The past 10 years of Illinois basketball has been pretty special, as we have risen from the ashes.
This program was going nowhere before Brad Underwood took over and made us relevant again. The Illini are now coming off an Elite 8 and Final Four appearance in two out of the last three seasons.
A lot of this success is due to being able to land talented guards. Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr, and Keaton Wagler are just three of the many names that come to mind.
The class of 2028 could produce another great guard for the future of the program. Brady Pettigrew has the world in his hands right now, with nearly every big-time team wanting his services. It makes sense, too. He is a newly minted five-star guard and the No. 1 player in the state of Illinois.
Pettigrew didn’t disappoint this summer, either. He is currently gearing up for the Peach Jam, which his team qualified for with a 10-3 record. Those festivities tip off at 9:30 a.m. CT/10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 14. Brad Beal Elite takes on the Georgia Stars in their first game.
That 10-3 record is no fluke. Pettigrew put the team on his back on numerous occasions, averaging at least 21.6 points per game in each of the three sessions. He capped his regular season off with a run in Las Vegas that saw Pettigrew average 26.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in a five-game stretch.
Brady Pettigrew is the exact type of guard that Brad Underwood loves to bring into the Illinois basketball program
Illinois is obviously going to have an attraction to a top 20 player in any recruiting class, especially a player who is in our backyard.
Pettigrew is a different breed, though. This kid is exactly what Underwood loves as a player. He has a little Kylan Boswell, Keaton Wagler, and Andrej Stojakovic all in one.
The ability to get the ball out on the three-point arc and just straight-line to the basket reminds me so much of Stojakovic. Pettigrew’s downhill bulldog mentality to the hoop is a little bit of the Boswell I was mentioning.
And then you get the perimeter intelligence of Wagler. Pettigrew knows when to shoot and get his teammates involved. I wouldn’t put too much stock in his 26% three-point shooting in the EYBL, as he is a talented shooter from the perimeter. You can just watch Pettigrew play and see that he gets the game of basketball.
Pettigrew already took an unofficial visit to Illinois in the past few months. He is a top priority for the program when the class of 2028 rolls around. He is our next great guard, and it is fun watching him tear up the high school ranks this early in his career.
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