Illinois Basketball: Virginia rising star is the latest Illini recruiting target

Illinois basketball is starting to watch a rising star on the east coast.

The Illini haven’t fully shifted focus to the class of 2025, as there is still a lot of work left in the 2023 and 2024 classes.

Illinois still needs to land another transfer portal player for the class of 2023. I believe that will complete that group of players. For 2024, we are off to a great start with a top 50 commitment in Morez Johnson. He is going to be the leader of this group and should be one of the best players in the country.

But it is never too early to start laying the groundwork for the class of 2025. On Friday, the Illini did just that, as we extended a scholarship offer to Jordan Scott.

It is smart for Illinois basketball to get in early on rising star, Jordan Scott

Scott is a 6-foot-5, 165-pound shooting guard from South Lakes High School in Virginia. He isn’t rated or ranked just yet, but that is due to it being extremely early in his high school career. Judging by his early offers, I would say Scott is a top-100 recruit without a doubt.

So far, Scott has roughly four scholarship offers, which include the likes of Iowa and Illinois. More offers are sure to come, especially if Scott continues to impress at the AAU level.

Scott suits up for the Virginia Elite 16U AAU team, and he has put on a show in the first couple of sessions of the Under Armour Next league. In his last game, his team won and he put up 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Two games ago, Scott was able to put up 20 points, nine rebounds, eight blocks, three assists, and two steals while shooting 3-of-4 from three-point range.

Opinion on Jordan Scott and what could be coming for this kid

The numbers that Scott is putting up are impressive. He is a true superstar who should probably be playing in the 17U league. He is too good for the 16U league.

Illinois is really smart getting in early on Scott. He isn’t a normal recruit by any means. I know that I mentioned he is probably a top 100 recruit based on his scholarship offers, but I would take that a step further. I think Scott is going to be a top 30 recruit after watching what he can do on the court.

Look for all of the big players to be in on Scott in the coming months. He is someone who will be a hot commodity in the recruiting world. Hopefully, the early scholarship offer and some solid NIL deals will be tempting enough for Scott to come to Champaign.