Brad Underwood has done wonders with Illinois basketball recruiting for the past decade.
The Illini have pulled in great talent, and this continued in 2026 when Quentin Coleman committed to the Orange and Blue.
Coleman was a five-star recruit and the No. 14 player in the class of 2026. He played for The Principia School in Missouri, and now Underwood looks to tap back into that pipeline with another big-time recruit.
On Wednesday, Eric Bossi of 247Sports reported that Illinois will be getting an unofficial visit from Gassim Toure. He will be taking in the exhibition game against Baylor.
Athletic and tough senior point guard Gassim Toure wil take an unofficial visit to Illinois this Friday for their exhibition game against Baylor. Great culture guy with big upside who is still very open in his recruitment. https://t.co/Z1Rp6HrhwHpic.twitter.com/nMGwVDBl6W
– Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops) October 21, 2026
Toure is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard from The Principia School in Missouri. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 129 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 20 point guard in the country and the No. 8 player coming out of Missouri.
This type of guard would be perfect in the Underwood system. Toure doesn't just stand around. He slashes to the basket and tries to create offense.
Toure is good at bringing the ball up the court. He knows spacing. He can shoot from all three levels and isn't afraid of mid-ranging you to death.
It is kind of surprising that Toure isn't ranked in the top 100. When I watch him, he has everything you would want in a guard.
Brad Underwood is trying to find bodies for the mass exodus of the Illinois basketball roster
Underwood is smart to get Toure into the building. He can sell him on NIL and all of that stuff, but what should intrigue him the most is the potential playing time early on.
I think there is going to be a lot of departures from the Illinois roster after the season. Both Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic are gone, as they are fifth-year players. Andrej Stojakovic will head to the NBA. David Mirkovic is likely to follow suit. There is a chance Stefan Vaaks is going to at least test the NBA waters. I also believe Coleman is gone to the NBA, as he was the highest projected draft pick for the Illini.
That leaves a ton of minutes open. I think Toure could come into the program and see minutes from day one.
The Baylor exhibition game has now become even more important. Let's get the victory on the court, and hopefully we can also win off the court with a nice recruiting steal.
Today's best reads
- Early Illinois National Championship odds builds even more hype for Brad Underwood's team
- Projected Illinois basketball lineup to start the 2026-27 season
- Filtering the Illinois basketball truths and lies from the exhibition win over Cincinnati
- Illinois received highest ranking in over a quarter century in AP Preseason Poll
- 3 Illinois basketball players who could help fill the David Mirkovic void if he misses time
This article was originally published on www.writingillini.com as Quentin Coleman addition looks to have started a recruiting pipeline for Illinois basketball.