Illinois Basketball: Illini in contact with three-point ace from class of 2024

The Illinois basketball coaching staff is working hard to develop one of the best recruiting classes in the nation for 2024.

Illinois’ class of 2022 was a top 10 group in the country, and the 2024 class is looking like it could follow suit. As of right now, the Illini have two players committed in ZZ Clark and Morez Johnson. The class currently ranks as the No. 2 group in the nation as well.

On Wednesday, Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers reported that Illinois is starting to contact 2024 guard, Gianni Ferentinos. The Illini weren’t the only program to start contacting the kid, though. There were numerous teams mentioned by Weingarten, so it looks like Ferentinos’ recruitment could be blowing up soon.

Ferentinos isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports just yet, but I am sure that will change in the coming days. He just finished his sophomore year at Webster Groves High School in Missouri, and now Ferentinos will be transferring out to finish up his high school career with Hillcrest Prep in Arizona.

Gianni Ferentinos has the three-point shooting ability that would help the Illinois basketball program.

As mentioned before, Ferentinos just finished up his sophomore year and is transferring out to Arizona. He left behind a great legacy with Webster Groves, tough. The program would finish 19-4 overall and 6-1 in the district this past season.

Ferentinos also helped the Statesmen get to the class 5 state tournament in Missouri. Webster Groves would win the first round by 10 points, the second round by three points, and take home the title by a 19-point drubbing of Helias Catholic. So, this kid knows how to win some big games.

The numbers Ferentinos put up en route to the title were equally as impressive as the actual championship. He had 11 double-digit scoring games for Webster Groves, and he was 58-of-134 from three-point range, which comes out to 43.3%.

There is no question that Ferentinos is a big-time player. He is going to skyrocket up the 2024 recruiting rankings. I would venture to say he will end up picking just about any program in the nation when it comes to decision time.

I am happy to see Illinois involved early on too. With two years left of high school basketball, Ferentinos stock will only continue to increase. Hopefully, we can make a big enough impact to have him join the Illini class of 2024.