Illinois Basketball: Illini extend offer to big man Kyle Filipowski

Illinois basketball throws their hat into the ring to land forward, Kyle Filipowski. 

On October 5, Filipowski made the announcement on his Twitter account that he received an offer from the Illinois basketball program. Filipowski, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward from Wilbraham & Monson Academy, would be a huge addition to the Illini recruiting class of 2022.

Filipowski has already made quite the impression at the high school level, reaching the 1,000-point mark in only his third year of varsity basketball. The forward has a really well-rounded game, using his versatility to rebound and shoot.

Filipowski is also the twin brother of Matthew Filipowski, who also received an offer from Illinois. Both of the brothers have high expectations coming into the 2020-21 season as they are a part of one of the top high school programs in the New England area.

According to 247Sports, Filipowski is rated as a four-star recruit. He is also ranked a the No. 83 player in the class of 2022 and is the best player coming out of Massachusetts. He has already garnered interest from other major programs including UCLA, Creighton, Louisville, Xavier, and Iowa. It will be no easy task for the Illini to get him into the program, but the official offer is a step in the right direction.

Fitting Into the Program

Filipowski, with his balanced game, would prove to be an enormous asset to the Illini program. The Illini already have Luke Goode committed at forward, but the two could easily play alongside each other in Goode’s sophomore year.

Filipowski could also easily slide into a center role as well because of his size and versatility. He plays more of the No. 4 role with his high school team, but with his footwork, playing center would not be out of the question after Kofi Cockburn departs.