Illini basketball has landed Matic Vesel, according to Derek Piper of Scout. While that phrase sounds like a marketing buzzword you’d hear at an information technology convention, or maybe a term used during a Naval mission debriefing, it is actually the name of a soon to be Illini basketball player.
This is great news too, and Illinois really needs to beef up their front-court. Depth is needed at forward and center so that Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood can rely on his preferred three guard lineups, and not be forced into often putting four guards on the floor.
Here’s more about the possible starting center next season at Illinois, from our good friends at Writing Illini, on the FanSided network:
Vesel is a 6-foot-9, 196-pound recruit from Slovenia. He is a member of the class of 2017 as a freshman and should be a nice contributor to this basketball team. He is measured with a standing reach of 8-foot-9 and a wingspan of 6-foot-10. Those are all solid numbers the Illini could use.
Last year in the FIBA 18-and-under league, Vesel played pretty well against foreign competition. He averaged 7.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in an average of 28.2 minutes he received. His best game was against Turkey when he put up 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. His production will hopefully be close to that for the Illini.
The team is actually starting to get some size now. Michael Finke is 6’10”, Leron Black is 6’7″, and Illini basketball, in this never ending offseason/preseason of tremendous flux, just added UIC de-commit Greg Eboigbodin last week. He’s 6’9″ 220 and provides a back-up option at the four and the five. With Vesel in the mix, you now have three players 6-9 or taller, and two scholarships that are still open.
There is still plenty of Illini basketball news to come between now and when practice starts in October, so stay tuned.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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