By Michael Wojtychiw

Destiny Jackson knew.

Walking onto the University of Illinois’ campus, spending time with the players, the coaches, whether it be in the gym, on phone calls or hanging out at the pool on her summer visit, she knew that was where she wanted to be.

The Whitney Young senior guard made it official last week when she committed to play college basketball for the Illini next season in front of her teammates, coaches, friends and more in a commitment ceremony at the school.

“Honestly, when I went there, it just felt like home,” she said. “They say there’s that feeling that when you know, you know and I feel like I knew.

“They’ve got a great plan for me and I’m looking to winning some championships and doing some things that haven’t been done there.”

The University of Illinois women’s basketball program is one that’s on the rise, especially since head coach Shauna Green took over two years ago. In her two years in Champaign she has led the Illini to back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, also the last time the program had consecutive back-to-back winning seasons.

After an NCAA Tournament appearance in her first year, the Illini overcame being a fourth seed in the inaugural Women’s basketball Invitation Tournament to win the tournament, the program’s first-ever postseason tournament championship.

That trajectory is something that truly excited Jackson as she was going through the recruiting process. She said that Green and her staff were relentless in recruiting her from the day they took over as coaches, reaching out nearly every day and making her feel like she was one of them before she had even had the opportunity to visit.

“One or two weeks after she got the job, I heard from her (Green) and it was such a great connection from the start,” Jackson said. “They’re building something great. I feel like the impact that Coach Shauna has had, I feel like she’s going to continue the success and I can’t wait to help build on that.

“Outside of the recruiting dead period, there wasn’t a time they weren’t reaching out to me.”

Jackson, who is ranked by ESPN as the 24th best senior prospect and a five-star recruit, chose the Illini over West Virginia, North Carolina, Baylor and Arizona, where former teammates Skylar Jones is entering her sophomore season.

Other than being close to home and her family being able to see her play in college, there was something else that stood out about going to a place that may not be known for its basketball program.

“A hundred percent,” she said about the allure of making her own legacy. “Like Caitlin Clark, she went to Iowa and started her own legacy, getting five-star recruits to come there.

“It’s different when you got the hometown name of your chest too. You can go there and do something big. More people are prone to come to support you just because they know you and have seen you play.”

Jackson wasn’t the only one impressed by what the Illini had to offer. Her high school coach, Krissy Harper, loved what the Illinois program had shown Jackson throughout the entire recruiting process.

“Days like this mean everything,” Harper said. “Destiny is a type of kid who needs to connect with her coaches…it’s why our relationship really works.

“She felt that connection with the Illinois coaches. What really impressed me was how genuine they are. The recruiting process can be full of bumps, but they were true to who they are from day one. Being around them, hearing what they had to say, I even wanted to go play for Coach Green. Them being genuine really set them apart.”

Harper, a former collegiate basketball player herself at Grambling State University, is happy with what Jackson has been able to achieve, but knows there’s more work to be done.

The Dolphins have won city championships in each of Jackson’s first three seasons and look primed to win yet again.

“This feels amazing to get this done now,” Jackson said. “Now I can start getting familiar with [the Illinois] system and integrating it into my daily workouts. It’s definitely a stress relief.”

“The city championship is definitely a goal, four times,” Harper said. “And a state championship…that would really cap off her senior season and us being able to send her off the way she needs to.”