Illinois basketball eyeing rising star from Overtime Elite

The Illinois basketball program needs to land a great class of 2026, but we are now dipping our toes into the 2027 group.

Lines are being thrown out there to see who we can land. The Illini are eyeing quite a few options right now from the class of 2027, and there are some impressive players who we are targeting as recruiting opens up.

One of the big recruits is Patrick Otey. On Sunday, Dushawn London of 247Sports reported that Otey has already heard from a number of programs, and one of the teams on the list is Illinois.

Otey is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard from Overtime Elite in Georgia. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 26 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 2 shooting guard in the country and the No. 2 player coming out of Georgia.

There is still plenty of room to grow for Otey. This past season as a sophomore, Otey averaged 9.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. His shooting numbers weren’t terrible either, as he was 59% from the field, 26.9% from three-point range, and 52.2% from the free throw line.

Patrick Otey would bring a multifaceted game to the Illinois basketball program

Otey’s profile says he is a shooting guard, but I think he could end up playing any role in the backcourt at Illinois. Brad Underwood likes to develop players to fit the program's needs, and Otey is a perfect option.

I love Otey’s court vision. He can see the court well and make a play from there. He is a solid shooter and could form into a dangerous threat to the basket or pull up from anywhere on the court.

The crazy part is, Otey still has two years of high school ball left. He is going to get much better after this. Don’t be surprised if Otey ends up moving into the top 15 nationally one day.