Fighting Illini basketball is still in the running for four-star big man Theo John. In an announcement on Twitter, the Minnesota native declared that his top six schools are Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, Oklahoma, Marquette, and California (no specific order). John is currently the No. 128 overall player in 247Sports' class-of-2017 composite rankings.
The process is slowly coming to a end. Blessed to say these are the final 6 schools I will be considering pic.twitter.com/d5LhVUS061
— Theo John (@Theojohn123) July 19, 2016
Illinois will obviously have five-star center Jeremiah Tilmon in the 2017-18 backcourt, but the coaching staff is looking to add another longer-term project to develop over the course of a few years. However it seems rather unlikely that John would opt for Illinois when there are more favorable playing time situations elsewhere. Still, the recruitment is definitely worth keeping an eye on as the calendar turns to August.
John Groce and Fighting Illini still have three more scholarships to use on the class-of-2017, although one of those may be used on a fifth-year player to ensure further availability for 2018 prospects. The recruiting class is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation, behind Washington and UCLA.
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