The recruiting evaluation period is always a great time for Division I coaches to learn more about their prospective recruits. The Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, South Carolina, is always a favorite event. You get to see the best high school basketball players showcase their talents in front of high profile programs. Peach Jam officially tipped off Wednesday July 10. However, coaches were not allowed to watch their potential student athletes until Thursday. This made Wednesday a nice audition. However, everyone knew Thursday was the real deal.
The Illinois basketball staff has been very busy recruiting the 2020 class. After the 2019-2020 basketball season, Illinois will have four open scholarships. This is after the news that sophomore center, Samba Kane, will be transferring from the program. Another one could be available if sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu elects to go to the NBA Draft. Barring the addition of Utah transfer forward Donnie Tillman, this is how the scholarships stand. This leaves a lot of talent to be desired. Let’s break it down.
Backcourt
Illinois G Andres Feliz goes up for two. (Mike Granse / USA TODAY Sports)Andres Feliz
Illinois’ back-court will lose senior guard Andres Feliz after the 2019-20 season. Feliz averaged 8.3 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 45% from the field during the 2018-19 season. Illinois will lose a productive, backup guard in their back-court. Feliz has been known as one of the leaders of the Fighting Illini. He is someone who uses his toughness and grit to set the tone on defense. Losing him to graduation will be a big loss.
Ayo Dosunmu
Sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu had one of the best freshman seasons in Illinois basketball history. This has led many NBA Draft prognosticators to project him as a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Some have him going as high as 7th overall. Losing him would have a significant impact on the program in both a positive and negative way. Let’s begin with the negative. The productivity that Illinois will lose as a result of Dosunmu’s departure will be massive. During the 2018-19 season, Dosunmu was electric. He averaged 13.8 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, and 3.3 assists per game, while shooting 44% from the field.
The numbers don’t do justice to how much Illinois will miss Dosunmu. In certain games, he was able to single-handedly change the dynamic of the play with his elite quickness and his quick trigger of a shot. This doesn’t account for the leadership qualities he showed on and off the court. On the other hand, the positive for the program would be putting their first player in the NBA Lottery since Meyers Leonard in 2012, when the former Illinois center was picked 11th overall. This would be an incredible sell to all the 2020 guards that Illinois has offered. It would also reaffirm that the current staff is capable of getting their student athletes to the next level.
Frontcourt
Illinois F Giorgi Bezhanishvili cheers from the bench. – (Photo: Austin Yattoni)Kofi Cockburn
Courtesy of the 2019 recruiting class, Illinois’ frontcourt has improved significantly. The staff focused on adding talent to a much needed position group on the basketball court. The most significant addition of the 2019 class is Kofi Cockburn. The 6’10” 290 pound center was ranked as the 44th overall recruit. He should help Illinois clean up the glass and have an inside presence. These are two areas where Illinois struggled immensely during the 2018-19 season.
Kouma & Bosmans-Verdonk
The other two additions were 6’10” 240 pound forward Bernard Kouma and 6’8″ 225 pound forward Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk. Of these two, I expect Bosmans-Verdonk to have the best chance to play a role in the 2019-20 season. The Belgium native was not ranked as a recruit, as is the case with most European players. However, it is clear by his highlights that he is a very talented player. He has the ability to run the court and knock down threes with consistency.
Nichols and Bezhanishvili
Illinois will return senior forward Kipper Nichols and sophomore forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili for the 2019-20 season. The latter is one of the premier big men in the country. Bezhanishvili should be set for a strong season after an impressive freshman campaign. He averaged 12.5 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the field. Bezhanishvili’s growth throughout the season is another factor that the Illinois staff can take some credit for and use that to attract talented big men to Champaign.
Now that we’ve broken down the scholarships available after the 2019-20 season, let’s take a look at the Illinois 2020 basketball targets that have been performing at the Peach Jam Tournament as part of the 2019 Nike EYBL Circuit.
Peach Jam
Adam Miller (Mac Irvin Fire)
Arguably Illinois’ top priority target for the 2020 class, Adam Miller has been one of the top high school basketball players in the country for quite a while. He had a chance to showcase his talent at Peach Jam this summer and he’s played decently through four games averaging 16.0 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 39% from the field & an abysmal 17% from three-point range. At times during Peach Jam, Miller has looked like his usual self, virtually unguardable. However, at times he’s lacked urgency. As a result, his play has been less than impressive at times. It will be interesting to see if this changes down the stretch of the tournament.
Miller is a 6’4″ 185 pound shooting guard. He is an athletic basketball player with the ability to create his own shot. His size at the guard position allows coaches to use him and create match-up issues at both ends of the basketball court. His biggest strength is his ability to isolate himself and get to the rim with ease. This allows him to get plenty of free throws where he shoots the ball at a very high percentage. Miller is ranked 29th overall and is the 2nd best player in his home state of Illinois.
