Illinois Basketball: Illini one step closer to landing George Conditt

The Illinois basketball team is one step closer to landing a big man with a scholarship offer to George Conditt.

Earlier today, Conditt announced via Twitter that he was offered a scholarship by Brad Underwood and the Illini coaching staff. This offer was extended to him on a visit he is taking to Champaign this weekend.

The talk of the Illinois recruiting world has been the fact they don’t have a true center for 2017 and moving forward. That has been a big issue for the program but things could be changing with the offer to Conditt.

Conditt isn’t rated by the recruiting sites yet, but he is a very underrated player from the class of 2018. He is a 6-foot-11 center from Chicago, Illinois and that is huge for the Illini. They can not only snag a player who has the height to play the center position, but they also would continue establishing a presence in Chicago.

This upcoming season, the Illini will likely start Leron Black at the center position. This is fine but he is only 6-foot-7. It will be interesting to see how he uses his 6-foot-11.5 wingspan against some of the biggest bodies in the Big Ten. But, he will still be a viable option in next season.

In 2018, the Illini will once again have Black but getting Conditt would help. He would likely make an impact early on because of his size and skillset. He brings a game to the table that is exciting to watch.

Conditt reminds me of a player that committed to the Illini for 2017. Much like Mark Smith, Conditt was a little-known product in the recruiting game. According to Joe Henricksen of the Sun-Times, Conditt was a 6-foot-7 player not too long ago. He has now grown to become a 6-foot-11 talent who has multiple programs looking to sign him.

While Conditt is a big man and that will help the Illini, the fact that he can also handle the ball is a huge asset. He clearly handled the ball a lot when he was smaller, and now that he has grown into his body, he has become a dominant force.

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The shooting ability and presence it the paint really impresses me as well. He can not only bang around and get easy baskets around the rim, but he can also step back and shoot the three as well. Getting Conditt should be a priority for Underwood and his coaching staff. He would help this team tremendously in the future.