Illinois added to its 2021 recruiting class on Tuesday, when sharp-shooting wing Brandin Podziemski announced his intentions to sign with the Illini. Below, Rivals.com explores what Brad Underwood’s staff is getting in one of the most improved prospects in America.
WHAT ILLINOIS IS GETTING
One of the more underrated players in the country as things stand, Podziemski will jump into the Rivals150 when the list gets a refresh next month. The Wisconsin-based guard has been on an absolute tear this season and has certainly earned a significant bump after overhauling his game and becoming a truly well-rounded scorer. Podziemski is an elite shooter that also has the body to get to the basket and finish. But while most of the conversation around Podziemski concerns his big-time scoring, Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball is no slouch in the defensive end. Podziemski motor and 6-foot-5 fame allow him to tip passes and block shots on the perimeter as well as in the high-post. His sudden emergence as a truly elite player over the past year is impressive but it’s encouraging that the long, physical sharp-shooter is yet to reach his full potential. A move into the top-100 of the national rankings seems obvious.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE ILLINI
This is the Dosunmu Effect in action. Brad Underwood is now starting to be known as a coach with a track record of developing NBA talent, so the fact that the Illini will likely have one, if not two, players selected in this year’s draft certainly played a role here. Underwood is recruiting to a program with built-in advantages but if he continues to build a rep as a coach that exports pros, things on the recruiting trail could get even easier. Painful as it was for Illini fans, this year’s early NCAA Tournament exit doesn’t mean much to the big picture, and it certainly hasn’t hurt the program from a recruiting standpoint.
IN HIS WORDS:
“I talk with the coaches talk all the time. We have zoom calls. I’ve liked their development of Ayo Dosunmu to where he’s now a projected lottery pick. That’s the goal for everyone, so those types of things are important to me.” -- Podziemski to Rivals.com’s Dan McDonald
COACH’S CORNER:
"[Brandon] loves the game of basketball, " Curro continued. "He loves to be in the gym. He embraces it. So all of that came together and it came together pretty much since September. From that point on he decided this was what he wanted. He listened to the things he needed to correct, and the rest is history. He's delivered one of the senior years for the ages. He's been outstanding, and outstanding in just changing as a young man, which is hard for seventeen and eighteen year old guys who are being recruited with the ego boost with text messages and videos.” -- Podziemski’s grassroots coach, Antonio Curro, to Rivals.com’s David Sisk
