Illinois Basketball: Illini adds in-state depth to the class of 2024

Illinois basketball added to the famILLy on Sunday with a commitment from a player who will help in the depth department.

Coming into the weekend, the Illini had one commitment for the class of 2024. Morez Johnson committed to the program nearly two years ago and remains a solid commitment to the day. Johnson is a four-star recruit who is the No. 46 player in the class of 2024. He should be much higher than No. 46. I think he is a top 20 player.

The Illini needed to continue to build out the 2024 class, though. Johnson is going to be a superstar game-changer, but he needs a team around him.

On Sunday, Johnson received some help in the form of Jason Jakstys. He took to social media late on Sunday night to announce that he has committed to the Orange and Blue.

Jason Jakstys is going to be a nice depth piece for the Illinois basketball roster

Jakstys is a 6-foot-10, 205-pound power forward from Yorkville High School in Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 238 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 47 power forward in the country and the No. 7 player coming out of Illinois.

There are around 10 programs that had offered Jakstys a scholarship over the last year or so, but Illinois was able to pull in the talented in-state product. We beat out teams like Drake, Illinois State, and Yale for his commitment.

Opinion

At the end of the day, Jakstys’ commitment isn’t going to blow fans away. He is a three-star who is ranked in the middle of the 200s. If he ends up being a superstar, then that is phenomenal. It has happened before. Just look at someone like Frank Kaminsky. He was a three-star and ranked No. 235 in the 2011 class.

Illinois doesn’t have a Brandon Lieb situation either. Lieb was a lumbering big man who didn’t have a ton of athletic ability or outside shooting. I believe Illinois has something in the middle of those two.

If I had to guess, I would say Illinois just landed something similar to Michael Finke. Jakstys is an athletic kid who can cut and move around the court. He is going to surprise people with his ability to shoot the ball and finish at the rim.

Bringing someone like Jakstys off the bench is going to give Illinois a lot of needed depth. I can’t wait to see how this kid progresses over the four or five years he is in Champaign.