Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Good Morning, Illini Nation: A shakeup in the rankings

Scott Richey, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.Fri, Jul 17, 2026·1 min read

Jul. 17—There's been no shortage this summer of teams bringing in new players for the 2026-27 season both with high school reclassifications and international imports. Texas added the highest profile of the former in five-star forward Marcus Spears Jr., who was the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027 before deciding to join the Longhorns a year early. UCLA landed the biggest name among the latter in 17-year-old Serbian standout Nikola Kusturica.

The influx of potential stars shook up for the Class of 2027. Illinois and its six freshmen now on campus came in at No. 17 behind Big Ten teams like Michigan (fifth), USC (seventh), Michigan State (eighth), Purdue (13th), Maryland (14th) and Ohio State (16th), with the Buckeyes also getting a reclassifying boost from one-time five-star guard L.J. Smith.

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Would I consider Illinois too low? Maybe so. Quentin Coleman rose to the five-star ranks, Quentin Morillo is a solid four-star and I've at least got a feeling Zavier Zens could be better than his own lower four-star ranking.

Time will tell. It's certainly not like ESPN wrote off Illinois' group entirely.

"You can run a play for Coleman or put the ball in his hands to make a play, as he has demonstrated next-level shooting, passing and a controlled handle," Paul Biancardi wrote. "He competes efficiently and will take on the challenge to defend both on and off the ball. His body needs to live in the weight room this summer. His game is not too different to that of Keaton Wagler."