The Illinois basketball team has an extremely bright future for multiple reasons.
Brad Underwood and the coaching staff have hit the recruiting trail hard over the past few weeks and really since he took over the reins of this struggling program. Since his takeover of the program, things have felt different in a good way.
I am excited to see the type of talent that the coaching staff can bring in over the next few recruiting classes, but one of the main focuses is getting someone who is taller than Underwood to play in the paint for the Illini. That is actually what he said when Jeremy Werner of Scout posed the question to him.
I asked #illini coach Brad Underwood what he needed in Class of 2017.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) May 2, 2017
His response: "Someone taller than me."
But, Illinois might not be getting a big man for the class of 2017. That doesn’t mean one won’t be coming in 2018, though. The staff has offered quite a few players for the class of 2018 and one of those big men that has a possibility of coming to Champaign is Morris Udeze.
Udeze is a 6-foot-8, 215-pound, three-star center from Richmond, Texas. He isn’t ranked nationally, but he does have a decent amount of recruiting attention right now. He has six scholarship offers including the Illini.
Illinois needs big man help heading into the future, and while Udeze is still a little raw, he is a beast inside and can be a defensive stopper for this basketball team.
Udeze told the Writing Illini that he doesn’t have a program that stands out to him and he doesn’t know on a decision date, but that doesn’t mean a visit to Champaign isn’t in the plans. He says he is going to take a visit to Illinois but the date is not set yet. The only other visit he has been on so far is to the University of New Orleans.
Illinois has caught the eye of Udeze for more than one reason as well. Not only does he think the coaching staff is great, but he also has another reason to think about the Illini that is more close to the heart.
“I have family there and family is everything,” said Udeze.
That line right there says to me that this kid gets it. Mentally, Udeze is all there and that is huge for whatever team ends up snagging him.
Udeze also has great potential as well. He is clearly raw on the basketball court right now, but with the great coaching staff we have, I believe he will develop into a really good center that could help this team to great heights.
When I watch Udeze play basketball I think a lot about when Nnanna Egwu first stepped on the basketball court for the Illini. While Udeze has more girth than Egwu, they both were great rim protectors who are good at rebounding. They both needed to develop their offensive game more, and Udeze actually has a coach who can do that in Underwood.
Next: 3 guards the Illini are eyeing for future
Illinois needs a big man for the future and getting a player like Udeze could be key. I think he has great potential and I hope they can bring him aboard.