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Illinois Basketball: Class of 2018 recruits pros and cons

By Rees Woodcock

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks reacts in the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks reacts in the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before a semifinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament between the Arizona Wildcats and the Oregon Ducks at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 95-89 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Tamell Pearson

The most recent scholarship offer by the Illinois basketball team was to Tamell Pearson. He is a 6-foot-10, 200-pound center from Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Illinois. He isn’t ranked by the recruiting services but he does have a decent amount of offers with the best teams being Illinois and Oklahoma State.

Pros

Pearson brings two important attributes to the table for Under. The first attribute is his size. Illinois wants to add some size in the paint for the future and they would accomplish that goal in signing Pearson.

The second attribute to go along with size for Pearson is his athletic ability. In Underwood’s offense, Illinois can’t have a lumbering big man who can’t move up and down the court when the ball moves. That is why getting a center who can move will be huge for the Illini.

Cons

While Pearson is big and can move up and down the court, he does have some troubles with his shooting ability. He is extremely raw on the offensive end of the court and that worries me. If he is limited on where he can score from, that makes Illinois limited as well.

Pearson is also an investment right now and not an immediate impact player. He will be stashed so he can work on his game and then once he is ready, Underwood will unleash him.

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