Illinois Basketball: Illini wins out on four-star big Amani Hansberry

Illinois Basketball gets a big win on the recruiting trail, landing top-100 frontcourt prospect Amani Hansberry. What will he provide to the team?

As a whole, the Big Ten has been killing it on the recruiting trail. Both Michigan State and Ohio State have top-5 classes in the 2023 class, while Penn State and Maryland have each landed key prospects recently. One program that has been quiet is Illinois Basketball, which didn’t have a commit yet to this point.

The good news for them is that has changed on Sunday, with the Illini landing big man Amani Hansberry. He’s a 6’8 and 225-frontcourt player from the state of Maryland, which makes it a surprise that the Terrapins didn’t scoop him up. They actually weren’t part of her final five, with Penn State, Virginia Tech, Miami, and Auburn among the finalists.

Hansberry was already on the radar among power conference programs heading into this Summer’s Live Evaluation period but he had some awesome consistent performances that elevated him to “four-star” and top-100 status in the 2023 class.

What makes him such an interesting prospect is his all-around game. Hansberry has great mobility for a big man, can be a great rim runner and protector, and is a skilled passer and capable scorer inside. His defense and rebounding are already strong and with more development can become an All-Big Ten player in the future. The only concern with him is that his game is a bit of a “tweener”, as he’s built like a power forward but plays like a center. With more size on him Hansberry can be that or with an improved shot can still be a four.

From a roster standpoint, Illinois will be losing Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer after next season. They do have Dain Dainja, Coleman Hawkins, and incoming freshman Zacharie Perrin but to this point, none have played extended minutes. We’ll see if any breaks out this season and how the projected rotation looks but Hansberry should still have a good shot at making an impact early.

Illinois could lose a number of players after next season so expect Amani Hansberry to be the first of several commits in the 2023 class. Look for them to add another forward and a ball-handler to take care of potential holes to build off of a good start for the Illini.