Brad Underwood seems to always be planning for the future, as the Illinois basketball team is eyeing a big man in 2023.
While the 2022 class still needs to be closed up, the Illini are always working on plans to have a great class of 2023. One player they are taking a hard look at right now is Aaron Bradshaw.
Bradshaw is a 7-foot, 210-pound center from Camden High School and resides in Roselle, New Jersey. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 40 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 3 center in the nation and the No. 5 player coming out of New Jersey.
7-foot sophomore Aaron Bradshaw has heard from LSU, Miami, Baylor, Florida State, Illinois, Memphis, WVU, Syracuse, UConn, K-State, and Saint Joe’s, his coach told @Stockrisers.
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) June 15, 2021
He’s added offers from Penn State, Rutgers, Bryant, UCLA.
On Tuesday, Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers reported a plethora of programs are starting to contact Bradshaw. Among some of the notable teams to check in with the talented center included LSU, Syracuse, UConn and Illinois.
Illinois basketball continues to search for Kofi Cockburn’s replacement.
It is a genuine worry about who is going to replace Kofi Cockburn in the near future. Kofi is about to take part in a G-League evaluation camp, and the next step after that could be keeping his name in the NBA Draft.
As an insurance policy, Illinois was able to bring in Omar Payne to man the No. 5 spot. A talented player coming out of high school, Payne wasn’t able to get things going with Florida. The hope is that he starts to get his groove in year one under Underwood.
If Payne can become a serviceable big man for two seasons, that would enable the Illini to bring in another center in 2023 and have him start right away. That big man could end up being someone like Bradshaw.
Normally, 7-foot players at the high school level are slow around the court. That isn’t the case with Bradshaw. He can run the court well. Bradshaw has a great paint presence as well. He is money from anywhere inside of 15 feet. He reminds me of an Anthony Davis-type player.
Let’s start setting the groundwork for landing Bradshaw down the road. Every team is going to want him. It wouldn’t shock me to see Bradshaw sneak into the top 25 nationally when it is all said and done.