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Illinois Basketball: Most underrated Illini recruits in the rankings era

By Rees Woodcock

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on February 05, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on February 05, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 02: Brandon Paul #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini seen during the game against the Purdue Boilermaker at Mackey Arena on January 2, 2013 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue defeated Illinois 68-61. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 02: Brandon Paul #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini seen during the game against the Purdue Boilermaker at Mackey Arena on January 2, 2013 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue defeated Illinois 68-61. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

2. Brandon Paul

  • 4-Star Recruit
  • #126 in the class of 2009
  • NCAA tournaments – 2nd round (x2)
  • Best season – 16.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals

The 247Sports composite clearly missed on Brandon Paul back in 2009. As far as scoring impact goes, Paul was one of the best Illinois has had in quite some time.

Paul was a hometown kid too. Coming out of Warren High School in Illinois, Paul was a four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 126 player in the class of 2009. He was also the No. 34 shooting guard in the country and the No. 5 player coming out of the state of Illinois.

In the time Paul spent in Champaign, the Illini saw decent success. The program made two NCAA tournaments with both showings ending up in second-round exits. That didn’t stop Paul from putting up huge numbers in his final two years with Illinois.

As a senior, Paul averaged 16.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest. He helped Illinois to a near-Sweet 16 appearance if it wasn’t for some bad refs.

Paul’s time with the Illini was special. Beyond the NCAA tournament games, he hit some big shots and had some big games for the program. Paul isn’t just an underrated recruit, but he was one of the best players to suit up for Illinois in the past 15 years.

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