Illinois head coach Brad Underwood has been busy since the school year began, from preseason workouts to hosting recruits to even being the honorary captain for the football team against Southern Illinois. Underwood's effort, though, on the recruiting trail seems to be paying off, at least in most cases.
Five-star small forward, who is the No. 14 player in the country and No.1 player at his position, made his official visit to Champaign this weekend. Kamissoko was alongside fellow five-star recruit Darius Wabbington, but just two days after the visit, Rivals basketball recruiting expert Joe Tipton has given an expert prediction that he will land with Syracuse, not the Illini.
Of course, a prediction is not a commitment, but based on the Rivals Prediction Machine, there is a 79.3% chance Kamissoko picks the Orange, and only a 2.2% chance he goes with the Illini. Other teams involved in Kamissoko's recruitment are Providence, Louisville, Baylor, Florida State, UConn, Virginia, Oklahoma State, and BYU, all schools he has visited or will take official visits to.
Losing out on 5-star Moussa Kamissoko isn't the end of the world for Illinois
Obviously, it would be fantastic to get a commitment from a five-star recruit like Moussa Kamissoko, but for Brad Underwood, it isn't the end of the world if he doesn't. As mentioned earlier, Underwood has been busy on the recruiting trail, fielding visits from multiple recruits so far this offseason.
Underwood has already welcomed visits from Darius Wabbington, who was in town with Kamissoko, and Bentley Lusakueno, a 2028 prospect, and Dylan Betts, another 2028 recruit. That still leaves Quinton Kitt, an Illinois commit in the Class of 2027, and Brady Pettigrew, who is in the Class of 2028 and an Illinois native.
There has been a recent boom in recruiting for Illinois, especially after this past season when the Illini made it to the Final Four for the first time in over 20 years and had a top-5 pick in the recent NBA Draft. Underwood can afford to lose a few recruiting battles here and there, but he will obviously work to get a commitment from any recruit who wants to check out Illinois.
So far in the Class of 2027, Underwood has four-star Kitt and Mason Martin, and could continue to see that class grow, especially with the hype around the Illini this season. Illinois is expected to be a big contender in the 2026-2027 season with the return of some big names like Andrej Stojakovic and David Mirkovic and anticipation of five-star freshman Quentin Coleman.
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