Illinois basketball inching closer to another 4-star commitment for 2025

Illinois basketball recruiting seems to be picking up, as we might be landing another player soon.

The Illini are looking to build on what could be one of the greatest recruiting classes in the history of the program. Illinois’ class of 2024 ranked in the top 10 nationally, and it is bringing in a haul of players rarely seen.

2025 will hopefully be something similar. This class has gotten off to a nice start, as Keaton Wagler committed to the Orange and Blue within the past week. He is a four-star recruit and the best player coming out of Kansas.

But Illinois isn’t anywhere near being finished with the class of 2025. A potential next commitment could come from a player like Brandon Lee.

Lee is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound shooting guard from The Patrick School in New Jersey. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 98 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 18 shooting guard in the country and the best player coming out of New Jersey.

This past weekend, Lee took an official visit to Champaign. After that visit, 247Sports submitted a Crystal Ball Prediction on where Lee will land. They predicted Illinois as the landing spot with a seven out of 10 confidence, which usually means it is a when and not if.

Backcourt recruiting is at the top of mind for the Illinois basketball program

Landing a player like Lee would be great for Illinois. He is someone who can hit shots from anywhere on the court, and the Illini could always use more shooting.

I love the strategy Illinois has right now with recruiting as well. We have plenty of young talent in the frontcourt. Players like Carey Booth, Tomislav Ivisic, and Morez Johnson Jr. will be around for a year or two. We don’t have to worry too much with frontcourt depth.

Illinois’ backcourt is where things could get a bit hairy. There is a legitimate chance Kylan Boswell and Kasparas Jakucionis are both gone after this season. Tre White and Ty Rodgers would then be gone after the 2025-26 campaign. That is a lot of backcourt talent that is departing in the next couple of seasons.

If Lee does pick Illinois, he should be able to come in and give us some big minutes early on in his career. This kid has a big game, and I hope we can see it in Champaign.