Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: 5 recruits who could lead the Illini to a national title

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
Illinois basketball
Mar 21, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The empty court before the game between the Loyola Ramblers and the Illinois Fighting Illini in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The Illinois basketball coaching staff is pursuing numerous recruits for the 2022 and 2023 classes.

Landing talented players in each of these classes is going to be important for the future of the Illini. While there are recruits in each class who could contribute to a national title team for the Orange and Blue, there are only a handful of great players who could lead Illinois to the pinnacle of the college basketball world.

Here are five recruits who could lead the Illinois basketball team to a national title.

1. Cam Whitmore

Illinois is squarely in the mix for a couple of big-time recruits from the class of 2022, and Cam Whitmore is arguably the best option right now.

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 five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 21 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 5 small forward in the nation and the best player in the state of Maryland.

An east coast kid who is in the top 30 is something Illinois is not used to being in the mix for, but that has changed with the hiring of Chester Frazier. Frazier has the Illini recruiting well and on the cusp of landing some big-time recruits, Whitmore being one of them.

Back on August 30, Whitmore narrowed his list down to just North Carolina, Villanova, and Illinois. He visited the Tar Heels on August 22, Illinois on August 27, and finished his official visits with a stop at Villanova on September 17.

Most of the “experts” at 247Sports have a six or seven confidence that Whitmore will pick the Wildcats, but that isn’t too high of a number. Usually, if it is a lock, the number is around an eight or a nine. In my eyes, this leaves the door open for Illinois to potentially win this recruitment.

Illinois wasn’t even in the mind of Whitmore until Frazier was hired as an assistant coach. The ground the Illini were able to make up in the span of around four months is extremely impressive. I wouldn’t count Illinois out of this recruitment just yet.

The roster Whitmore would come into would be one poised to win a national title as well. He would be surrounded by four-stars. Depending on who returns for the Illini next season, I could see a lineup of Andre Curbelo (4-star), Brandin Podziemski (4-star), Whitmore (5-star), RJ Melendez (4-star), and Omar Payne (4-star). That is a powerhouse team.

Home/Illinois Basketball Recruiting