Illinois Basketball: Illini snag big man transfer Adonis De La Rosa

The Illinois basketball team did some work filling out their roster on Monday afternoon.

Illini fans rejoiced as they heard the news about Adonis De La Rosa announcing he is transferring to play for the Orange and Blue. This is huge news because of the talent level he brings to the team mixed with the need for a solid big man in 2018.

De La Rosa was a 6-foot-11, 255-pound center coming out of Christ The King Regional High School in Middle Village, New York. He was rated as a three-star recruit who was the No. 302 player in the class of 2014 and the No. 30 center in the nation.

From high school, De La Rosa originally committed to play for St. John’s. After a redshirt year and growing another inch, he decided to transfer out and play for Williston State College at the Junior College level. He played at 7-foot, 300-pounds while with the Tetons. That long season, De La Rosa averaged 10.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in only 15 minutes of action. He was a pretty impactful player.

After that season, he transferred out and played two years with the Kent State Golden Flashes. With Kent State, De La Rosa averaged 3.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game year one and then 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds last season.

Now Illinois is getting this much-needed big man. De La Rosa will be eligible immediately for the Illini as well. This is a big get for Brad Underwood and the Illini staff. They needed another big man on the roster and they managed to fill that spot perfectly.

Illinois now only has to take up a scholarship, I believe, for this year only. I think he only has one more year of eligibility and then he is done. This is a perfect scenario for the Illini heading into a big class of 2019.

Next: Potential Illini wide receiver depth chart in 2019

I like this get for Underwood. He came through in the clutch. The outlook for next season looks extremely promising now.