Illinois Basketball: Kylan Boswell would solve Illini point guard concerns

It has been a pretty good week for Illinois basketball, as the team not only won their game on Tuesday night, but they also inched closer to landing a five-star recruit.

The Illini have a top 20 class already secured for 2022 and a top player for 2024 committed in Morez Johnson. But the class of 2023 has yet to land the first commitment. On Tuesday, Illinois moved one step closer to adding to their 2023 group as Kylan Boswell narrowed his top list to just eight teams.

Boswell’s top eight programs include the likes of USC, Texas Tech, UNLV, Oregon, Kansas, Michigan, Arizona, and Illinois. This is a familiar list as most of the programs seem to always be in on talented recruits the Illini are eyeing.

Landing Boswell would be big for the Illini. He is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard out of Compass Prep and resides in Chandler, Arizona. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 11 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 3 point guard in the country and the No. 2 player coming out of Arizona.

Illinois basketball needs a point guard for the future.

The future at the point guard spot for the Illini is pretty shaky right now. I thought at one time Illinois was in the running for Jeremy Fears, but he ended up heading to Michigan State. This might be a blessing in disguise as now an even higher ranked recruit in Boswell has Illinois in his top eight.

Boswell’s path has been interesting. He played out in California for Corona Centennial but then transferred down to Compass Prep this season. One location bonus Illinois might have in the Boswell sweepstakes is the fact he lived in Champaign all the way up until high school when he moved out to California.

In addition to being able to come back home to Illinois, Boswell would also have a successful program he would be joining. I believe, at this point, Brad Underwood has proved he can coach and has proved he can win with whatever staff he puts around him.

I would also throw in the fact Boswell would start as a true freshman. Illinois has some serious issues with the point guard role right now. Andre Curbelo might not be around when the 2023-24 campaign rolls around, so the Illini would be left without a true point guard running the offense. Boswell could come in and start from day one.

It is great news that Illinois is in the top eight for an elite player like Boswell. Now let’s land him and build a legendary team.