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Illinois Basketball: Illini need Sadaar Calhoun’s three-point shooting

By Rees Woodcock

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 22: A basketball on the floor during a the championship of the Maui Invitational college basketball game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Wichita State Shockers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Fighting Irish won 67-66. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 22: A basketball on the floor during a the championship of the Maui Invitational college basketball game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Wichita State Shockers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Fighting Irish won 67-66. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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The Illinois basketball team extended a scholarship on Monday to a player who could come into the program and make an impact immediately.

The No. 2 and No. 3 spots for the Illini are a question mark for the future as of right now. We don’t have a single player signed up for 2020 despite there being a ton of interest from some big-time recruits. Illinois is now looking into the junior college ranks as well. Their latest target is Sardaar Calhoun.

Calhoun is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound wing player who attended Blue Ridge Academy in Tappahannock, Virginia but spent last year at Missouri State University-West Plains in the junior college ranks.

According to 247Sports, Illinois is joined by Minnesota as the only teams to offer Calhoun a scholarship. We are still early in the process, so I would imagine more programs are going to join here in the coming months.

Just purely looking at the numbers Calhoun can put up; I love this offer by the Illini. Do you want someone who can put up points while doing so efficiently? That is what Calhoun can bring to the Orange and Blue. He averaged 17.6 points, 5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game last season. He shot 48.2-percent from the field and 42.9-percent from three-point land.

That three-point number is legit, too. He isn’t just taking one or two three-pointers per game. He averaged 7.1 three-point attempts per game last season. He was shooting that many deep shots while converting 42.9-percent of them. That is an insanely impressive number.

If Calhoun does pick Illinois, I would have him slotted as the starting No. 3 but with Ayo Dosunmu and Andres Feliz leaving, I would have Trent Frazier shift to the No. 1. That means there would be a huge hole at the No. 2, so Calhoun might take over as a really long No. 2 for the Illini.

Next. Projected Illini lineup with Adam Miller and DJ Steward. dark

This is a great offer by Brad Underwood and his coaching staff. Calhoun is going to be a huge asset to whatever team picks him up. There will be more offers to come, but hopefully, Illinois can land this talented deep shooter.

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