It looks like the Illinois basketball team joined the family on Friday afternoon.
The Illini added their first member of the Class of 2023 on August 28 when Amani Hansberry decided to end his recruiting and choose Illinois. He was a great first piece of the puzzle, as Hansberry is a four-star rookie who is the No. 73 player in the nation.
But Illinois needed more talent for the 2023 class. We needed a guard who could go along with Hansberry’s 6-foot-8 height. Well, on Friday, the Illini got their wish.
On3.com’s Joe Tipton was the first to report that Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had decided to commit to the Illini. In Tipton’s tweet, he quotes Gibbs-Lawhorn explaining why he committed to Illinois.
“They believe in me more than anyone else and they showed it.”
Breaking: 2023 four-star Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn committed to Illinois, he says @On3Recruits.
“They believe in me more than anyone else and they showed it.”
Story: https://t.co/yS05lh53xw pic.twitter.com/W8akEYlFvb
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 30, 2022
Gibbs-Lawhorn is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound combined guard from Montverde Academy in Florida. He is ranked as a four-star rookie and ranked as the No. 70 player in the Class of 2023. He is also the No. 14 combo guard in the nation and the No. 8 outgoing Florida player.
Illinois basketball is going to have a stacked roster with the addition of Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.
That was less than two months ago, people were worried about Illinois’ Class of 2023. Fans were commenting on my posts from the Class of 2022 or 2024 saying, “What about the Class of 2023?!” I have something to say to these fans.
Trust Brad Underwood.
Underwood has yet to let us down when it comes to recruiting. It all started with Ayo Dosunmu landing, and he’s been doing a great job ever since. I expected him to build a strong class of 2023, and he does.
Gibbs-Lawhorn gives Illinois two of the top 100 rookies for 2023. We now have a good guard who can handle the ball and make high-speed shots. It will be fun to see him with Hansberry as a solid punch going forward.
Those two will be joined by a class of top five for 2024, which Morez Johnson and ZZ Clark have already committed to. The future of the program is so bright. I can’t wait to see who’s next.
