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Illinois Basketball: Illini recruiting wish list for the class of 2025

By Rees Woodcock

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 ***
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 *** /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 15: The logo of the Illinois Fighting Illini on the uniform shorts during in a college basketball game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 15, 2020 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

No. 3 Melvin Bell

I think the Illinois basketball team could be going after some serious guard talent in 2025. The first two players mentioned on this list are both guards who can play multiple roles. I am going to Melvin Bell to this mix.

Bell is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard from La Lumiere School in Indiana. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 83 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 12 shooting guard in the country and the No. 4 player coming out of Indiana.

There are plenty of teams vying for Bell’s commitment. Besides for Illinois, he has the attention of programs like Stanford and Michigan, among others.

Illinois has been recruiting Bell for a while now. He took an unofficial visit to Champaign back in October 2022. The Illini then came in with a scholarship offer around the same time as well.

There are a lot of location connections with Bell. He suited up for St. Rita in Chicago but just recently transferred to La Lumiere, which is in northwest Indiana.

This past season, with St. Rita, Bell would average 4.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He was only a sophomore playing on his varsity squad. Those are solid numbers for a young kid. Over the next couple of seasons, I fully expect his numbers to skyrocket. Hopefully, Illinois can stay in this recruitment and land a big-time player in Bell.

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