Illinois Basketball: Top 5 Illini recruiting targets left for 2022

Illinois basketball is still working on crafting a great class of 2022 as there are multiple big-time recruits still left on the board.

As days go on, the big board for Illini recruiting changes. Lists are being narrowed and players are starting to take official visits. Illinois is on the receiving end of some of this recruiting interest.

Here are the top five Illinois basketball targets for the class of 2022.

1. Cam Whitmore

Illinois still has some pretty big names interested in the program. One of the biggest names left on the board is Cam Whitmore.

Whitmore is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound small forward from Archbishop Spalding High School and resides in Severn, Maryland. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 27 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 6 small forward in the nation and the best player coming out of Maryland.

On August 30, Whitmore narrowed the scope of his recruit to just three programs. The three teams making his top list included Villanova, North Carolina, and Illinois.

Whitmore still has one official visit remaining and that is to Villanova on September 17. He already took official visits to North Carolina on August 22 and to Illinois on August 27. 247Sports is predicting Whitmore landing with the Wildcats with a seven out of 10 confidence.

Obviously, it feels like Villanova is the leader making the turn right now. The “experts” are picking the Wildcats, and they have the final official visit. But Illinois’ ascension in the Whitmore recruitment has been impressive.

I think all the possible resources need to be put into landing Whitmore. He is someone who could come into the Illinois program and make us one of the national title favorites. He would also be one of the best recruits we have landed in the last 50 years. Whitmore is a game-changer.