Top Kentucky recruits and transfer portal targets for the Illinois basketball team

Darryn Peterson - Class of 2025

Kentucky was also in the running for another top-five player from the class of 2025. I imagine that is now not the case with an entire coaching staff turnover, but if Illinois could get closer to Darryn Petterson, that would be optimal.

Peterson is a 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard from Huntington Prep High School in West Virginia. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 3 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 1 shooting guard in the country and the No. 1 player coming out of West Virginia.

In 2023, Peterson took an unofficial visit to Kentucky. He then cut his list down to eight teams in January 2024. In March, Peterson took an official visit to see what the Wildcats program was all about. This has been his only official visit thus far.

I think at this point, Illinois’ goal should be to get a visit from Peterson. He is an elite shooter and scorer, and his presence on the team in 2025 would be huge.

Antigua will hopefully bring the Illini closer to some of these huge recruits. We are a program that is getting closer to a national title, and we have the funds to compete with some of the bigger programs. Let’s start wielding our power.