Good Morning, Illini Nation: Top 2027 targets
May 17—Most 2027 rankings haven't dropped yet. Those players, of course, have just a single season of high school hoops under their belt. But — just 25 deep — were released this spring, and Illinois has a trio of targets among that small group. A brief breakdown:
Jaylan Mitchell, Evansville (Ind.) Reitz
Mitchell half qualifies as an in-state target for Illinois given he's originally from Olney. The 6-7 forward, who was ESPN's No. 4 overall prospect, finished junior high in Indiana and turned into a MaxPreps Freshman All-American at Reitz averaging 15.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.2 steals as a legitimate do-everything type player.
Devin Cleveland, Kenwood
Cleveland is one of three potential star guards in Illinois along with Warren Township's Jaxson Davis and Bolingbrook's Davion Thompson. Count on those two getting ranked (and probably rather high) at some point. Cleveland had a bit of a tumultuous end to his freshman season when he was one of the few eligible players left standing, but the No. 13-ranked guard got a USA Basketball junior national team mini camp invite this spring and is playing well on Nike's E15 circuit for Mac Irvin Fire (while Davis and Thompson are doing the same for Meanstreets).
Scottie Adkinson, Webster Groves (Mo.)
Adkinson is another Illinois native (Marion) who moved out of state before starting high school. The 6-2 guard, who was ranked No. 20 by ESPN, starred at Webster Groves as a freshman. Adkinson barely trailed UMSL-bound Iziah Purvey for the Statesmen's scoring lead (15.8 ppg to 15.7 ppg), and the freshman guard also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals while finishing the year as a 55/33/73 shooter.
