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Top 10 Illinois basketball recruiting busts of all time

Special talent has walked the State Farm Center floor, but the Illinois basketball team has also had some pretty big recruiting busts of the years.

By Rees Woodcock

Mar 17, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andre Curbelo (5) and Fighting Illini guard Alfonso Plummer (11) stand on the court during practice before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andre Curbelo (5) and Fighting Illini guard Alfonso Plummer (11) stand on the court during practice before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
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No. 1 Skyy Clark

Just a couple of years after Illinois landed a great recruit in Adam Miller, we struck again with a huge commitment from Skyy Clark. He was a great point guard and someone who we were able to land over Kentucky.

Clark was a 6-foot-3, 200-pound point guard from Montverde Academy in Florida. He was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 33 player in the class of 2022. He was also the No. 6 point guard in the country and the No. 9 player coming out of Florida.

When Illinois landed Clark, it was a huge deal. He was supposed to be the player to get this program back to greatness after a nice run with Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn. Illinois landed Terrence Shannon Jr. and a nice group of transfer portal players as well. This team was supposed to be special.

Clark played in the first 13 games for Illinois, and then we didn’t see him beyond that point. He averaged 7.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Due to some personal issues, he departed the program. After a bit, Clark ended up transferring out of the program and landed with Louisville.

Last season with the Cardinals, Clark averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals on an eight-win squad. He transferred again this offseason and is now back in the Big Ten with UCLA.

Back in June, Clark was quoted as saying that leaving Illinois was, “the worst mistake of my life.” That mistake was a disappointing one for the fanbase too. I thought Clark was going to be a great, legendary, player for the program. That didn’t come to fruition. I believe Clark goes down as the biggest recruiting bust in program history.

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