Illinois Basketball: In-state 2026 guard receives Illini offer

Illinois basketball is trying to lay the groundwork for a potential local commitment in the future.

While most of the Illini recruiting attention is focused on the class of 2024, the Illinois coaching staff isn’t forgetting about the future and what the 2025 and 2026 classes might hold.

The Illini have already offered numerous recruits from both of those classes. On Sunday, Gabriel Sularski took to social media to announce that Illinois has extended him a scholarship offer as well.

Gabriel Sularski helps strengthen the Illinois basketball relationship with the Meanstreets AAU program

Sularski is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Benet Academy in Illinois. He isn’t rated or ranked just yet, but the scholarship offers are starting to come in for the talented guard. Illinois was his first major program to offer, but Sularski also has offers from teams like Eastern Illinois and Illinois-Chicago.

Opinion

I believe Sularksi has a ton of potential, especially with the way he is growing. He has a chance to be a nice player and someone who can stretch the floor.

Considering Sularski is only entering his sophomore year in high school, it is tough to really project what he is going to be in a year or two. What I love most about his game is the fact he is a playmaker. He isn’t looking to just get his own. He wants to make his teammates better.

This offer by Illinois is also something that I love. Over the last few years, the Illini have started to develop a pipeline of talent through the Meanstreets AAU program. While this pipeline would have been nice when Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis were coming through, it is better late than never.

Illinois has been able to secure big commitments from players like Ty Rodgers and Morez Johnson in recent years. They will be the foundation for a potential national title-contending team. Adding a player like Sularksi would only continue to strengthen that pipeline to the thriving Meanstreets program.