Illinois staying close to home in early 2027 recruiting

Will players in the Class of 2027 be on college basketball rosters any time soon? No. Has Illinois already put in some early work recruiting what projects to be high-level talent from the state (and nearby)? Yes. Here’s a look at the rest of the Illini’s targets in addition to Warren’s Jaxson Davis, courtesy beat writer Scott Richey :

Scottie Adkinson, Webster Groves (Mo.)

Adkinson put up 15.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in his first season with the Statesmen. The 6-foot-1, four-star guard’s follow-up was a successful Nike E15 regular season, averaging 18.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists for Bradley Beal Elite.

Sekou Cisse, Principia School (Mo.)

Cisse already has international basketball experience after debuting for Guinea this summer at the FIBA U17 World Cup. The 6-9 forward averaged eight points and 7.3 rebounds in Turkey after helping Principia go 21-7 last season putting up 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Devin Cleveland, Kenwood Academy

Cleveland went from starting for Kenwood as a freshman to starring for Mac Irvin Fire on Nike’s E15 circuit. The 6-1 guard, ranked as high as No. 11 nationally by ESPN, was a top-10 scorer this spring and summer, averaging 18.7 points with a 51/42/79 shooting slash.

Josiah Harrington, North Scott (Iowa)

Harrington picked up his Illinois offer in May playing for Meanstreets at the E15 level with multiple other Illini targets. The 6-5 wing averaged 13.3 points and shot 47 percent from three-point range as a freshman at North Scott, located just north of the Quad Cities.

Jaylan Mitchell, F.J. Reitz (Ind.)

Mitchell’s impact as a freshman at Reitz earned him MaxPreps Freshman All-American honors. Add in a Nike E16 Peach Jam title this summer with Bradley Beal Elite, and the 6-7 wing, originally from Olney, rocketed up early 2027 recruiting boards as a five-star, top-five prospect.

Davion Thompson, Bolingbrook

Thompson, like Davis, was a News-Gazette All-State First-Team selection in 2023-24. The four-star, top-25 recruit put up 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for the Raiders before averaging 17.7 points and 3.3 rebounds for Meanstreets’ E15 squad.

Gassim Toure, Principia School (Mo.)

Toure was also on Guinea’s U17 World Cup roster and was basically responsible for getting Syli nationale to that stage after earning MVP honors at the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship at 14. The 6-4 guard put up 8.7 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game in Turkey in July.

Howard Williams, Oak Hill Academy (Va.)

Williams played his freshman year at Whitney Young but transferred this offseason to Oak Hill (where former Illini Kofi Cockburn finished his own prep career). Williams played for Meanstreets and was one of the top E15 rebounders, averaging 16.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in 16 games.