Illinois Basketball: 2021 wing Nate Santos receives offer from Illini

The Illinois basketball team began pursuing a local product from the class of 2021 on Wednesday afternoon.

Nate Santos was the player who picked up the offer from the Illini. He is a 6-foot-7 wing player from Geneva High School in Geneva, Illinois. 2021 is a little ways away, but Illinois is getting in early on this up-and-coming big-time player.

According to MaxPreps, Santos averaged 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game during his freshman campaign with Geneva. These aren’t bad numbers considering he was likely the youngest on the team.

While the Illini are getting in early on Santos’ recruitment, they aren’t the first team to offer him a scholarship. Just in the last few weeks, both Drake and TCU have also come in with offers. What this means to me is Santos’ recruitment is likely to blow up here in the next year or so. It is good Illinois is starting to pursue him from the beginning.

I believe Santos is going to be a really good player for the class of 2021. He actually just reclassified back in June to this class from the class of 2020. He will also be transferring from Geneva High School to Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. This is a prep school where he can continue honing his craft.

The fact Illinois is in early on Santos’ recruitment is good, but so is the fact he is an in-state product and he now plays for the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program. Illinois has started to develop a strong connection with this AAU program and should be able to continue snagging talented players from this source.

Watch the offers start flying in for Santos. This kid is extremely athletic and has nice size already. He is likely going to grow an inch or two more as well. He has solid shooting ability and can get into the lane when need be. I really like what he brings to the table.

Hopefully, Illinois can end up being in the mix for Santos. He is a talented player who will only get better. They need someone like him for the future.