Illinois basketball is preparing to host a 5-star recruit for an official visit

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 improve in the recruiting game since Underwood’s early years with the program.

This past offseason was the pinnacle of everything I’ve ever seen when it comes to Illinois recruiting. The Illini earned the No. 10 in the country, which I think is way too low for the talent we’ve attracted.

Illinois was able to land five players on the transfer portal, four of which were four-star transfers. The freshman retreat was even more impressive. Five newcomers entered the program from the high school ranks. Four of the five were top 55 draft picks, and I would argue that two of the four draft picks were underrated.

Among the four top-55 recruits was five-star Will Riley. The last time Illinois landed a five-star recruit was Dee Brown 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 managed to secure two four-star recruits. That’s a good start for a class that may need some decent size given the talent Illinois will lose after the 2024-25 campaign.

The Class of 2026 has a chance to be another special group. While there is no commitment yet, Illinois appears 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 Player no. 15 in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 1 small forward. 4 in the country and the #3 player coming out of Florida.

Obviously, numerous programs compete for Constance’s commitment. Illinois is one of the teams heading into the recruiting trail. On Tuesday, Joe Tipton of On3.com reported that Constanza will be making an official visit to Illinois. This visit will take place on the weekend of December 9.

There are several players on the Illinois basketball team who are viewed as NBA prospects for 2025 NBA Draft.

Entering the season, both Will Riley and Kasparas Jakucionis were both projected first-round picks. That hasn’t changed, and there’s even a shot of Ben Humrichous who could go 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 ability to make shots that is rare in a player. Riley will 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 Riley’s. Coming out of high school, Riley was 6-foot-8 and 180 pounds. Constanza checks in at 6-foot-8, 207 pounds.

Full playability 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 an important visit in the next two weeks. Let’s hope it pays off.