When it comes to recruiting, the Illinois basketball team has done a great job landing talent in the Brad Underwood era.
The Illini have been big game hunting in recent years, as we have landed players like five-star Will Riley and some of the highest four-stars, like Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn, etc. But we haven’t been known to go out and get the quickly rising player who finally has some light shined on him.
On Tuesday, Illinois saw the light on Quentin Coleman, as he took to social media to announce that he has received a scholarship offer from the Orange and Blue. This is a big offer, but it isn’t the first for Coleman.
Blessed to receive an offer from Illinois! #AGTG pic.twitter.com/Ubk38FGScT
— Quentin Coleman (@QuentinC_1) July 22, 2025
Coleman’s recruitment has blown up recently. He is starting to receive a ton of power-four scholarship offers, and it doesn’t come as a surprise despite the lower recruiting ranking.
Coleman is a 6-foot-3, 170-pound shooting guard from The Principia School in Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 168 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 26 shooting guard in the country and the No. 8 player coming out of Missouri.
The main reason for Coleman’s blowup when it comes to recruiting is that he had a big summer of AAU ball. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting an eye-popping 38.7% from three-point range.
Quentin Coleman’s recruitment is only going to get tougher as time goes on
Coleman having a big summer is great for his recruitment. He is getting scholarship offers that weren’t going to come his way unless he performed well. Now, he gets to pick from numerous schools, and I don’t think the offers will slow down anytime soon.
The senior season for Coleman is right around the corner. AAU ball is the best players in the country going against each other. Coleman is now going into the high school season, where he is going to play against lower competition most of the nights.
Look for Coleman’s numbers to really blossom for the 2025-26 campaign. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t shock me to see him go from No. 168 in the country to somewhere in the top 80. That is how much talent this kid brings to the table.