Over the past few years, Illinois coach Brad Underwood and his staff have turned to the international waters and the transfer portal to build their rosters.
But in the 2026 offseason, six of Illinois’ seven newcomers are high school recruits – including several in-state prospects. The Illini haul ranked No. 12 in the country (per 247Sports), with the crown jewel being none other than five-star prospect Quentin Coleman.
On Thursday, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein interviewed Underwood, and the Illini coach spoke at length about his freshman class, which, it’s safe to say, has impressed him thus far.
“I think Quentin [Coleman] is obviously very talented,” Underwood said. “A guy that has made huge jumps through the course of the summer as he’s gotten to understand what we’re doing. He’s very talented.”
No shocker there. Be it Coleman’s “Newcomer Highlights” or his performance with Team USA earlier this summer, there has been no shortage of buzz surrounding the St. Louis-area native.
Also hailing from near the Gateway City is Ethan Brown, another Illini freshman guard whose ability has excited Underwood in the early going.
“I’ve been very impressed with Ethan Brown, a young man from Rolla, Missouri. Six-foot-four, great athlete, can really, really shoot it,” Underwood said. “And I don’t want to single anybody out, but those guys have been great.”
Much was expected of that duo (Coleman in particular), but another Illini recruit has impressed by overdelivering: Landon Davis, who technically was the lowest-rated prospect in Illinois’ 2026 class. (The Illini provided his lone high-major offer, per 247Sports). But by all accounts, Davis has the ability to compete for rotation minutes this season – and his future prospects are even brighter.
“Landon Davis has been a very big surprise – a guy that’s 6-foot-9, has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, but a great athlete [and] just turned into a much, much better shooter from three than I anticipated,” Underwood said.
In recent highlights posted on Illinois basketball’s social media pages, Davis showed off the sweet shooting stroke Underwood spoke of. He notably shot with confidence and had a textbook release.
Of course, there is also Lucas Morillo, who was labeled as a four-star recruit and a consensus top-55 recruit in his class, not to mention late commits Zavier Zens and Lincoln Williams – each of whom have made headlines of their own this offseason.
“So we go right on down the list,” Underwood said. “Lucas Morillo has been out a lot with a back injury; he’s just gotten back. And so I like all [of] this group. I like this freshman group a lot.”
Earlier in the interview, Underwood also made his stance on this freshman crew abundantly clear, sending a message that signaled the college readiness of every first-year player.
“Group of freshmen that I’ve been extremely pleased with,” Underwood said. “And I say this in a positive way. We haven’t lost any of them yet. Usually in the summer, you feel like, well, there’s a couple guys that maybe can’t help you right away. I don’t feel that. We’re very smart. We’ve got a very high-IQ team with this freshman group. They’ve all adjusted, retained, been very good. They’ve all done the job physically in the weight room with [strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher].”
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