Calif. star commits to Illinois
Tevian Jones, a four- star recruit in the Class of 2018, has committed to play at Illinois next season. The 6- 6 small forward from Culver City, California, who was pursued by several other major schools, announced his decision on Twitter.
Jones is ranked 117th in the national composite rankings for the Class of 2018 by 247Sports. He’s rated the 10th- best prospect in California and the 29thbest small forward in the nation. He is a key addition for Illinois coach Brad Underwood.
Other schools that made offers to Jones include Arizona, California, Nevada, San Diego State and UNLV.
But Illinois, led by assistant Chin Coleman, aggressively pursued Jones. Jones made an official visit March 9 and committed to play for the Illini less than a month later. It is one of Illinois’ biggest recruiting victories in years.
Illinois now has five commitments from the 2018 recruiting class, including a signed letter of intent from local five- star combo guard Ayo Dosunmu. Three- star center Samba Kane, shooting guard Alan Griffin and power forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili round out the group.
There’s a lot of uncertainty aboutwhat Illinois’ roster will look like at the start of next season, but Jones immediately becomes one of the Illini’s top players.
Illinois is coming off a disappointing 14- 18 season under Underwood but is assembling a lot of talent.