Illinois Basketball: Dwayne Pierce continues to be a priority for the Illini

Illinois basketball continues their pursuit to add more talent to an already loaded class of 2024.

The Illini have two commitments for the 2024 class. Morez Johnson is leading the way for the class, as he is a four-star recruit who is the No. 42 player in the nation. He is going to be a nice big-man option at the No. 4 spot for the Orange and Blue.

Bringing the ball up the court in the future is going to be ZZ Clark. He is a three-star recruit and the No. 136 player in the class of 2024. Clark will likely take the reins from his brother Skyy once he leaves the program.

The search for more talent in 2024 is something that is always ongoing for the Illini. The coaching staff has some big-time options still on the board, and one of those options is Dwayne Pierce.

Pierce is a 6-foot-5, 190-pound small forward from Christ The King Regional High School and resides in Middle Village, New York. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 93 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 26 small forward in the nation and the No. 3 player coming out of New York.

Illinois started to crank up their pursuit of Pierce back in June. The Illini came in with an offer to the star wing, and since then, the recruitment has been consistent. It looks like the Illinois coaching staff will be visiting Pierce soon as well.

According to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog, Illinois is among the multiple handfuls of teams that will be visiting with Pierce in the coming weeks. In addition to the Illini, the teams that will also see Pierce include Memphis, Penn State, Iowa State, Florida State, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh.

Illinois basketball would be addressing the wing spot with Dwayne Pierce.

It is fun snagging big men and point guards. Illinois has Johnson and Clark coming in from the 2024 class. We were able to land Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn in the 2018 and 2019 classes, respectively. The 2022 class brought in a ton of talent at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. But we don’t have a ton of depth at the No. 3 wing spot.

I think a player like Ty Rodgers could fit in well there. Luke Goode is another good option. But adding someone like Pierce would help solidify that role, and it would free up other players to go play their more natural position.

Pierce is a good player who could help the Illinois basketball program in the future. He would join what is currently the No. 2 class in the country as well. 2024 could produce a special group of players.