Illinois Basketball: Top 5 Illini targets for 2024 after losing ZZ Clark

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
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Illinois basketball
CHAMPAIGN , IL – NOVEMBER 13: The Big 10 logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Illinois Fighting Illini at the State Farm Center on November 13, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Illinois basketball took a hit in recruiting with 2024 point guard ZZ Clark deciding to reopen his recruitment.

Recruiting losses are few and far between for the Illini. But even with Clark off the books, Illinois has a chance to put together a great class of 2024.

Morez Johnson, a four-star power forward who is a top 50 recruit, is already committed for 2024. There are also quite a few talented recruits still left on the board. This 2024 class will likely end up being pretty special for the Orange and Blue.

Here are the top five Illinois basketball targets for 2024 after losing ZZ Clark.

5. Nojus Indrusaitis

Illinois has numerous guards who can play the No. 2 or No. 3 spots on the court, and that is what we would be getting if Nojus Indrusaitis decided to play for the Orange and Blue.

Indrusaitis is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard from St. Rita High School in Chicago, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 77 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 17 shooting guard in the country and the No. 3 player coming out of Illinois.

Back on September 8, the Illinois coaching staff headed up to St. Rita to check out a few of their players. One of those players they wanted to eye was Indrusaitis. We are clearly targeting this kid and for a good reason. Everyone in the country wants him to play for their program.

It is nice to see the Illini going hard after the Chicago area. Even though we have been recruiting well since Brad Underwood took over, Illinois hasn’t been strong in Chicago. We have plucked Ayo Dosunmu and Adam Miller, but that is about it. I would also attribute this lack of Chicago ties to the fact there hasn’t been top talent out of Chicago in a while.

2024 brings a ton of Chicago talent, though. Indrusaitis is one of those players. We already have his teammate, Johnson, committed for 2024. Let’s build this class out of some strong St. Rita recruits.