Illinois Basketball: Illini “definitely a serious contender” for Wesley Cardet Jr

The core of one of the best teams we have ever seen in Champaign is departing the program and there are three available scholarships to fill, that is what the Illinois basketball team is facing heading into 2021-2022.

Senior guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams will likely be joined by guard Ayo Dosunmu and center Kofi Cockburn as the four main players to leave the Illini after the upcoming season. With so much talent departing, Illinois is going to need to find players to fill those holes.

Luke Goode has already stepped up to the plate as the lone commitment for the Illini in 2021. With the number of options dwindling for the upcoming recruiting class, Illinois is going to have to find a few gems and rising stars. Someone to keep an eye on is Wesley Cardet Jr.

The 6-foot-6 combo-guard from West Oaks Academy has a lot of recruiting momentum right now. Rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 54 player in the class of 2021, Cardet has roughly 17 scholarship offers with the apparent leader being Alabama, according to 247Sports.

While a good program, the Crimson Tide might not end up being the team of choice. Illinois is a strong contender for the stretch-guard.  Offering Cardet a scholarship back in August, the Illini have since had a Zoom meeting with the Florida native.

The Writing Illini had a chance to chat with Cardet, and it seems that the connection between him and the Illinois coaching staff is strong.

“They call me every day.”

The conversations span further than just basketball with the Illinois basketball team

“Coach does a great job communicating with me, dad, and coach daily. I saw the school, dorms, and facilities during the Zoom call. We definitely talk basketball. The most important thing I gather from our conversation is the coaches believe in me and my abilities. They told me how they are going to use me, being able to play on and off the ball. Lastly, they talk about the steps needed for me to get to the NBA.”

Back in September, Cardet let the Writing Illini in on where he was with his recruitment and his thoughts on programs. He had his mind set on playing the No. 1 or No. 2 at the college level. That is still his goal moving forward.

“Playing the No. 1 and No. 2 is still a priority. I have been playing the No. 1 since eighth grade. I started playing both positions last year so I can learn multiple positions. Coaches are playing position-less basketball now, so I am trying to stay ahead of the curve.”

Coach Brad Underwood has always loved playing position-less, just look at what he did last season starting four guards in some games. They also love players who can play at both ends of the court. That is something they see with Cardet too.

“The coaches like that I play both ends of the court. They called me the best two-way player in the country, which is cool because I take pride in my defense.”

With what seems like a strong connection to the Illinois coaching staff, are the Illini serious contenders at landing Cardet?

“Illinois is definitely a serious contender. Coach O is like family. There is a level of trust with him.”

While Illinois looks good in the Cardet recruitment, there are other programs who want his commitment as well.

“Every school has one or two things that stand out. I don’t want to get into ranking schools, but I do like that Illinois has someone on the staff I can trust.”

There is so much focus on Cardet’s recruitment and what college he is going to choose, but the talented guard hasn’t even started his senior season with West Oaks.

The Flame saw great success during the 2019-20 campaign finishing the year 25-7 and beating the likes of national powers Prolific Prep and Oak Hill Academy. With such a great showing last season, 2020-21 has the stakes raised even higher, especially considering Ballislife.com has West Oaks checking in as the No. 6 high school basketball team in the nation in their Fab 50.

A big part of the West Oaks program, Cardet looks to raise his game and his team’s game to another level.

“Individually, I want to improve on being a leader and my leadership skills. My personal goal is to be recognized as the best two-way player in America. As a team, we are the most talented team in America from top to bottom. Our goal is to showcase that every time we play.”

Cardet has some lofty expectations to live up to in his final season with the Flame. He has to balance his play and high school life while making a big decision about his future. This is a decision that won’t be coming any time soon.

“I am not going to narrow it (top list) down but I am still deciding after the season. April is the target month.”

On top of everything going on in the world, Cardet has a big life decision to make in the coming months. At the end of the day, it seems like Illinois will be in the mix when that decision is made. For now, we just have to watch the best two-way player tear it up for West Oaks this season.