NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Will Illinois or UConn land 2025 guard Jacob Furphy?

In today’s modern era of basketball, international countries have provided both the NBA and NCAA Basketball with plenty of talent. One of those countries is Australia, one of the most successful teams in FIBA play. Some recent college stars from “Down Under” include Jock Landale (St. Mary’s), Josh Green (Arizona), and Johnny Furphy, who started at Kansas as a freshman before deciding to enter the NBA Draft.

One of the top young stars in Australia is Jacob Furphy, a 6’4 "shooting guard. He’s unrelated to Johnny but has established himself as a quality prospect thanks to his notable performances in the FIBA competitions. 

He’s now a top-100 caliber player in the 2025 recruiting class, with two programs (UConn and Illinois) looking to be the teams to beat for his services. But which makes the most sense for Furphy a year from now? Here’s a closer look at his potential fit.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Coach Brad Underwood has been tapping the international market as of late, landing a pair of quality freshmen (Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic) for this season. The team has two class of 2025 commits in Brandon Lee and Keaton Wagler, who are more guard/wings.

The main issue is that the Illini don't have any seniors on the perimeter. So unless guys like Kylan Boswell, Tre White, or even Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn decide to leave, Furphy could have a logjam to deal with. Though after seeing the big years from Terrence Shannon Jr. and Markus Domask, it could be worth it to play in this system.

UConn Huskies

It's not a surprise that players from all over the world would be interested in Coach Danny Hurley and the two-time defending national champions. The recent development of stars such as Cam Spencer and Jordan Hawkins will be major selling points to someone like Furphy, who probably won't want to be around for four years at the program.

But like with Illinois, it's not a guarantee that major minutes will be available out the gate. Even if 5-star guard commit Darius Adams plays more at the point, Saint Mary's transfer Aidan Mahaney and Solomon Ball should be back for another season after this one.

If the decision comes down to these two, both have plenty to offer. But could the titles give the Huskies the edge here?