

Illinois basketball has done a great job recruiting for the future, and they are now in line for another talented prospect.

Ranked as the No. 18 class in 2022, the Illini have two talented recruits already committed. Jayden Epps is the No. 56 player for the 2022 class while Sencire Harris checks in at No. 88. Both players will do wonders for the Orange and Blue. But Illinois is by no means done recruiting for next year. Another player they have been eyeing is Ty Rodgers.

Rodgers is a 6-foot-7, 195-pound small forward from Grand Blanc Community High School and resides in Grand Blanc, Michigan. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 65 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 18 small forward in the nation and the best player coming out of Michigan.

This past Thursday, Rodgers decided to narrow the scope of his recruitment. He ended up cutting his list down to just nine programs. The nine teams still vying for his commitment include the likes of Memphis, Michigan State, Rhode Island, Xavier, UConn, Michigan, Alabama, Marquette, and Illinois.

This will be a tough recruiting battle for the Illinois basketball program.

There are quite a few talented teams in the top nine for Rodgers. I am mainly looking at the state of Michigan teams as the strongest contenders to the land the talented forward.

Michigan is the leader in the clubhouse according to 247Sports. They have a six out of 10 confidence he will be playing in Ann Arbor. Obviously, Michigan State is going to be one of the top teams to land Rodgers. They seem to always be in contention to land the best players in the state of Michigan.

Another program that worries me is Memphis. They have been scooping up so many great players, and they just landed Emoni Bates, who is from Michigan. Penny Hardaway has things rolling at Memphis.

One thing Illinois has going for them in the recruitment for Rodgers is the fact he plays for the Meanstreets AAU team. They are an AAU team out of Chicago, so the ties to the state of Illinois are there for Rodgers.

The Illini also need more talent at the No. 4 spot on the floor. I think Rodgers would come in from day one and compete for a starting job. He would, at least, see 15-20 minutes per game in year one. Illinois needs someone like Rodgers to fill that big void on the floor.

This is going to be a tough group for Illinois to beat. I think we can win out here, but the odds are not in our favor. Hopefully, the Illini coaching staff can pull in another surprise commitment.