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Illinois Basketball: Wish list for the Illini class of 2023

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) /
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Illinois basketball
Feb 13, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of a Nike logo basketball during the game between the Utah Utes and the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball has been pulling in some special talent over the past few months.

The class of 2022 is one of the top 10 classes in the country, and the Illini probably aren’t finished adding players. The class of 2024 has a top 50 recruit already committed and another point guard who should be in the top 100. But the class of 2023 has yet to get off of the ground.

I fully expect Illinois to land another top 25 class in 2023 when it is all said and done, but things seem to have gone pretty quiet when it comes to this class. Kylan Boswell was the strongest chance to add a player for 2023, but he decided to go elsewhere. There are still some big names left on the board, though.

Here is my wish list for the Illinois basketball team class of 2023.

1. Dai Dai Ames (4-star – #52 in 2023)

I believe there is a good chance Skyy Clark has a solid freshman season at Illinois and departs for the NBA. Who knows what the future holds, but there is a chance of this happening. A good replacement for Clark would be Dai Dai Ames.

Ames is a 6-foot-1, 160-pound point guard from Kenwood Academy and resides in Chicago, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 52 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 8 point guard in the country and the best player coming out of the state of Illinois.

With roughly 11 scholarship offers, there are plenty of programs to choose from, but Illinois has been in the mentions of Ames’ recruitment throughout.

The most recent news on Ames came just about three weeks ago when Grant Flanders of K-State Online mentioned that Ames plans to visit Kansas State in June. He also mentions Illinois and Louisville are both recruiting him.

With so little information about Illinois targets out there for the 2023 class, the Illini being mentioned in the running for Ames is pretty big news. The fact we might need Ames for the 2023-24 campaign makes it even bigger.

Considering Ames is from Chicago and suits up for the Mac Irvin Fire of the AAU circuit, I think Illinois has a decent chance at landing the kid. Need, location, and talent are all there, and that is why I have Ames at the top of my wish list for 2023.

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