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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. 7 DJ Williams

The Illinois class of 2015 was another impressive group of players coming into the program. The quantity matched the quality of talent. I also believe DJ Williams was going to be an asset.

Williams was a 6-foot-6, 195-pound small forward coming out of Simeon High School in Illinois. He was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 69 player in the class of 2015. He was also the No. 13 small forward in the country and the No. 3 player coming out of Illinois.

Just having the Simeon brand next to Williams’ name gave him expectations. That is a great high school that has produced some great Illinois talent over the decades. Williams had a lot on his shoulders coming from Simeon.

Being a top 70 recruit also doesn’t help the case for Williams not being a bust. He entered the program with that billing and didn’t live up to the opinions of the recruiting sites.

Williams spent two seasons in Champaign and averaged 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. After John Groce was let go, Williams departed the program and ended up with George Washington. He did have one good year there where he averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.

After that single season with George Washington, Williams entered the transfer portal once again and ended up with DePaul. He averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Blue Demons

Williams had all of the athletic gifts to be a good player. He just couldn’t put the whole package on the floor.

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