Illinois Basketball: Illini checking in on Texas guard Cason Wallace

Brad Underwood and the Illinois basketball team had plenty of recruiting attention to divvy out on Monday afternoon.

Developing the class of 2022 is going to be extremely important. There will be a couple of key players depart the program due to graduation over the next couple of years. I fully expect a couple of other players to depart due to the NBA too. So, Illinois needs to be prepared. That is why they are focusing on a player like Cason Wallace.

Wallace is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound shooting guard from Richardson High School and resides in Richardson, Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 89 player in the class of 2022. There isn’t a position or state ranking by Rivals.com yet, though.

On Monday afternoon, Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com reported that Wallace had been offered a scholarship by Texas Tech. In addition to the tweet that Weingarten sent out, he also reports that Illinois has reached out to the shooting guard, among other teams.

What would Wallace bring to the Illini?

There is a ton to love about Wallace’s game. The first thing that stands out to me is how he isn’t just one dimensional. This kid can do it all on the basketball court. Having that type of player at Illinois is always fun to watch. We currently have that with Ayo Dosunmu.

Something you rarely see at the high school or AAU level is a defensive tenacity. That is what I believe Wallace has on the court. This kid isn’t all about scoring the ball. He helps his team by playing lockdown defense.

But that also doesn’t mean Wallace can’t shoot the ball. This kid can knock down shots from everywhere, but his specialty is getting to the rim and finishing strong. Honestly, his game reminds me a lot of Coby White.

I think Wallace has a bright future at the college level. It is going to be hard to pull him from the state of Texas, though. I sure hope Illinois can make a dent in this recruitment.