Top 5 Illinois basketball recruiting targets left for the class of 2025

2. Jasper Johnson

There are two huge recruits Illinois is in the mix for in 2025. I think we have a legitimate shot at landing both talented players, but I am going to put Jasper Johnson at the No. 2 spot for now.

Johnson is a 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard from Link Academy in Missouri. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 10 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 2 shooting guard in the country and the best player coming out of Missouri.

Illinois wasn’t even on the mind of Johnson until the last few weeks. He had nearly every team in the country after him, and back in January, Johnson released his top 10, which didn’t include the Illini.

This is another recruitment where Illinois’ coaching hiring is making an impact. Chester Frazier departs for West Virginia and in steps Orlando Antigua.

Over the past month, Antigua and the Illinois coaching staff have been doing some great work. This includes offering a scholarship to Johnson on June 19, and then Johnson proceeding to schedule an official visit to Champaign for the weekend of June 24.

That is right, Illinois is now squarely in the mix after not even being a thought for this big-time recruit. Johnson has been on numerous official visits thus far, and he will be visiting Alabama right before his trip to Illinois. If the Illini can land Johnson, it would be massive for the program.