Illinois Basketball: Illini to virtually visit with big man Alex Tchikou

Snagging a big man for the future is priority No. 1 for the Illinois basketball team.

It was fun watching Kofi Cockburn tear up the Big Ten during his freshman campaign. He was a 7-foot monster who was rarely stopped by the opposing team. But his great first year with the Illini enabled him to be looked at by NBA scouts.

As of right now, Kofi still remains in the NBA Draft. Even if he comes back, we are still going to need someone to play the No. 5 spot in 2021. That is where Alex Tchikou would step in for the Orange and Blue.

Tchikou is a 6-foot-11, 200-pound power forward from Dream City Christian High School and resides in Glendale, Arizona. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 40 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 10 power forward in the nation. He is also the No. 3 player in the state of Arizona.

The Illini have been after Tchikou for quite some time, and their pursuit of him continues on today. According to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com, Tchikou is set to virtually meet with the Illinois coaching staff led by Brad Underwood on Thursday night. This is a big meeting for the Illini.

As or right now, 247Sports has Oregon as the leader for the big man. Tchikou’s recruitment is far from being over, though. I believe Illinois could make their mark here for a few reasons.

I believe Illini coach Orlando Antigua is great at recruiting. He is our ace recruiter and is able to go into any home – or internet screen right now – and pull in some of the best talent in the country.

I also believe that the success of Kofi last season helps with the recruitment of big men in general. Tchikou has to see that success in year one for Kofi and think to himself that he could be in the same position as Kofi in 2021-22.

Illinois should be able to compete in Tchikou’s recruitment. The playing time is there and the prior success at the position is there. This should be a player the Illini can pull into the program.