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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. 3 Jalen Coleman-Lands

Coming out of high school, Jalen Coleman-Lands was arguably John Groce’s best recruit. He was a talented guard who could score at multiple levels and be an impact player for the Illini.

Coleman-Lands was a 6-foot-3, 160-pound point guard from La Lumiere School in Indiana. He was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 38 player in the class of 2015. He was also the No. 9 point guard in the country and the No. 2 player coming out of Indiana.

Man, I thought Illinois landed a special player when we pulled in Coleman-Lands. He didn’t disappoint after year one either. Coleman-Lands averaged 10.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game as a freshman. Year two was a downgrade, though, as he only averaged 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Groce was then fired and in stepped Brad Underwood. Coleman-Lands decided to bolt the program and picked DePaul as his landing spot. After sitting out a season, Coleman-Lands suited up and averaged 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game with the Blue Demons.

Coleman-Lands then transferred to Iowa State for a season where we averaged 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. After one season with the Cyclones, Coleman-Lands transferred again and ended up with Kansas where he averaged 3.7 points per game.

A top-40 recruit nationally should be a game-changer. Illinois landed that type of player out of high school, but Coleman-Lands couldn’t live up to the billing. The high expectations and underperformance make him one of the biggest recruiting busts of all time.

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