Illinois Basketball: Illini offer 2020 big man Ryan Kalkbrenner

The Illinois basketball team went after a big man with one of their most recent scholarship offers.

Trinity Catholic High School men’s basketball Twitter account tweeted out on Wednesday that Ryan Kalkbrenner has received an offer from the University of Illinois. This news is exciting for the big man and for the Illini because more size never hurts.

Kalkbrenner is a 6-foot-11 center from Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He isn’t rated or ranked by the traditional recruiting sites, but MaxPreps has him as the No. 274 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 4 player in the state of Missouri.

According to MaxPreps, Kalkbrenner averaged 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game during his junior campaign. Those are some pretty good numbers for a Titans team that was 25-3 on the season and made it to the Elite 8 of the Class 3 state tournament.

In addition to the great year Kalkbrenner had with Trinity Catholic, he will now finish his final season of AAU basketball with the Mac Irvin Fire. This AAU program is one that Illinois has been close with over the years. Players like Ayo Dosunmu and Da’Monte Williams also played for the Mac Irvin Fire.

Kalkbrenner’s stock continues to rise, and Illinois getting in on his recruitment is probably a good thing. This kid is improving by the day. His wingspan is amazing, he is decently athletic for his size and he is a good rim protector. Those are all things this Illini team is looking for.

I think Kalkbrenner would fit in well with the Illini. When he comes into the program, Kofi Cockburn would be entering his sophomore season. Behind him would be Antwan January. This would give the flexibility to redshirt Kalkbrenner during his freshman season. This is the plan I would have for him.

Illinois is now in the mix to get a big man for the future. Kalkbrenner is on the rise and will eventually shoot up the recruiting board. Hopefully, we can land this kid.