Illinois trying to tap back into the legendary Peoria pipeline

With the new era of basketball, Illinois has not been super in tuned with the local recruiting.

It used to be, back in the day, the Illini would target in-state kids more often. The Chicago area would be huge, and for a long while, Peoria was a hub for talented Illinois players.

That has since dried up over the past decade. Sure, there have been some quality DI players come out of Peoria, but they either aren’t the caliber that the Illini need, or the players transfer to a bigger program to get more national notoriety.

On Sunday, Illinois started to tap back into the Peoria market. Quinton Kitt posted on social media that he had received a scholarship offer from the Orange and Blue.

Kitt is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound shooting guard from East Peoria High School in Illinois. He isn’t rated or ranked yet, but the 2027 prospect is starting to garner plenty of recruiting attention.

In addition to the Illinois offer, Kitt has recently received offers from Northwestern, Bradley, and Illinois State. More offers are sure to come as well.

Quinton Kitt is showing out for the Meanstreets in the EYBL

A big measuring stick on the talent of a player is how well they can play at the high school level. When you get the best talent in the country together playing AAU ball, you can really see players shine. Kitt has done a great job standing out amongst his peers.

For the Meanstreets in the E16 league of the EYBL, Kitt is averaging 15.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. Despite his 3-of-16 shooting from three-point range, Kitt can shoot from all levels on the floor. This kid has plenty of room to grow with two more years in high school, too.

I love this offer by Illinois. Getting in the mix for more local kids is always fun. Kitt is someone who could play the No. 3 or No. 4 spot on the floor for the program. I hope this relationship gets stronger with time.