The Illinois basketball program has a solid class of 2027 right now, with two recruits already pledged.
So far, the Illini have landed two shooting guards – Quinton Kitt and Mason Martin – both of whom rank No. 85 and No. 118 in the 2027 class, respectively.
Brad Underwood has been fishing for some mammoth recruits, though. He might be ready to reel one in shortly.
On Tuesday, Joe Tipton of On3.com reported that Darius Wabbington has decided to change his official visit date for the Illini. He was originally scheduled to visit Champaign on October 23. That date has now changed to this weekend, September 18.
5⭐️ Darius Wabbington has moved up his official visit to Illinois to this weekend, he told @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) September 15, 2026
The 6-foot-11 senior was originally scheduled to visit the Illini in late October. https://t.co/Q0sbtjjLZY pic.twitter.com/dnPI920T3k
Wabbington has already started his official visit tour. He visited Indiana on September 3. He will then head to Arizona on September 25, North Carolina on October 30, and Texas on November 6.
Moving an official visit up by over a month means one thing in my eyes. Illinois wants to land Wabbington, and within the next week, we should be hearing some positive news on the recruiting front.
Underwood needs a big man for the future. Heading into next season, we are losing so much talent, especially in the frontcourt. Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic will both likely depart. That leaves so many minutes in the frontcourt to be had.
Wabbington would be able to come into the program and start from day one. He has the size and talent to be one of the best in the country, too. Wabbington is a 6-foot-11, 255-pound center from Arizona. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 12 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 2 center in the country and the No. 3 player coming out of Arizona.
Brad Underwood will be void of size on the Illinois basketball roster heading into 2027-28
When I say the Illini are losing some talent in the paint, I am not exaggerating. I mentioned the Ivisic brothers both being gone. They are the only Illinois players over 6-foot-10.
If Illinois doesn’t land any size for 2027, we would be returning Jason Jakstys, who is 6-foot-10. He has barely played for the program.
Next up is David Mirkovic at 6-foot-9. I think he is gone after this season, so that leaves another size hole on the Illinois roster. Right now, the hope is that 6-foot-9 freshman Landon Davis can become something.
If I had to guess, Illinois is putting the full-court press on Wabbington right now. Underwood sees that the future looks awfully small, and not only can Illinois offer NIL money, but we also have an embarrassment of playing time waiting. Let’s see what happens over the next week.
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