Brad Underwood targets a premier scoring threat as the Illini battle blue-blood programs for the nation's fourth-ranked prospect, a versatile gold medalist with elite reclassified talent.
Illinois basketball is officially in the mix for one of the biggest names in the 2027 recruiting class.
Five-star forward AJ Williams has cut his recruitment down to 10 schools, and the Illini made the list alongside Arkansas, Auburn, BYU, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mississippi State and North Carolina. Williams announced the list Monday, with the news first reported by Rivals’ Joe Tipton.
For Illinois, this is another significant recruiting win on paper.
Williams is a 6-foot-7 small forward out of Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in Georgia and is ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2027 class by the Rivals Industry Ranking, which combines the major national recruiting services. Other major rankings currently have him inside the national top five as well.
And this is a recruitment that has changed quickly.
Williams was originally the No. 1 prospect in the 2028 class before reclassifying to 2027 earlier this summer, putting him on a faster track toward college basketball and making his recruitment one of the biggest storylines in the class.
On the court, Williams brings the kind of versatility that explains the national attention.
He averaged 31.8 points and 12.7 rebounds per game during his sophomore season at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy.
Then, playing up with Team CP3 on the EYBL circuit this summer, Williams averaged 19.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, while also earning a gold medal with USA Basketball at the FIBA U17 AmeriCup.
Rivals describes Williams as a 6-foot-7 shot-maker with positional size, length and explosive athleticism who can get to his spots and score at multiple levels.
And perhaps most importantly, he's already getting experience against some of the best players in his age group.
Williams has taken unofficial visits to Duke, Auburn and Georgia Tech so far, while his official visit schedule is still being finalized. He is scheduled to take his first official visit to Auburn this weekend.
That means Illinois still has work to do.
But getting the Illini into the final 10 for a player ranked this highly is significant, especially with Illinois competing against programs like Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Arkansas.
For Brad Underwood and his staff, the next step is simple: Get AJ Williams to Champaign.
Illinois has officially given itself a chance to recruit one of the premier players in the country.
Now Illini fans have to wait and see if Coach Underwood can turn that opportunity into something more.
