Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#1      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Welcome to the Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread :illinois:


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IL Returnees
David Mirkovic
Tomislav Ivisic
Zvonimir Ivisic
Jake Davis
Andrej Stojakovic


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New IL Signees
Zavier Zens (2026 F) committed & signed on April 17th.


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New IL Unsigned Commits
Quentin Coleman (2026 G) committed on April 3rd.
Stefan Vaaks (Providence transfer guard) committed on April 12th.


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Unofficial Illinois Loyalty Portal Tracker by soupy17
B1G Roster Tracker by NarrowJ


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IL players who entered name into NBA Draft
Keaton Wagler declared for NBA Draft on April 11th.


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IL players who entered transfer portal
Mihailo Petrovic entered transfer portal on April 11th.
Toni Bilic entered transfer portal on April 11th.
Ty Rodgers entered transfer portal on April 16th.


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2026 Recruiting (early signing period)
Ethan Brown (2026 G) committed on July 30th, 2025, signed on November 15th, 2025.
Landon Davis (2026 F) committed on August 6th, 2025, signed on November 12th, 2025.
Lucas Morillo (2026 G) committed on October 24th, 2025, signed on November 19th, 2025.


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2027 Recruiting
Quinton Kitt (2027 F) committed on November 27th, 2025.
Mason Martin (2027 G) committed on January 16th, 2026.
 
#3      
MoCoMdIllini
Good Morning Brain Juice GIF by TresorsDuMonde.ca
 
#4      
Jhlcjcos
I would love to see an athletic 4 who is a defender/rebounder dawg type kid. A guy who if he gets 10-12 on a nite it’s because he got it off hustle, transition and the glass.
 
#10      
Illinicpa14
Can’t wait to see the schedule - with our continuity should have a big leg up in the early season big games.

Also saw ND and Villanova are playing in Rome and the article mentioned there was a game in Croatia being formed…would have to assume that’s us if it comes to fruition
 
#11      
Kendall Gill’s Uncle
Whether Vaaks/Coleman are better than Boz/Wagler isn’t the deciding factor in this team being as good or even better.

I think with this roster there is opportunity for even more balance than last years team, which makes you harder to defend. Keaton was unbelievable this year, no doubt he is a legend. Late in the year, I felt the ball got stuck in his hands at times and everyone else would just stand around.

The balance UCONN had in the Final 4 game and their ability to make their 3s is what beat us. Vaaks and Coleman have the ability to shoot the 3 at a higher clip than Wagler and Boswell. Boswell was not great offensively after the injury.

Just relax and enjoy the fact that you have an awesome team coming back and it’s April 18th. You can’t make a guy come if he doesn’t want to.
 
#19      
March2TheArch

Quentin Coleman highlight from Jordan Brand Classic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2045362219815469524

Box score. QC with 12/2/5 on 5/12 shooting.
Not being a Debbie Downer but just a realist. But some of the other players stood out a bit more athletically and skill-wise.

Not trying to sound alarm bells but QC as a freshman may or may not be ready to be a 30min starter on a team hoping to be playing next April in Detroit.

Full game (boys play at 2:20 mark):
 
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#21      
StuffHappens
I'll be really interested to see what the staff does with Ethan Brown.
The kid seems to have a very cerebral game, which usually translates good for younger players. AKA Keaton
Any reads from the staff about this?
 
#22      
STLini25
March2TheArch said:
How is this guy employed by the conference? This level of Twitter ragebaiting for a guy that sometimes sits next to Bruce Weber on national television.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2045276474496692477
Click to expand...

It’s a weird argument since literally every college basketball player is a pro athlete getting paid to play basketball. How is Mirk a professional basketball player and the thousands of paid basketball players in the portal aren’t?
 
#23      
Nohops 73
First, I’m very excited about next year’s team. Don’t underestimate the value of the culture and genuine camaraderie among the returning players. Think this will generate benefits throughout the season.
It’s also interesting to compare the mindset of Blackwell versus Yaxel regarding winning and NBA draft position. While Yaxel’s numbers weren’t always great, during the biggest games he was always about doing whatever it took to WIN. Sometimes defense or rebounding was the key. Think the NBA appreciates guys who are all about winning versus putting up stats. It was one of Keyton’s biggest strengths, too. Blackwell might be overlooking this in figuring out where he should play and what he role helps him most.
 
#24      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Obviously Blackwell would’ve been the home run add. However, I’d still be very confident in our starting unit. Lots of capable pieces and lots of scoring.

I am concerned about the bench. It’s the weakest bench we’ve had since Matthew Mayer season (if we’re done adding).
Click to expand...
Justin Harmon type would be perfect.

5ppg, first guard off the bench, provides decent spark… hopefully shoots it well from 3.
 
#25      
RichardKeene’sHair
March2TheArch said:

Quentin Coleman highlight from Jordan Brand Classic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2045362219815469524

Box score. QC with 12/2/5 on 5/12 shooting.
Not being a Debbie Downer but just a realist. But some of the other players stood out a bit more athletically and skill-wise.

Not trying to sound alarm bells but QC as a freshman may or may not be ready to be a 30min starter on a team hoping to be playing next April in Detroit.

Full game (boys play at 2:20 mark):
Click to expand...
This is an incorrect take but let’s pretend it is not. No shame against the most athletic HS players on the planet. Wagler would not have stood out in that game athletically.
 
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