Remember the Illini’s Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn

Remember Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn? That one guy who committed to the Illini in the Fall?

On September 29th, the Illini basketball team received some great news. While Illinois football had grasped everyone’s attention, Brad Underwood had almost secretly landed a big time commit for the class of 2023. Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn, a former Purdue commit, announced that he will be joining the Illini. Though everyone may have a different experience, I remember when landing top 100 guards was a massive deal. After John Groce notably missed out on Jalen Brunson, Jawun Evans, Jordan Goodwin and more, landing guards like Trent Frazier and Te’jon Lucas became quite a story. However, after Dra committed, it seemed like just another haul in for Illinois.

After successfully landing the likes of Ayo Dosunmu, Adam Miller, Andre Curbelo, Ty Rodgers, Jayden Epps and Skyy Clark to name a few. Dra’s commitment seemed like just another day. That is a true testament to what Brad Underwood has done in recruiting.

This was year one for Brad Underwood.

Things looked bleak

Now Illinois is regularly bringing in top 75-100 talent https://t.co/S6oP3gJLl3 pic.twitter.com/LdMX9GFI6o

— Armchair Illinois (@ArmchairIllini) September 30, 2022

What kind of player are we getting?

Gibbs-Lawhorn is a 6 foot 1 combo guard that is more wired to score than facilitate offense. He’s an above average athlete, and has solid length to effectively defend. I like to think of Wisconsin’s Chucky Hepburn as a comparison given the similar size and offensive skillset. Over the summer, he averaged 16.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on the EYBL circuit.

During this current high school season, Dra has left his prep program to join Overtime Elite. Though it is odd that he has transferred schools so many times, he has put up strong numbers through 3 games. He is averaging around 20 points on 50 percent shooting. Illinois will certainly need depth at guard given that Jayden Epps and Sencire Harris are your main returners at guard. I fully expect Illinois to go after a veteran ball handler to add to Gibbs-Lawhorn and Nicollo Moretti.

Gibbs-Lawhorn, Amani Hansberry and Moretti are a solid bunch for Illinois. Terrence Shannon, Matthew Mayer and possibly Coleman Hawkins will all be gone this time next year for professional opportunities, so it would be wise for Illinois to pick up a veteran ball handler in the transfer portal. Nonetheless, adding an athletic combo guard like Dra Gibbs Lawhorn raises the potential of the Illini. Like I said before, it feels great that landing a top 100 guard is no longer the biggest deal in the world.