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Good Morning, Illini Nation: Moving on to Class of 2025

scott richey, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·3 min read

Nov. 9—Welcome to "Good Morning, Illini Nation," your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He'll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood's team:

Illinois signed three players in the Class of 2024 on Wednesday. According to Brad Underwood, that's likely it when it comes to high school prospects. The roster holes the team will have next offseason can be solved via the transfer portal.

So attention shifts to recruits in the 2025 and 2026 classes. The former are important. By the spring of 2025 there won't be players with a COVID-driven bonus year of eligibility anymore. High school recruiting will probably have a slight jump in relevance again. Right behind players transferring after their freshman season of college. (Those will be the new hot commodity).

"We're going hard on '25 and '26," Underwood said. "We've been wearing those guys out. We've been diving in hard and had a very productive fall in that area. It will be a very busy season as we get back into those and not relying solely on the portal guys. You're going to lose a ton of grads. With the extra (COVID) year, so many student-athletes have graduated. That flips the script a little bit."

Illinois' 2025 recruiting board

* Shon Abaev, 6-7, 185, SF, Calvary Christian (Fla.)

* Spencer Ahrens, 6-9, 210, PF, St. Martin (Ont.)

* Aleks Alston, 6-9, 170, PF, Kenwood Academy

* Markell Alston, 6-2, 180, PG, Christ The King (N.Y.)

* Nate Ament, 6-7, 170, SF, Colgan (Va.)

* Kiyan Anthony, 6-4, 186, SG, Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.)

* Silas Barksdale, 6-8, 225, C, Woodside (Va.)

* Jamarion Batemon, 6-3, 170, CG, Milwaukee Academy of Science (Wis.)

* Melvin Bell, 6-4, 170, SG, La Lumiere School (Ind.)

* Niko Bundalo, 6-9, 210, PF, Green (Ohio)

* BJ Davis-Ray, 6-6, 187, SG, Link Academy (Mo.)

* Jerry Easter II, 6-3, 190, SG, La Lumiere School (Ind.)

* Jeremiah Fears, 6-2, 165, CG, Compass Prep (Ariz.)

* Jayden Forsythe, 6-5, 190, SG, Westtown School (Pa.)

* Phoenix Gill, 6-2, 175, SG, St. Ignatius

* Jalen Haralson, 6-7, 205, PG, La Lumiere (Ind.)

* Bryce Heard, 6-5, 187, CG, Montverde Academy (Fla.)

* Daniel Jacobsen, 7-1, 220, C, Brewster Academy (N.H.)

* Marcus Jackson, 6-7, 210, PF, Edmondson-Westside (Md.)

* Tyler Jackson, 6-2, 153, PG, St. Frances Academy (Md.)

* DeMarco Johnson, 6-3, 155, PG, Southern California Academy (Calif.)

* Jamier Jones, 6-6, 180, SF, Oak Ridge (Tenn.)

* Jackson Keith, 6-5, 190, SF, Southern (N.C.)

* Nikolas Khamenia, 6-7, 180, PF, Harvard Westlake (Calif.)

* Colt Langdon, 6-7, 205, PF, Millbrook (N.C.)

* Kaden Magwood, 6-1, 168, CG, Oak Hill Academy (Va.)

* Chance Mallory, 5-9, 150, PG, St. Anne's-Belfield School (Va.)

* Trey McKenney, 6-4, 225, SF, St. Mary's (Mich.)

* Antonio Munoz, 6-6, 185, SF, Whitney Young

* Chuck Love III, 6-6, 170, SF, Southwest (Neb.)

* Efeosa Oliogu, 6-5, 200, SF, DME Academy (Fla.)

* Koa Peat, 6-8, 210, PF, Perry (Ariz.)

* Darryn Peterson, 6-5, 195, SG, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (Ohio)

* Nicholas Randall, 6-7, 223, PF, Vashon (Mo.)

* Jalen Reece, 5-10, 155, PG, Oak Ridge (Fla.)

* Jasir Rencher, 6-5, 195, SF, Archbishop Riordan (Calif.)

* Will Riley, 6-7, 180, SF, The Phelps School (Pa.)

* Azavier Robinson, 6-1, 180, PG, Lawrence North (Ind.)

* Kai Rogers, 6-10, 240, C, Wauwatosa West (Wis.)

* Eric Reibe, 7-0, 235, PF, The Bullis School (Md.)

* Jordan Scott, 6-5, 165, SF, South Lakes (Va.)

* Xavion Staton, 7-0, 190, C, Sierra Vista (Nev.)

* Cam Ward, 6-6, 206, SF, Largo (Md.)

* Sadiq White Jr., 6-7, 180, PF, Myers Park (N.C.)

* Zymicah Wilkins, 6-8, 215, PF, Christ School (N.C.)