In-state sharpshooter snags Illinois basketball scholarship offer

Illinois basketball is seeing the potential in an unranked in-state recruit for the future.

Recruiting has slowed way down for the Illini in the past month or so. It was a rush there for a minute, as we were in the running for a few five-star recruits and even landed one from the class of 2024.

Since then, Illinois recruiting seems to be at a near standstill as far as commitments or top lists go. I continue to see top lists being published by recruits, and nowhere is Illinois found. I have a little bit of FOMO, fear of missing out, when I see four and five-star recruits who don’t have Illinois listed on their top list.

Illinois’ coaching staff has done a great job thus far, though. I mean, the class of 2024 has a chance to be one of the greatest ever. And the coaching staff continues to work toward building a solid foundation for the future as well.

On Monday, Andre Tyler took to social media to announce that he had received a scholarship offer from Illinois.

Tyler is a 6-foot-5, 180-pound small forward from Simeon High School in Illinois. He isn’t rated or ranked in the class of 2026, but his recruitment is just starting to pick up steam.

Illinois is the first power-four offer for Tyler. He has other scholarship offers on the table, but they are from a handful of mid-major programs.

Illinois basketball is now targeting an ace three-point shooter for the class of 2026 in Andre Tyler

A lot of recruits are hit and miss, especially when it comes to players who aren’t ranked by recruiting sites. Some players are legitimately not ranked and others are just overlooked.

Tyler is one of those overlooked recruits. Coming out of the 2026 class, every player hasn’t been evaluated just yet. Tyler is about to catch the eye of not just the recruiting sites, but every big-time program around the country.

This summer was huge for Tyler, as he suited up for the Meanstreets AAU team in the Nike EYBL E16 circuit. While the Meanstreets didn’t have a great run, Tyler put up some big numbers.

In 11 games this summer, Tyler averaged 11.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. What stood out the most was his three-point shooting, though. Tyler was able to knock down 15-of-32, 46.7%, from three-point range for the Meanstreets.

Hitting three-pointers at a clip of 35% is solid. When you get to 40%, you are elite. Anything above 45% is just ridiculous. This kid has a great shooting ability, and I am glad Illinois is seeing his potential early on.