Illinois basketball making strong push for Iowa rising star

Sometimes big-time recruits don’t get recruiting love until late in the game, but that doesn’t stop the Illinois basketball program’s pursuit.

Brad Underwood has had a stretch of recruiting that has been quite impressive. The Illini snagged a five-star player who was a first-round NBA Draft pick in 2024. We are pulling overseas talent and sending them to the NBA, too. On top of that, the transfer portal has been good to the Orange and Blue in the Underwood era.

While we wait for the 2025-26 campaign to start, Illinois is currently trying to build out the class of 2026. It would help if we land our first recruit, an achievement Underwood is still searching for as of right now.

There are plenty of lines in the water, though. A recruitment that has piqued my interest is that of Colin Rice.

The 6-foot-7, 180-pound forward doesn’t have a ton of recruiting love, as he is just the No. 126 player in the country for 2026. But Rice is starting to really pick up some impressive recruiting attention. Illinois is one of the key contenders for his commitment, and we are trying to turn up the heat on his recruitment.

On Friday, it was reported by Trent Markwith of Relentless Hoops that there were numerous teams in to watch Rice play for his Martin Brothers Basketball AAU squad in Atlanta. Among the visitors who watched the rising star was a coach for Illinois, according to the report.

This visit from the Illini comes on the heels of a new development in Rice’s recruitment. He had already scheduled official visits with Iowa and Nebraska in June, but Rice now has an official visit to Illinois on July 28 and will then head to Northwestern on July 31.

Iowa is a forgotten state when it comes to Illinois basketball recruiting

It is exciting that Illinois has a legitimate shot at landing Rice. Not only can he help the program out on the wing at the No. 3 or No. 4 spot, but he can be a unicorn when it comes to Illini recruiting.

Illinois hasn’t exactly built a pipeline in the state of Iowa. The recruiting has been nonexistent in the Hawkeye state for quite some time. I believe, according to my quick review of the Illinois roster, you have to go back to 1973-74 to find the last Illinois scholarship player from the state of Iowa. That was CJ Schroeder, who averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game over three seasons.

Rice could break the mold. He doesn’t have to go to a program like Iowa or Nebraska. He can come to Illinois and shine brightly. Play in an NBA-style offense that can help you develop your game. Landing Rice would be big for the program, and I hope the resources being put in will pay dividends down the road.