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Illinois Basketball: Illini land another top 100 recruit for 2023

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - MARCH 08: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at State Farm Center on March 8, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - MARCH 08: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at State Farm Center on March 8, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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It looks like the Illinois basketball team has added to the family on Friday afternoon.

The Illini added their first member of the class of 2023 back on August 28 when Amani Hansberry decided to end his recruitment and pick Illinois. He was a great first piece to the puzzle, as Hansberry is a four-star recruit who is the No. 73 player in the country.

But Illinois needed more talent for the 2023 class. We needed a guard who could go alongside Hansberry’s 6-foot-8 size. Well, on Friday, the Illini got their wish.

Joe Tipton of On3.com was the first to report that Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had decided to commit to the Illini. In Tipton’s tweet, he quotes Gibbs-Lawhorn on why he committed to Illinois.

"“They believe in me more than anyone else and they showed that.”"


Gibbs-Lawhorn is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound combo guard from Montverde Academy in Florida. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 70 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 14 combo guard in the nation and the No. 8 player coming out of Florida.

Illinois basketball is going to have a stacked roster with the addition of Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.

It was less than two months ago people were worried about the Illinois class of 2023. Fans would comment on my class of 2022 or 2024 articles saying, “what about the class of 2023?!” I have one thing to say to those fans.

Trust Brad Underwood.

Underwood has yet to let us down when it comes to recruiting. It all started with landing Ayo Dosunmu, and he has done great work ever since. I fully expected him to build out a solid class of 2023, and he is doing so.

Gibbs-Lawhorn gives Illinois two top 100 recruits for 2023. We now have a good guard who can handle the ball and make shots at a high clip. It is going to be fun to see him and Hansberry as a solid one-two punch in the future.

These two will be joined by a top five class for 2024 that has Morez Johnson and ZZ Clark already pledged. The future of the program is so bright. I can’t wait to see who is next.

The Almanac keeps Illini in the top 25. dark. Next

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