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Illinois Basketball: 5 biggest recruiting targets for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 3, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood applauds his team during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood applauds his team during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND – JANUARY 21: The Illinois Fighting Illini logo on a pair of shorts during a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at the XFinity Center on January 21, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

2. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

Recruiting is always changing. There are always players committing or backing away from their commitments and looking for a new home. A new name Illinois has been pursuing is Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.

Gibbs-Lawhorn is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound combo guard from Montverde Academy and resides in Montverde, Florida. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 47 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 11 combo guard in the country and the No. 5 player coming out of Florida.

The recruitment of Gibbs-Lawhorn has been interesting. He started getting recruited by Purdue back in 2020. He then made a commitment to the Boilermakers in December 2021. Well, that commitment lasted until August 3, 2021, when Gibbs-Lawhorn decided to back away from his pledge to Purdue and pursue other programs.

There are numerous teams who want Gibbs-Lawhorn to come play for their program. It is being reported by Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers that he has an official visit to Memphis set up for September 23. But Weingarten is also reporting that Illinois is one of the teams that is in the hunt for Gibbs-Lawhorn.

A player like Gibbs-Lawhorn would be needed for the Illinois basketball program in 2023. There is potential for someone like Skyy Clark to be one-and-done. The Illini will need more point guard help. Gibbs-Lawhorn would be a perfect fit.

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