With Jeremiah Tilmon on board — yes, long-scorned fans, he signed a letter of intent — a look at how five other highly touted recruits in the last 30 years fared during their Illini career:
Jereme Richmond
The 2010 Mr. Basketball winner and last Illini to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Waukegan native only lasted one season in Champaign, averaging 7.6 points and 5.0 rebounds before declaring for the NBA draft, in which he wasn’t selected.
Dee Brown
The 2002 Mr. Basketball winner, N-G All-State Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American from Proviso East became the face of the program during his four seasons with the Illini, scoring 1,812 points — good for third in program history — and leading Illinois to the 2005 NCAA title game.