Illinois Basketball: 4-star recruit eyeing Illini official visit

Illinois basketball is in the middle of a fight for one of the top players in the class of 2023.

Just a little over two weeks ago, the Illini landed their first commitment for the 2023 class. Amani Hansberry, a four-star recruit who is the No. 73 player in the class, pledged to the Orange and Blue. The 6-foot-8 power forward was a great first addition to the class, but it looks like Brad Underwood isn’t finished adding talent.

Back in mid-August, it was reported by Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers that Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was going to be taking an official visit to Memphis starting September 23. He also reported various teams were also in the hunt for Gibbs-Lawhorn, including the Illini.

It has been nearly a month since that report, and on Friday, Weingarten reported on Gibbs-Lawhorn again. The talented four-star is getting a visit from Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway. But in the Twitter post, Weingarten is also reporting that Gibbs-Lawhorn is also working on an official visit to Illinois.

Illinois basketball would have a dangerous one-two punch with Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.

So, it clearly seems that Memphis is all-in on Gibbs-Lawhorn. They are getting his first official visit after he backed away from his commitment to Purdue. Memphis is visiting Gibbs-Lawhorn as well. But it is exciting that Illinois is also right there for his commitment.

If Gibbs-Lawhorn comes out of his official visit with Memphis and doesn’t pledge to the Tigers, then I think Illinois is in a great position to land him. That means the pitch and whatever Memphis brought to the table were not good enough. The Illini would then have Gibbs-Lawhorn in for an official visit sometime in the near future.

Could you imagine the one-two punch of Gibbs-Lawhorn and Hansberry? Illinois would go from not having a single player committed for 2023 to having a top 100 combo guard and a top 100 power forward. Gibbs-Lawhorn would give Illinois a great perimeter threat while Hansberry is the size we need in the paint.

Illinois’ depth would also be boosted. With Gibbs-Lawhorn in the mix, the Illini would have one of the best, and deepest, backcourts in the country. Hopefully, he comes out of the Memphis official visit and doesn’t commit and doesn’t set a commitment date.