Sep. 21—Darius Wabbington released a list of six finalists at the end of June, seemingly narrowing his recruitment to Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina and Texas.
That didn’t stop Illinois from getting seriously involved.
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A month-and-a-half after naming his top six, Wabbington swapped out Kentucky for the Illini, and the Class of 2027 five-star center has only become more of a priority for Brad Underwood and Co. What started as an in-depth Zoom meeting roughly two months ago culminated in an official visit this past weekend.
“That was the real introduction,” Wabbington said about the Zoom with the Illinois coaching staff. “The relationship is new because of the five-for-five rule and their team dynamics, but they’ve made some great points. They came to Arizona and had an in-home visit on Thursday before I flew out here. That was showing they’re real serious. Showing that I’m a priority. It definitely feels good.”
Wabbington actually moved up his visit to Illinois from October to this past weekend after continuing to develop a relationship with the coaching staff. There was a lot to see — and even more to discuss — and the 6-foot-11, 255-pound center wanted to do it in person. Wanted to see it for himself.
While Wabbington still has an official visit scheduled with Arizona this coming weekend and an early November trip planned to Texas, Illinois has emerged as a legitimate player in the recruitment for the consensus top 20 prospect in the Class of 2027 ranked as high as ninth nationally, per ESPN.
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“Whenever that time for a decision comes, it will come,” Wabbington said, acknowledging he’s getting close. He took a visit to Indiana earlier this month, eliminated Louisville from contention and saw North Carolina end its pursuit.
“(The Illini) feel like I fit real well,” Wabbington continued. “The (Ivisic) twins are leaving, and they think (David Mirkovic) is going to the NBA, which he probably should. They think I’m going to come in and do a lot of what he does for them. That’s what they see for me.”
The freedom Wabbington sees within Illinois’ offensive scheme is appealing. He’s intrigued by the fact the Illini don’t run many sets and instead play out of concepts. It’s similar, at a base level, to how he played this spring and summer with Compton Magic. Wabbington averaged 16.2 points and was the third-leading rebounder on the adidas 3SSB circuit with 6.9 per game.
“I feel like Compton Magic really gave me the opportunity to go out there and play freely, and I feel like it led to not only a lot of individual success, but team success,” Wabbington said. “It translates. It was some of the same stuff Illinois does.”
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Illinois has some built-in recruiters outside the coaching staff that could help sell Wabbington on his fit in Champaign. Wabbington played with Illinois freshman guard Quentin Coleman with Team USA this past summer at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup. He’s also been in contact with Class of 2027 Illini commits Quinton Kitt and Mason Martin on social media.
“The players are definitely into it,” Wabbington said. “The commits are into it. They’ve got a good community here.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
