Illinois basketball is poised to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament this season, and they will do so with the help of two very talented freshmen.
Quentin Coleman and Lincoln Williams, who were both the No. 1-ranked prospects in their respective states, both signed with Brad Underwood and the Illini earlier this offseason. They are a major part of Underwood's youth movement, as a majority of his top guys will be departing by season's end.
There is a lot to be excited about with the class of 2026, as they are currently the No. 5-ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten. This crew has a bright future ahead of them, especially with the connection that Coleman and Williams are starting to build during Illinois' offseason workouts.
Former Kankakee standout Lincoln Williams is already making highlight plays during summer runs at the University of Illinois. Excited to see what the freshman can do this season. pic.twitter.com/fcEJWkIHWz
— OFFSZN (@offsznbrand) July 16, 2026
Coleman, a five-star recruit from St. Louis, Missouri, was a top target for Underwood after his decommitment from Wake Forest this past March. He was the headline attraction in a recruiting class that also included four-star wing Lucas Morillo, as well as three-star Zavier Zens.
Williams, who committed to Illinois in early June, was Underwood's most recent commitment in the class of 2026. The 6-foot-5 wing, who hails from Kankakee, Illinois, brings a level of size and freakish athleticism that will be very beneficial for the Illini in the coming years.
A Champaign version of 'Lob City' would be a top-tier attraction for Illinois basketball
The Illini, with the immense size that they had on their roster, found success when it came to the alley-oop last season. They had plenty of highlight-worthy moments that got fans on their feet, including two sensational slams from senior big man Zvonimir Ivisic.
Zvonimir Ivisic had the State Farm Center rocking after this alley-oop 💥 pic.twitter.com/jd5NKmqLSG
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 15, 2026
Boswell ↗️ Ivisic
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 22, 2025
Zvonimir Ivisic got up for this highlight-reel @IlliniMBB alley-oop 😲
Subscribe/watch on B1G+ https://t.co/jEZE5LkUXC pic.twitter.com/wKWCkgKvOp
This season, the Illinois faithful should expect nothing less from Underwood's bunch, especially with the addition of Williams to their roster. He may spend a good portion of the season coming off the bench, but we should still expect jumping ability to be on full display this season.
Simply put, when Coleman is not showing off his elite scoring, he will be distributing the ball to his massive teammates across the floor. When that happens, they are going to be open in the lane, which will lead to highlight-worthy plays like the ones above.
Get ready for an absolute spectacle of a performance in 2026-27 that will lead to some of the most insane highlight reels that you've ever seen.
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