The hope was that the Illinois basketball team would be set up for success in the paint with the addition of Darius Wabbington.
I truly believed the Illini had the inside track for Wabbington at one point. He was supposed to take an official visit to Champaign in late October, but he moved that visit up to September 18. Illinois had a chance to do something special and pull this big-time five-star into the program.
On Tuesday afternoon, that dream ended. Wabbington announced on social media that Indiana, not Illinois, was his landing spot.
— Darius (@Dariuswabb) October 6, 2026
Wabbington was down to just Illinois, Indiana, and Arizona for his decision. He was supposed to be the future of the program, but now we are looking for answers. This isn’t the first five-star to say no to the Illini in the offseason, either.
The Illinois class of 2027 has had a couple of blows now. Wabbington is just the latest, but Moussa Kamissoko took a visit to Illinois, and he picked Syracuse. He was a five-star recruit as well.
Illinois basketball has limited options for a 2027 big man with Darius Wabbington off the board
This is a tough stretch for Brad Underwood when it comes to recruiting. An Illinois team that went to the Final Four and is going to be a top five team to open 2026-27 can’t land some of the five-star talent we are in the running for.
I am honestly not that concerned with a couple of big-time recruits saying no right now. The biggest concern I have for the Illini is who will play the No. 5 spot in 2027-28.
Illinois has both Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic listed as fifth-year players. That means they are done after this season. The Illini will be sans two 7-foot-1 or taller players in the paint for the 2027-28 campaign.
There isn’t anyone coming up being the Ivisic brothers, either. With Wabbington off the board, Illinois doesn’t have a backlog of young talent that is waiting in the wings. We aren’t in the running for any elite big men right now.
Of course, that could always change as we enter the season. The high school season hasn’t even started, so who knows who will emerge from the high school ranks.
What this feels like is that Underwood is going to lean on the trusty transfer portal. Illinois has pulled in a lot of talent from the transfer portal, including Zvonimir Ivisic. This has been a route the program has taken to get some of the best talent on the team: Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask, Quincy Guerrier, and Kylan Boswell, to name a few.
The writing is on the wall as to how Illinois is going to acquire a big man for the 2027-28 campaign. The transfer portal seems like the sure-fire option for Underwood right now. All I know is that Illinois fans shouldn’t worry. Underwood has earned our trust in what is going to happen with the roster.
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