Illinois basketball has had two-straight rough recruiting days.

Three-star recruit Mayan Kiir has announced his commitment to VCU. This is a day removed from five-star recruit Kris Wilkes committing to UCLA.

The 6-foot-10 forward from Bradenton, Florida is ranked the No. 143 best player in the nation and the 33rd best power forward according to 247sports.com. ESPN lists him as the No. 95 best player.

The commitment to VCU might be a bit surprising to Illinois fans. Early on in the recruiting process he was favored to pick Illinois by many scouts and analysts. As things progressed his profile soon began switching predictions of a VCU commitment. Kiir was also considering offers from NC State, LSU and Louisville.

Kiir took an official visit with Illinois on Oct. 7. He visited NC State on Sept. 30, VCU on Oct. 22 and LSU on Nov. 4. His 247sports.com profile does not indicate a visit with Louisville.

With the announcement of Kiir’s commitment, Illinois still has two remaining roster spots to fill for the class of 2017. The Illini have already signed three commitments including four-star guards DaMonte Williams and Trent Frazier and three-star guard Javon Pickett. Five-star center Jeremiah Tilmon is a verbal commit and is assumed to sign by this Wednesday or next semester during the spring signing period.

The Illini now shifts their focus to how to fill the remaining scholarships for next season. With the season underway, this might prove to be a tough task for Groce.

Matt is a Junior in Business

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@MattGertsmeier