Seven months ago, Wednesday was Illinois basketball’s burning question mark.

The Illini failed to secure Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens, elite coaching names perceived to have the draw to lure big-name talent down I-57.

Then the new guy was hired.

It seemed like John Groce could hardly strap on his navy Nike hat at his introductory press conference before he was battered with recruiting questions on how to restore Illinois’ prestige among nationally recognized elite talent, especially in the Windy City.

That footwork is finally over, and for now, Groce has quieted the skeptics.

On Wednesday’s National Signing Day, the first-year coach ushered in his first recruiting class, signing Austin Colbert, Malcolm Hill, Maverick Morgan, Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate to the Class of 2013 and drawing praise from the major scouting services. Scout.com has Groce’s class ranked No. 22 in the nation. Rivals.com has the class of 2013 Illini at No. 10 and ESPN ranked them at No. 23.

Whichever way you slice it, Groce had a late start and still signed a top-25 recruiting class, brought in transfers Rayvonte Rice and Sam McLaurin — increasing the tally of Groce-recruited Illini to seven in seven months — and tapped that important Chicago pipeline.

“I think it was critical,” Groce said. “They’ll always have a special place in my heart, as did the ’09 class when I was at Ohio. That’s the point in time where they basically have to decide I believe in the vision, I see where this thing is going, I want to be a part of that without as much evidence as the competition.”

Nothing was handed to Groce. Right off the bat, he had to earn the trust of Bruce Weber holdover Malcolm Hill to prevent him from jumping ship. Hill in particular wanted to come play for his home-state school, and all he needed was approval of Weber’s replacement.

One of the first calls Groce placed after he accepted the job was to Hill, who accepted the new Illini coach’s gesture and got the class rolling in the right direction.

“You gain a little bit of momentum each time a guy says ‘yes’ and wants to be a Fighting Illini,” Groce said. “That kind of happened with this class. You’re starting to see some carry over with that as we’re starting to recruit some of the underclassmen.”

The pathway to future talent might have been paved by Kendrick Nunn’s commitment, perhaps the gem of Groce’s first class. Aside from troubled star Jereme Richmond, Nunn is the highest profile Chicago-area Illini recruit since Dee Brown committed in 2002. Nunn, along with fellow Illini signee Jaylon Tate, attends Simeon Career Academy, which has a reputation as the poster child for top Chicago basketball recruits (it’s also where Bulls superstar Derrick Rose went to high school). But while Groce secured Nunn and Tate, his recruiting prowess couldn’t purge their teammate, Class of 2013 No. 2 recruit Jabari Parker.

“Me and Coach Groce have a great relationship,” Nunn said. “I feel very comfortable around him. He’s honest. He’s pretty straightforward. He’s going to motivate me to get to the next level.”

Establishing a Simeon pipeline was viewed as such a high priority that it earned the high school’s head coach, Robert Smith, outside chatter for hire as the new head coach at Illinois prior to Groce’s hiring. Even after athletic director Mike Thomas had filled the position, Groce met with Smith over the summer to establish a working relationship.

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know him,” Groce said. “He’s bright. He does a great job with his kids. I think he really cares about his kids, and we feel fortunate we’re going to have the chance to coach a couple kids from his program.”

The final piece to the puzzle was added on Monday, when New Jersey native and four-star Rivals recruit Austin Colbert committed to Illinois. He gave Groce a second forward to round out a recruiting class of five players that are all naturally fit for different positions, a goal the Illini coaching staff had set for themselves seven months ago.

That was when Groce didn’t have three recruits from the Chicago area or a top-25 class under his belt. Then recruiting concerns seemed viable. Now it seems he has all the answers. Unprovoked, Tate and Nunn both used the same word to describe Groce.

“He’s real honest,” Tate said. “I got a good vibe from him when I talked to him. I just like him as a mentor.”

Ethan can be reached at asofsky1@ dailyillini.com and @asofthesky.