Illinois Basketball: Kevin Cross receives offer from the Illini

Illinois basketball still has a scholarship to fill for the class of 2019, and they are trying to fill it with their next offer.

Getting a player who can either play the No. 3 or No. 4 spot on the court is important for Brad Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff right now. They need more depth in this area. An option they are now looking at is Kevin Cross. He announced via Twitter on Wednesday that he had received an offer from the Orange and Blue.

Cross is a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward from Mills University Studies High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. I can’t find him on 247Sports nor Rivals, but MaxPreps has him as the No. 192 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 3 player in the state of Arkansas.

The numbers, according to MaxPreps, that Cross put up this season are impressive. He finished the year averaging 15.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Just by reading the articles published about Cross, you can tell this kid is special. He was able to get his Mills team to the state title. There was a game back in January where Cross led his Mills team with 29 points and 21 rebounds. The numbers are extremely impressive.

Cross is even more fun when you get to watch this kid play too. This kid brings so much natural talent to the basketball court. He clearly works hard on his game, but the game just comes to him. He has good handles for his size. His touch is out of this world. This kid is going to make some team very happy.

I think Cross would have a chance to come into the Illinois program and, potentially, redshirt year one. Even if he doesn’t redshirt, he would be a solid backup to Giorgi Bezhanishvili at the No. 4 spot. Those two would be a great duo.

With only one scholarship remaining for 2019, I think offering a player like Cross is a good idea. This is the position we want and adding him would help the team tremendously.