Illinois basketball getting in early on electric in-state recruit

It is never too early to start targeting a recruit, and the Illinois basketball team took that to heart over the weekend.

Since Brad Underwood took over the Illini, this program has recruited on a level we hadn’t seen since the Bill Self days. Underwood continues to pull in elite recruits, and I trust his decision-making when it comes to targeting talented players.

On Saturday, Cole Kelly took to social media to announce that he had received a scholarship offer from Illinois.

Kelly is a 6-foot-6 wing who will be suiting up for Neuqua Valley High School in the winter. He is currently with Breakaway Basketball in the AAU circuit. There isn’t a lot on Kelly. Why, you may ask? Because the kid is from the class of 2028.

Just leaving middle school, Kelly will be entering the high school ranks here in the next month. While his entrance into college basketball is nearly a half-decade down the road, Kelly has already made quite the impact.

According to coach Treal Holland II, Kelly aged up this summer. He wasn’t just playing with kids older than him, but he was in the 16U AAU league. That is multiple years ahead of where he is at age-wise. At this point, there aren’t any stats to report for Kelly either, as he is just exiting the middle school ranks.

Cole Kelly seems like he could grow into a great recruiting prospect for the Illinois basketball program

If the Illini didn’t think this kid was going to be something special, they probably wouldn’t have offered him a scholarship. Illinois became Kelly’s first scholarship offer.

While it is extremely early, and he hasn’t even played a single second in the high school ranks, Kelly does seem to possess a fun game.

Kelly brings a lot of energy to the court. His teams aren’t going to fall asleep on either side of the court due to his great energy.

It seems that Kelly’s specialty is shooting from three-point range. He looks to be a good spot-up shooter, but I wouldn’t sleep on his ability to create his own shot.

As time goes on, even though he is already 6-foot-6, Kelly will grow and get stronger. He is going to be a monster by the time he is a junior and senior in high school. Hopefully, Illinois is still one of his top options by then. I love this offer by the Illini.