It’s official — Fighting Illini basketball has secured a verbal commitment from one of their top backcourt targets! Four-star point guard Trent Frazier (FL) opted for the Orange and Blue at the end of his official visit on Sunday, putting to rest what many had perceived to be a one-sided recruitment.
Frazier is rated as the No. 108 overall player in the nation by 247Sports; he was also considering Georgia, Memphis, Seton Hall, VCU, SMU, Kansas State, and Rhode Island.
GO ILLINI pic.twitter.com/hTEwlIGW3D
— Trent (@_Trentfrazier1) August 22, 2016
John Groce was a constant presence at Frazier’s games this offseason and that early interest was quickly reciprocated. The Florida native wasn’t shy about his feelings towards Illinois because he named the program as his No. 1 choice multiple times. Georgia appeared to be the only other school under serious consideration (Frazier had scheduled an official visit to Athens for August 26-28), though the Bulldogs had been fighting from behind due to their late entry into the race.
From what I can tell, Frazier didn’t actually play on one of the three major AAU circuits (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour) so that could be one of the reasons why he’s considered to be at the lower end of four-star territory. Still, that didn’t prevent the 6-foot-2 guard from turning heads over the Summer. Frazier was labeled as one of the top standouts from the second evaluation period thanks to his dynamic scoring ability.
Playing with Florida Elite, Frazier proved to be one of the most explosive guards in the country. He is absolutely tremendous off of ball screens, and also is a very good outside shooter.
Trent Frazier Highlights
Headlined by five-star center Jeremiah Tilmon, the Illini now have four players lined up for their 2017 recruiting class. The group currently ranks No. 3 nationally behind Auburn and Washington, though that’ll likely settle in the No. 12-15 range once top prospects start committing to other schools this Fall.
2017-18 Illinois Basketball Depth Chart
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center |
| Te'Jon Lucas (SO) | Jalen Coleman-Lands (JR) | D.J. Williams (JR) | Leron Black (R-JR) | Jeremiah Tilmon (FR) |
| Trent Frazier (FR) | Aaron Jordan (JR) | Kipper Nichols (R-SO) | Michael Finke (R-JR) | |
| DaMonte Williams (FR) | Javon Pickett (FR) |
While four-star Illinois native Da’Monte Williams — another member of the class — was previously built up as a potential lead guard, he may be better suited to remain on the perimeter at the next level. Doing so would allow Frazier to step in and see a majority of his playing time at the proper position.
But let’s not forget about Te’Jon Lucas, either! The former three-star prospect arrived in Champaign to begin his career last month, and he’ll be a sophomore by the time Frazier reaches campus. I know Illinois has been pitching a multi-guard system (i.e. the 2005 Dee Brown/Deron Williams look), but the team’s depth and talent at other perimeter slots may make that difficult to actually accomplish. So I expect Lucas to ultimately have a leg-up on Frazier for the starting job come 2017. At the end of the day, though, both players will likely see plenty of minutes.