Since Brad Underwood took over the Illinois basketball program, recruiting has improved greatly.
The Underwood era started with Ayo Dosunmu and hasn’t slowed down since. In fact, the Illini have continued to get better in the recruiting game since Underwood’s first years with the program.
This past offseason was the pinnacle of anything I have ever seen when it comes to Illinois recruiting. The Illini landed the No. 10 class in the country, which I believe is way too low for the talent we pulled in.
Illinois was able to snag five transfer portal players, four of which were four-star transfers. The freshman haul was even more impressive. Five newcomers entered the program from the high school ranks. Four out of the five were top 55 recruits, and I would argue two out of those four recruits were underrated.
In the mix among those four top 55 recruits was five-star Will Riley. The last time Illinois had landed a five-star recruit was Dee Brown back in 2002. That was over two decades ago. Riley was a real eye-opener of what Illinois could do in the new NIL era of basketball.
My hope is that the recruiting train doesn’t slow down anytime soon either. For 2025, Illinois has been able to secure two four-star recruits. That is a good start to a class that might need to have some decent size considering the talent Illinois is going to lose after the 2024-25 campaign.
The class of 2026 has a chance to be another special group. While there isn’t a commitment just yet, Illinois seems to be gaining some serious traction with some big-time recruits. One player who is causing some buzz is Alex Constanza.
Constanza is a 6-foot-8, 207-pound small forward from Westminster Academy in Florida. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 15 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 4 small forward in the country and the No. 3 player coming out of Florida.
Obviously, numerous programs are vying for Constanza’s commitment. Illinois is one of the teams jockeying for position heading down the homestretch of his recruitment. On Tuesday, Joe Tipton of On3.com reported that Constanza will be taking an official visit to Illinois. That visit will come on the weekend of December 9.
There are a few players on the Illinois basketball team who are looked at as NBA prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft.
Entering the season, both Will Riley and Kasparas Jakucionis were both projected first-round picks. That hasn’t changed, and there is even a smattering of Ben Humrichous potentially going in the second round.
Riley could have a special NBA career if he continues to develop his game. He has great size at 6-foot-8, and he has the shot-making ability that is rare in a player. Riley is going to be gone after this season, and landing someone like Constanza would give Illinois another talented wing like Riley in 2026.
Constanza’s build is similar to that of Riley. Coming out of high school, Riley was 6-foot-8, 180 pounds. Constanza checks in at 6-foot-8, 207 pounds.
The all-around playmaking ability is very similar. Both players could light up the scoreboard but also do a little bit of everything on the court. Riley averaged 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game in his final season at The Phelps School. Meanwhile, as a sophomore, Constanza averaged 20.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game.
Illinois has a special talent in Riley who can shoot from anywhere on the court and is a dominant force. Landing a player like Constanza would continue that trend for the Illini. This is a big visit in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, it will bear fruit.
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