Illinois Basketball: Recruiting still strong despite Illini losing ZZ Clark

On Monday, the Illinois basketball program had a hiccup in recruiting, which is something that we are not used to seeing.

For much of the past five years, the Illini have been one of the top teams when it comes to recruiting high school athletes. Brad Underwood became the head coach of Illinois, he hired a great coaching staff, most of those coaches departed, he then hired another great coaching staff, and recruiting has stayed consistent throughout.

But, sometimes, recruits decide to back away from their commitment. That is what happened to the Illini a few days ago. 2024 commitment, ZZ Clark, decided to reopen his recruitment.

Illinois basketball will be able to recover from losing ZZ Clark at point guard.

I think what Clark’s statement, which was posted by Joe Tipton of On3.com, says is that he committed to Illinois because that is where his brother, Skyy Clark, decided to play. Skyy is going to be Illinois’ starting point guard this season.

The line, “I would like to reopen my recruitment to make sure I find the best fit for ME personally” is why I think Clark’s original decision was based on what his brother was doing. Now, the younger Clark is going to go out and find a program and blaze his own trail. I don’t blame him one bit.

As for the Illini, I think we will be okay. I know Clark has a lot of talent, but Underwood and his coaching staff have the ability to pull in some high-level recruits. So, I am not too worried.

Illinois already has Morez Johnson committed for 2024. He is a four-star forward who is the No. 45 player in the country. We also have his teammate at St. Rita, James Brown, coming in for an official visit on November 4. Brown is a four-star center who is the No. 27 player in the class of 2024. Johnson and Brown would form one of the best one-two punches in the frontcourt in all of college basketball.

There are also plenty of top recruits still on the board for 2024, but let’s not forget about the 2023 class either. Illinois landed former Purdue commit Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn back on September 30. He should be able to man either the No. 1 or No. 2 guard spots depending on need.

So, while it is never fun losing a commitment, I think Illinois should be okay after Clark’s departure. We have a ton of talent coming into the program, and Underwood has proved that his coaching staff can recruit. The future is still extremely bright.