Illinois Basketball: ESPN 100 has three Illini in final 2022 rankings

The final ESPN 100 rankings came out for the class of 2022, and the Illinois basketball team has a few players checking in.

I have been extremely impressed with the quality of class the Illini are bringing in for 2022. Skyy Clark leads the way for the Orange and Blue in the final ESPN 100 rankings. Clark checks in as the No. 25 player in the country, just barely missing five-star status.

ESPN’s ranking of Clark is about on point with the other recruiting sites. 247Sports has him at No. 26 and Rivals has him at No. 35. Clark is the highest-ranked player Illinois has had in the ESPN 100 since Jereme Richmond, who was the No. 23 player in 2010.

You don’t have to travel too much further down on the ESPN 100 to find Illinois’ next player in Ty Rodgers. He checks in at No. 52 in the final ESPN 100 and is probably one of the most underrated of all the recruits on the list.

The ESPN 100 ranking of Rodgers is about where he is with the other two recruiting sites. 247Sports has the talented wing at No. 54 in the nation and Rivals has him at No. 55. So, the consensus is Rodgers should be one of the best players in this class.

The final player on the ESPN 100 is Jayden Epps. He is ranked as the No. 83 player in the class of 2022. Epps has been lighting it up at the high school level, so look for him to make an impact immediately on the Illini.

There are differing opinions on where Epps should be ranked, though. 247Sports likes him more than the other two recruiting sites, as they have ranked Epps as the No. 48 player in the class of 2022. Rivals is more in line with ESPN, as they have him at No. 86 in the country.

Illinois basketball is bringing in game-changers from the class of 2022.

Regardless of where the three players mentioned above are ranked on each recruiting site, they are all going to be big-time players for the Illini. I haven’t even mentioned Sencire Harris, who is just outside the ESPN 100. 247Sports has Harris at No. 98 and Rivals has him at No. 58 for the class of 2022.

I see all four of these recruits getting early playing time. Clark should start at the No. 1 spot on the team. He has the true point guard abilities that Illinois will desperately need this season.

Epps, Rodgers, and Harris should all see substantial playing with so many departures on the Illinois roster. Illinois’ top six players who received the most minutes last season are not on the team anymore. That leaves a lot of production for the incoming freshmen to pick up. Look for this freshman class to be special and to help the Illini get back to the NCAA tournament.