Class of 2016 power forward Nick Rakocevic was in attendance for the Illinois Fighting Illini 48-39 loss to #20 Ohio State. Despite the “basketball” on display that night, Rakocevic is very high on the Illini. John Groce is suffering through the worst season Illinois has endured in a generations, but overall the program remains strong. At least in the eyes of this sophomore at St. Joseph in Westchester, IL.
“It’s so fun. It’s going great. The crowd is electric. I like all the fans here,” said Nick Rakocevic via the Champaign News-Gazette. “I think my game would fit in well with Illinois, and so far it’s been really good.”
The Gazette also referred to Nick Rakocevic with the phrase: “many consider to be the best player in the state in the 2016 class.”
His star rating isn’t phenomenal, but that should go up exponentially given that he plays for the AAU team of all AAU teams, the Mac Irvin Fire. And as we all know, the quality of your AAU team has a huge effect on your star rating among recruiting experts. 2015 Illini target Jalen Brunson also balls for Mac Irvin Fire. And Nick Rakocevic plays for St. Joe’s, under legendary Coach Gene Pingatore. The school produced Evan Turner, Isaish Thomas, one of the guys in “Hoop Dreams” and former Illini star Demetri McCamey.
In other words, Nick Rakocevic has all the right connections going for him. But the Illini have not offered him- yet. Creighton, Miami, and Northern Illinois have. The Illini will likely offer him soon, as Marquette, Florida, Northwestern and Iowa have all shown interest in Rakocevic.
Nick Rakocevic is a versatile big man, who can play inside-outside, bring the ball up, shoot from outside. John Groce has been in contact with him for about 3-4 months.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)