Illinois Basketball: Illini extends scholarship to 2024 Georgia center

Mar 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, the Illinois basketball coaching staff offered a center from the state of Georgia.

A new reality is, that after each season, the Illini roster will look different. This is why Brad Underwood and his coaching staff are looking for talent in the class of 2024. Illinois is trying to make sure they fill holes on the roster before then by offering a scholarship to Peyton Marshall.

Marshall is a 6-foot-10, 310-pound center from Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia. Currently, Marshall isn’t rated or ranked on 247sports or Rivals, but he has offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, and Missouri. So, he is still being sought after by other power-five schools. It is still reasonably early in Marshall’s recruitment, so he hasn’t cut his list down to his favorite teams yet.

Illinois basketball trying to build this far in the future is a good thing.

Right now, the Illini have two commits for the class of 2024. The two commitments are in the form of Morez Johnson and Sky Clark’s brother, ZZ Clark.

Currently, Illinois’ center position is questionable with no clear center for the next three years. The Orange and Blue do have guys who can play the center position at times in Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja. Also, I think Ty Rodgers would be able to play small ball center at times. All those guys I named are good, but I feel that they’re better suited at the power forward position.

Marshall is built to play center in the Big Ten with the size that he possesses. Illinois knows how to coach and build a team around a player of his stature. So, Illini fans should keep their eye out for Marhsall in the future.