Miller’s recruitment
On the recruiting front, Miller has been pretty quiet. Miller has picked up offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas, Louisville, Illinois, UCLA, and Wake Forest among others. About two months ago, Adam Miller was interviewed regarding his status of his recruitment. He said that Wake Forest, Illinois, and Louisville were the schools that were prioritizing him the most. Fast forward to the present and all the buzz about his recruitment involves him committing to Illinois. An interesting revelation to say the least. However, there is simply no telling where Miller’s recruitment will take him, as he is keeping it very close to the vest.
DJ Steward (MeanStreets)
Another highly sought after in-state target for Illinois is DJ Steward. Steward emerged this year as one of the best players in the state of Illinois, particularly due to his elite play throughout the 2019 Nike EYBL Circuit. And it hasn’t been any different at Peach Jam. Through four games he has averaged 19.8 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting 42% from the field and 39% from three-point range. Steward has been just about as good as one could be against high quality competition. In fact, Thursday night he had his best game of Peach Jam, scoring 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. If he keeps this up, he might be named as one of the players of the tournament.
Steward, a 6’3″ 170 pound combo guard is a pure scorer. His jump shot has improved a lot and allows him to hit shots consistently. Steward also excels off the ball as a catch and shoot player. This has allowed him to be used in a multitude of offensive plays, whether he is playing the lead guard position or off the ball. The biggest concern about Steward is his defensive play. As a smaller guard, he struggles against bigger and more athletic guards. So far Steward has showed that what he lacks in size and athleticism, he makes up with his high basketball IQ. Steward is ranked 27th overall and is the best player in his home state of Illinois.
Steward’s recruitment
He has been pretty transparent about his recruitment. Steward has received offers from Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, and Texas among others. Of these schools, Louisville, Illinois, and Texas are in good position to land him. Things might change as Steward just received an offer this morning from Duke. Steward has taken visits to all three of these schools: an official visit to Texas on June 7th, an unofficial visit to Illinois June 26th, and an unofficial visit to Louisville on June 27th. Steward doesn’t have any plans on making a decision any time soon.
Marcus Watson Jr. (Mac Irvin Fire)
The tale of Illini head coach Brad Underwood’s time at Illinois has been about finding “diamonds in the rough”. Marcus Watson Jr. fits that description. In fact, I quite honestly didn’t pay much attention to Watson Jr., as all my attention was on his teammate Adam Miller. Watson Jr. caught my attention because of his stellar showing Wednesday night at Peach Jam, racking up 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in a close loss to the Nightrydas. Since then, Watson Jr. has been my favorite player to watch on the Mac Irvin Fire roster.
Additionally, through four games, Watson Jr. has averaged 18.0 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists per game while shooting 63% from the field. His overall play during the Nike EYBL circuit hasn’t been this strong. However, he is currently the Nike EYBL circuit assist per game leader averaging 9.5 assists per game through 13 games.
Can’t stop my people need me video: @justlobs pic.twitter.com/N7jmN59Psk
— 2x state champ 🤩 (@marcus3xx) May 12, 2019
Watson Jr., a 6’1”, 155 pound guard is a traditional point guard. He isn’t the most gifted offensive player. However, he has a sneaky good mid-range jump shot. Despite his shooting woes, he is an extremely intelligent basketball player. His ability to pass the ball is truly underrated, as is his ability to dictate the tempo of a game. On the defensive side of the ball, he struggles to contain bigger guards as a result of his lack of size. He makes up for this with his quickness and ability to read passes. Watson Jr. is ranked 336th overall and is the 8th best player in his home state of Illinois.
Watson Jr’s recruitment
Not much is known about Watson Jr.’s recruitment. He has earned offers from Illinois and mid-majors such as Chicago State, Oakland, Valparaiso, and Wisconsin-Green Bay. This list doesn’t jump out and wow you, but Watson Jr. has picked up interest from Arizona State, Michigan, Northwestern, and Wake Forest as a result of his play during Peach Jam. Expect his recruitment to explode in the near future.
Other potential targets
Nimari Burnett (Team WhyNot)
Burnett is a 6’3” 185 pound combo guard. Through three games he is averaging 15.7 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 38% from the field and 27% from three-point range. He has offers from Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, and UCLA among others. The leader in his recruitment seems to be Michigan thanks to his long relationship with new Michigan head coach Juwan Howard. Burnett is ranked 23rd overall, nationally and is the 6th best player in California where he plays his basketball. Burnett is formerly a native of the state of Illinois.
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Mac Irvin Fire)
Kalkbrenner is a 7’0″ 225 pound center. Through three games, he is averaging 6.3 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 60% from the field. He has offers from Illinois, Missouri, Ohio State, and Purdue among others. The leader for his recruitment seems to be Illinois with Creighton, Kansas State, Stanford and Xavier also pushing hard for his commitment. Kalkbrenner is ranked 77th overall, nationally and is the 3rd best player in his home state of Missouri.
Hassan Diarra (PSA Cardinals)
Diarra is a 6’2” 180 pound point guard. Through four games, he is averaging 18.5 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 47% from the field and 36% from three-point range. He has offers from Illinois, Indiana, Seton Hall, and Texas Tech among others. It is rumored that his top schools currently are Illinois, Iowa State, and Texas A&M. Diarra is ranked 66th overall, nationally and is the best player in his home state of Connecticut.
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