Illinois Basketball: Illini looking to add another top 50 recruit for 2024

Illinois basketball is looking to add another top 50 recruit to their class of 2024.

As of right now, the Illini have an elite class for 2024. The top player committed is Morez Johnson, who is the No. 2 player in the state of Illinois and ranks as the No. 42 player in the country. Joining Johnson is ZZ Clark. He is the brother of Skyy Clark and has yet to be ranked nationally. That ranking will come soon I suspect.

Just about a week ago, Johnson was back in Champaign for yet another unofficial visit. This was at least his second unofficial visit to Illinois in the past year. That connection is still going strong. But he also brought down one of this St. Rita and Meansteets teammates, James Brown.

Brown was on the unofficial visit with Johnson about a week ago, and he was also on an unofficial visit with Johnson back in November of 2021. It now looks like Brown is going to convert those visits into an official capacity.

Just a couple of days ago, it was announced that Brown has scheduled one of his five official visits to Illinois. He now has four official visits scheduled. The first visit is to Missouri on October 1. He then will take a visit to Michigan State on October 7, North Carolina on October 15, and Illinois caps off this run of official visits on November 4.

James Brown would take the Illinois basketball class of 2024 from great to legendary.

Landing a player like Brown would be amazing for any team in the country. He is a 6-foot-9, 210-pound center who is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 31 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 6 center in the nation and the best player coming out of Illinois.

I feel like Illinois would have a leg up in the Brown recruitment. Johnson and Brown are clearly close, and they both play together on the St. Rita high school team and the Meansteets AAU team. The dynamic duo dominated this summer as well.

In the Nike Peach Jam, which caps off a summer AAU run in the Nike EYBL, Johnson and Brown helped the Meansteets to a 5-2 record. Johnson ended up averaging 12.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game while Brown finished with 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest.

I would love to see these two continue playing together at the college level as well. I think they could pair up to form one of the best frontcourts we have ever seen at Illinois. Johnson is more of the slashing stretch-four while Brown will continue growing into his body and become a menace in and around the paint.

Illinois’ starting lineup could be loaded with four-stars in 2024. Clark, Johnson, and Brown would potentially join players like Luke Goode, RJ Melendez, Jayden Epps, Sencire Harris, etc. This could end up being a national title winning team.