2024 point guard ZZ Clark joins brother, Skyy, commits to Illinois

ZZ Clark, a 6-foot-1 point guard in the class of 2024, has committed to Illinois, he told On3 on Monday.

ZZ is the younger brother of four-star senior PG Skyy Clark, who signed with the Illini last week.

Clark breaks down his decision

Current Illinois assistant coach, Tim Anderson, has built a close-knit relationship with the Clark brothers and family. Anderson started recruiting Skyy in the eighth grade, during his time at DePaul, and was even able to land an early commitment from him.

“Once Tim (Anderson) made the transition there, it was pretty much a no-brainer,” ZZ said.

Skyy went on to sign with Kentucky, but later reopened his recruitment, and Illinois was the clear-cut leader — because of Anderson. When Skyy committed to Illinois earlier this month, he described the closeness of his relationship with Coach Anderson.

“Coach Tim is like an uncle to me,” Skyy said. “I trust him and what he’s going to do.”

ZZ talks being a fan of Illinois, relationship with Brad Underwood

Former Illini star guard and current Chicago Bull, Ayo Dosunmu, made ZZ a fan of the program.

“I’ve always been a fan of Illinois from watching Ayo (Dosunmu) play,” Clark said.

Continuing to develop a relationship with head coach Brad Underwood, while visiting the campus this week was key in ZZ’s decision.

“Getting to know Coach (Brad) Underwood and the rest of the staff made it feel more like home. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of coaches through this process and watch a lot of college basketball but, the feeling I have for this program makes this the right time to commit.”

ZZ is making his college choice quite early, as he’s only just completed his sophomore year of high school, but he’s confident in his decision.

“Why wait, when you know in your heart this is where you wanna be… #ILL.”

ZZ Clark is originally from Los Angeles but currently plays at Windermere Prep, located outside of Orlando. He is the second member of the 2024 class to commit to Illinois, joining four-star PF and Chicago native Morez Johnson.

He chose Illinois over Arizona State, DePaul, Kansas, Washington, and others.