The Illinois basketball team has five-star fever, and the only cure is more talented options.
Brad Underwood has turned the Illini into a destination for five-star talent. Over the past three recruiting classes, we have landed multiple five-star recruits. That trend seems to be continuing into the future.
The class of 2027 already has two five-star recruits taking official visits to Champaign. Illinois has entered the mix for 2028 five-star big man Dylan Betts as well.
On Wednesday night, the Illini decided to throw their hat into the ring for another five-star recruit, as Bentley Lusakueno took to social media to announce the Orange and Blue had offered him a scholarship.
Thank you to the University of Illinois, Coach Underwood, Coach Crocker and the entire coaching staff for the scholarship offer! All glory to God. pic.twitter.com/cfXWxxdeeC
— Bentley Lusakueno (@BentleyLus28) August 20, 2026
Lusakueno is a 6-foot-10, 205-pound power forward from Woodward Academy in Georgia. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 6 player in the class of 2028. Lusakueno is also the No. 3 power forward in the country and the best player coming out of Georgia.
The scholarship offers have already started to flow in for Lusakueno. In addition to the Illini offer, he has teams like Tennessee, Oregon, and Miami, among others, vying for his services.
Lusakueno is very much a modern-day big man. He has the big man size, but his ability to pick-and-pop or just drift out to the three-point arc and knock down a bucket is phenomenal. I am also intrigued by his length and how that can wreak havoc defensively. When watching him play, he seems like one of those players who was a guard, then he hit a growth spurt, and now he is 6-foot-10.
The Illinois basketball program is one of the first big players to enter the picture for Bentley Lusakueno
I mentioned some of the bigger programs that are currently eyeing Lusakueno, but there are some notable names missing.
Illinois is honestly the biggest name right now to offer him a scholarship. Auburn is also in the mix, but the blue bloods and some of the other power players have to enter the chat.
I would imagine that in the coming months, Lusakueno is about to get flooded with some big-time scholarship offers. Illinois is only the beginning. Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, and Indiana are some of the names that are missing from the scholarship offer list. They will be here shortly.
Illinois is at least in the mix now. It would be intriguing if we could continue landing five-star recruits in 2028. The two we have offers in for right now are a 7-foot-3 big man in Betts, and now an offer to Lusakueno, a 6-foot-10 forward. Betts is more of a No. 5, and Lusakueno can play the No. 4. Having those towers in the frontcourt would be incredible.
Underwood has Illinois competing for these five-star recruits. We have landed a couple, but like I said in previous articles, if we can pull in multiple five-stars in 2027, then we are one of the big boys. Let’s do that and then add two more in 2028.
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