Illinois Basketball: James Brown would be a historical get for the Illini

Illinois basketball has a massive recruiting visit this weekend from one of the best players in the country.

If you haven’t been impressed with what Brad Underwood and his Illini coaching staff have done on the recruiting trail, then you probably aren’t a fan of the Orange and Blue. Ever since he stepped foot in Champaign, Underwood has been putting together some special recruiting classes.

Nearly every single rotational player for the Illini this season was a four-star recruit. The only exception is Coleman Hawkins who was overlooked because of the talent he had on his high school team. He is now projected as a second-round NBA Draft pick.

Future Illinois recruiting classes are looking great too. The 2023 class has two four-star recruits who are ranked inside the top 75 in the country. Underwood is also working on the class of 2024. Morez Johnson is his lone commitment thus far, and he is a four-star recruit who is ranked inside the top 50 in the nation.

Illinois is looking for another frontcourt player to pair with Johnson in 2024. That player is James Brown. The 6-foot-9, 210-pound center, out of St. Rita High School in Chicago, is visiting Champaign this weekend. He is on his final official visit before likely making a decision in the near future.

The visit train for Brown started with Missouri back on October 1. He then made stops at Michigan State on October 7, North Carolina on October 15, and Notre Dame on October 21. This weekend will be his final stop, and it is a chance for the Illini to show this big-time recruit that staying in-state is the right choice.

James Brown would be a historical get for the Illinois basketball program.

As an Illini fan, I am hoping the pitch to Brown this weekend is one that he can’t refuse. He would be an incredible recruit to land for the future.

Pairing Brown and Johnson up – both teammates at St. Rita and with the Meanstreets on the AAU circuit – would give Illinois one of the best one-two punches in program history. Brown would also be a historical get for the Illini.

Brown is currently a four-star recruit and has a rating of 0.9883 by 247Sports. If you lay his rating out compared to all of the players to commit to Illinois since 2003, Brown would check in as the

No. 5 highest-rated recruit

to ever commit to the Orange and Blue.

The rankings would go No. 1 Jereme Richmond at 0.9890, No. 2 Ayo Dosunmu at 0.9888, No. 3 Meyers Leonard at 0.9884, No. 4 Adam Miller at 0.9884, and then it would be Brown at No. 5 at 0.9883.

Illinois basketball is already loaded with talent. That pool of great players is not drying up anytime soon. Adding Brown would only elevate this team. Hopefully, he is a big piece to Illinois’ second national title in a three-year span.