Illinois Basketball: 5-star Zion Cruz gets offer from Illini

Brad Underwood and the Illinois basketball team are gearing up for the future with their latest offer.

It is going to be tough to replace Ayo Dosunmu, among others, when he departs the Illini after the upcoming season. But Underwood continues to build around Ayo in hopes of not missing a beat once he leaves. Snagging someone like Zion Cruz would help fill the massive void left by the future All-American guard.

Cruz is a 6-foot-5, 175-pound shooting guard from Oak Hill Academy but resides in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is rated as a five-star recruit who is the No. 19 player in the class of 2022 and the No. 3 shooting guard in the nation. He is also the No. 1 player in the state of New Jersey.

On Wednesday morning, it was announced that Cruz had received a scholarship offer from the University of Illinois. This is a big offer from the Illini, but it is not anywhere near the first team to eye this talented guard. Cruz has roughly 16 scholarship offers on the board with some of the bigger names being UCLA, Oregon, Louisville and Ohio State, to name a few.

There is a ton to love about Cruz’s game. The kid has a tenacity that you can’t teach. He is going to play at full-go the entire game. Whether he does or not, he seems like he plays with a chip on his shoulder. Cruz’s game also has a smoothness about it that I love. He is very controlled and measured. The brain is always working. His style reminds me so much of Russell Westbrook.

Where would Cruz fit in on the Illinois roster?

There should be plenty of room on the roster for Cruz to start from day one for this Illini program. As of right now, Illinois will have pretty much the entire team gutted in the next couple of years.

After the 2021-22 campaign, Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson will both be departing. There is a chance Adam Miller is gone after that season as well. I think Andre Curbelo will still be around. He and Luke Goode will be our two main guards on the team.

I would say a one-two punch of Curbelo and Cruz in the Illinois backcourt would be amazing. They could form a duo like Deron Williams and Dee Brown were able to form in 2004-05. Having these two would make the Illini instant contenders in the Big Ten.

Getting in on Cruz’s recruitment is extremely important. Hopefully, we can make some waves and be on one of his top lists. The Orange and Blue could use a player of his ilk in 2022.