Recruiting continues to be a hot topic, as the Illinois basketball team has offered one of the best players in the class of 2025.
The Illini have been on a scholarship offer spree lately. We have been targeting future recruits who could help the program win a national title. As of right now, Illinois has some great pieces in place to attempt to accomplish this goal. Getting more talent in the doors is crucial, though.
On Sunday, Jamier Jones took to social media to announce that he had received one of those coveted Illinois scholarship offers.
Blessed to receive an off from the university of Illinois 🧡 pic.twitter.com/HHHja1CBX6
— Jamier Jones (@_thejamierjones) July 23, 2023
Illinois basketball is pursuing a big-time recruit by offering Jamier Jones a scholarship
Jones is a 6-foot-6, 207-pound small forward from Oak Ridge High School in Florida. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 16 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 3 small forward in the country and the No. 4 player coming out of Florida.
While 247Sports only has Jones with three scholarship offers, he actually has in the double digits. Illinois offered him on Sunday, and this was accompanied by numerous teams seeing his potential. In addition to the Illini, some of the other notable programs to offer Jones include Texas A&M, Indiana, and Providence.
Opinion
Obviously, this is a huge offer from Illinois. Jones is one of the elite players in the 2025 class, and he will have every team in the country after him in the coming months.
Jones is a bulldog out on the court. He is going to get to the hoop without the defense having much say in the matter. I believe he does his best work around the hoop as well. Jones’ AAU stats show that to be a fact.
Jones suited up for the Florida Rebels E16 team in the Nike Peach Jam and would play well. He averaged 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Jones would also go 15-of-24 from the free throw line, 62.5%.
I wouldn’t put too much stock into Jones’ free throw percentage, as he had one bad game that brought the number down. If you take out that one game, Jones shot 75% from the charity stripe.
When I watch Jones play the game, he reminds me of someone like Derrick Rose. He isn’t a great shooter, but he can score, distribute and make his teammates better. This kid is going to have a special career moving forward.