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Illinois Basketball: Illini add frontcourt depth with Bernard Kouma

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 15: Illinois Fighting Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood cheers for his team during the college basketball game between the East Tennessee State Univeristy Buccaneers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 15, 2018, at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 15: Illinois Fighting Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood cheers for his team during the college basketball game between the East Tennessee State Univeristy Buccaneers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 15, 2018, at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois basketball team added to the family on Monday night with a commitment that many people didn’t see coming.

Bernard Kouma announced on Twitter that he had decided to end his recruitment and commit to the University of Illinois. This was a sneaky pick-up for the Illini and one that will help build some frontcourt depth moving forward.

Kouma is a 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward from Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School in Brooklyn, New York. He isn’t rated or ranked by recruiting sites, but he was able to land a few solid scholarships along the way. Besides for the Illini offer, Kouma also had offers from teams like Valparaiso and Dayton. Illinois was able to sneak in on this kid and land him for the class of 2019.

There really isn’t a lot about Kouma, so it is hard to see what really stands out about his game. But, we also needed some more depth at the No. 4 spot and, I believe, that is why we went after a player like Kouma. He would help give us some size and athletic ability behind, what I think will be, Giorgi Bezhanishvili at the No. 4 spot next season.

The pipeline to the state of New York is another thing that is sticking out to me. Clearly, Brad Underwood and his coaching staff are developing a nice connection to the Empire State. He was able to snag Alan Griffin from Ossining, New York. Adonis De La Rosa transferred in and his hometown is The Bronx, New York. Those are two players who have already suited up for the Orange and Blue.

Illinois is also bringing in Kofi Cockburn who plays for Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, but he is from Middle Village, New York. Now the Illini are adding Kouma who came over from the country of Chad in Africa to play high school basketball in New York. This pipeline continues to grow.

Next. Top 5 offensive targets left for the Illini. dark

I don’t know much about Kouma. Not a lot of people do. But, as a fan, I can’t make a true judgment on if Underwood is the right coach until he gets his guys into the program. That is starting to happen. I trust what I am seeing in the recruiting game right now.

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