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Illinois Basketball: Morris Udeze to Illini is still a possibility

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of the court as both teams warmup before the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of the court as both teams warmup before the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Illinois basketball team is likely to have some solid big men in 2018.

Leron Black and Michael Finke will be the senior leadership when 2018 rolls around, with Black being the incumbent starter. He will be a huge player this season and when he enters his senior campaign. Finke is an important player as well. He will come off the bench the next two seasons and will be crucial to giving rest to the starters.

In addition to Black and Finke, Illinois will also trot out Greg Eboigbodin and Matic Vesel as sophomores in 2018 as well. These two talented big men haven’t set foot on the basketball court for the Orange and Blue but they should have a chance to develop in 2017.

With only three scholarships remaining for 2018, who will the Illini end up landing? There have been rumblings about snagging point guard Ayo Dosunmu and getting wing player Tim Finke. These two players are the top two in the state of Illinois for 2018. One other player who hasn’t received a ton of attention from Illini fans but is still on the team’s radar is Morris Udeze.

Udeze is a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward from Fort Bend Travis High School in Richmond, Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 156 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 12 player in the state of Texas.

Despite the lack of fan attention, Udeze continues to be pursued by Illinois. He recently did an interview with Jake Weingarten of D1Vision and explained a little more about who is pursuing him the hardest. Udeze mentioned Wichita State, Houston, New Orleans, Iowa State and Illinois as the teams who have made him a priority.

I have been keeping an eye on Udeze throughout his recruitment and his AAU season. He did well for the Houston Defenders this year in the Under Armour Association AAU league. In the 10 games he played for the Defenders, he averaged 10.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Those are tremendous numbers considering there are some pretty good teams in this league.

Udeze is clearly a raw talent, though. He only shot 47-percent from the free-throw line. That number needs to increase this upcoming high school season. He will need to improve in that area throughout his career as well.

Next: Minutes breakdown for Illini forwards

If you want a traditional rim protector who can rebound, then Udeze is the player for you. He can score around the rim and rebound well. He still has some work left to do, but I would love to bring him aboard for the class of 2018.

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