Cameron Christie picked Minnesota, Jeremy Fears pledged to Tom Izzo and Michigan State, Darrin Ames committed to Kansas State, both Brock Harding and Owen Freeman are set for Iowa next year, and the list goes on. Seniors from the state of Illinois continue to fly off the board making their college commitments. 

Two of the newest commitments from the state’s 2023 class are Richard Barron and Wes Rubin, both from the Meanstreets. Barron, a 6’5” wing guard of St. Ignatius Prep, picked George Mason. Rubin, a 6’8” power forward of Simeon High School, chose Northern Iowa. 

Barron made his commitment after receiving a long list of scholarship offers from programs nationwide. Arizona State, Bradley, DePaul, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kent State, Loyola Chicago, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Toledo, Southern Illinois, UIC, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee had all offered Barron. George Mason was one of the first schools to offer him during the summer before his junior year.

The pick for Rubin comes after he had initially committed to Loyola Chicago along with his brother Miles back in June but later opened his commitment in September. Northern Iowa had just offered him earlier this month and he did not wait long picking the Panthers. 

Following these commitments, only one of the top twenty players in the NY2LA rankings for Illinois’ 2023 class remains available.