Illinois Basketball: Amani Hansberry cements himself in latest ESPN Top 100

ESPN updated their basketball recruiting rankings, and the Illinois basketball team officially has a player in the top 70 for 2023.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Illini fanbase was still searching for the first domino to fall for the class of 2023. We had been so close so many different times, but finally, Brad Underwood and his coaching staff were able to land their first commitment.

On Sunday, Amani Hansberry announced his commitment to the Illinois basketball program. While he was just the first commitment for the Illini for 2023, we got a good one. Most recruiting sites are starting to update their class of 2023 recruiting rankings, and they all pretty much have Hansberry as one of the top 100 players in the country.

ESPN thinks highly of Illinois basketball commit Amani Hansberry.

Just a few months back, it felt like Hansberry wasn’t one of the top recruits in the nation. He had recruiting attention, and slowly, his recruiting profile started to rise.

ESPN just updated their class of 2023 recruiting rankings, and their most updated rankings now have Hansberry as a four-star recruit who is the No. 64 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 10 center in the nation and the No. 3 player coming out of the state of Maryland.

It is interesting that ESPN sees Hansberry as a center. This doesn’t align with 274Sports, which has him as a power forward. But what does align is the recruiting ranking.

247Sports has Hansberry ranked a little higher than ESPN. He is the No. 52 player in the class of 2023. Rivals doesn’t think as highly as ESPN and 247Sports, though. They have Hansberry as the No. 118 player in the country.

For me, there is one thing that is certain. Illinois is getting a good player. Recruiting sites are starting to see Hansberry’s talent. They are ranking him accordingly. I can’t wait to see what he can do in the paint for the Orange and Blue.