Despite the recent struggles by the Illinois basketball team, the Illini coaching staff is still working hard on the recruiting trail in efforts to improve this team in the future.
There have been many offers on the table from Brad Underwood and the rest of the Illinois staff. One of the more intriguing offers is to Luke Kasubke. He is an underrated wing who could really help this program with their scoring woes.
Kasubke is a 6-foot-6, 175-pound shooting guard from Chaminade High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 228 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 58 shooting guard in the nation. He is also the No. 4 player in the state of Missouri.
On December 12, the Illini offer Kasubke a scholarship. This was a big move by the Illini because this kid clearly has talent, and he is being offered by other big-time programs like Creighton and Kansas State. Getting in on his recruitment now will only better the chances of landing him in the future.
I would imagine that Kasubke’s recruitment continues to rise as well. Last Thursday, his Chaminade team played in the 48th Annual Chaminade Tournament. Kasubke showed out in the first round of the tournament dropping 50 points in his team’s victory. That is an impressive number at any level, especially for a prestigious program like Chaminade.
This great performance last week will surely get the attention of more programs throughout the country. That will make it harder for the Illini to be able to snag this kid, but they saw something in him before most teams. Kasubke sees the vision for the Illini too.
In a recent interview with Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, Kasubke talks about his recruitment with Illinois and where they are going as a program.
"“Yeah so I’ve been talking to coach walker for a long time and they came to the CBC game and offered me a day after that. I went to a game last year too,” Kasubke said.“Yeah I think they are [on the rise] and I know they got Ayo [Dosunmu] and have some good recruits coming in for this year’s class."
Getting a player like Kasubke interested in the Illini is a good idea. This kid can get buckets from anywhere on the court and that is what Illinois is missing right now. Let’s get in on his recruitment and see where it takes us. Developing a pipeline to Chaminade would be huge for the program.