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:
That Illinois will enter the final month of the current recruiting calendar without a commitment in the Class of 2023 is not an indictment. The Illini will, in theory, have just two open scholarships ahead of the 2023-24 season — the one that’s open now and the one currently held by Matthew Mayer.
Everybody else on the roster could return in 2023-24. Will they? Given the current state of college basketball probably not. Terrence Shannon Jr. probably doesn’t intend to use both of his remaining years of eligibility. Coleman Hawkins also has his eye on the NBA after the coming season if at all possible.
So there might be more room to work for Brad Underwood and Co. For now, the focus has been on Mount St. Joseph (Md.) forward Amani Hansberry. Part of said focus, though, could shift to Compass Prep (Ariz.) wing Trent Pierce, who released a top six that included Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Florida.
6️⃣ #blessed pic.twitter.com/Sad8cEGTq9
— Trent Pierce (@trentpierce22) July 6, 2022
Pierce, a Tulsa, Okla., native will play a national schedule this coming season after transferring to Compass Prep. That’s a positive for a guy that, based on his top six, will play at the high major level.
But how would he fit at Illinois? The shift to big guards and bigger wings in Champaign would suit Pierce to a T given the four-star forward checks in at 6-foot-8 and 185 pounds. The chance that Hawkins could follow Mayer out the door after next season would also create some opportunity.
