The potential Illinois basketball team for the 2027-28 campaign is pretty ridiculous.
Brad Underwood has the Illini in the middle of numerous recruitments that would help elevate the program to heights we haven’t seen before.
Illinois already has two commitments for the class of 2027, which ranks No. 5 in the country. The big dogs are lurking, though. We are getting official visits from five-star recruits like Darius Wabbington, Moussa Kamissoko, and NaVorro Bowman Jr. The Illini also have an official visit set up with five-star Brady Pettigrew for 2028, but he could reclassify to the class of 2027.
On Thursday evening, another name has been added to the list. According to Dushawn London of 247Sports, King Gibson has cut his list down to just 10 teams. The 10 programs vying for his commitment include Syracuse, Baylor, Providence, LSU, Arkansas, UConn, Alabama, Michigan, Louisville, and Illinois.
NEWS: King Gibson, the No. 16 overall prospect in the class of 2027, is down to 10 schools, source tells @247Sports
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) August 27, 2026
Gibson has also set five official visits.
Story: https://t.co/nZoJa2fcD8 pic.twitter.com/qVVlTNNs3i
This is a huge list for Illinois to make, as Gibson is one of the best players in the nation. He is a 6-foot-4, 185-pound combo guard from SPIRE Academy in Ohio. Gibson is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 9 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 2 combo guard in the country and the best player coming out of the Buckeye State.
According to Jacob Polacheck of 247Sports, there have been five official visits set up as of now. Gibson will start with Louisville on September 4, UConn on September 13, Arkansas on September 21, LSU on September 25, and Baylor on October 9.
Illinois not getting an official visit yet means nothing. There is still plenty of time to get Gibson to come to Champaign to see what the program is all about.
It is a crazy feeling knowing Illinois basketball is a serious contender for so many five-star recruits
I fully realize that every recruit who has an interest in Illinois won’t join the program. The crazy part about Underwood and his coaching staff’s ability to recruit is that not that long ago, we were just hoping for top 50 recruits, let alone five-star talent.
Illinois has landed multiple five-star recruits in the past three recruiting classes. For the class of 2027, I mentioned the names above. Those are all five-star players. Gibson is now joining that mix.
I do find it interesting that Kamissoko is taking an official visit to Illinois on September 18, and he is also from SPIRE Academy. That is a weekend when Gibson has nothing going on, so I would keep an eye out for something to change on the Illinois official visit front.
Regardless, Illinois is in the mix for another five-star recruit. With so many lines in the five-star waters, we are bound to catch at least one of the big fish.
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