Good Morning, Illini Nation: Illinois offers 2026 guard Brandon Bass Jr.
Jun. 22—Welcome to "Good Morning, Illini Nation," your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He'll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood's team:
Illinois is slowly building its recruiting board for the Class of 2026 with a number of new additions in the last few months. The latest is a rising sophomore with a notable father, with Brandon Bass Jr. earning his Illini offer late last week.
Blessed to receive an offer from the University of Illinois pic.twitter.com/0AtvYlo3gw
— Brandon Bass Jr. (@BrandonBassJr) June 17, 2023
Bass, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard, has other offers from Stetson, Wichita State and his dad's alma mater, LSU. Brandon Bass Sr. was SEC Player of the Year for the Tigers in 2005 and followed up two seasons in Baton Rouge, La., as the No. 33 overall pick in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft. The elder Bass played 12 seasons in the NBA with the then New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Brandon Bass Jr. just completed his freshman season at Windermere Preparatory Academy (Fla.). The Lakers went 24-8 and lost in the FHSAA Class 3A state championship game to Riviera Prep. Bass led the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game, also averaged 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals and put up a 46/40/69 shooting slash for the season. He made 95 of 239 three-pointers.
Other Class of 2026 backcourt options on Illinois' recruiting board include Saline (Mich.) guard Jonathan Sanderson, Bishop O'Connell (Va.) guard Adam Oumiddoch, Bergen Catholic (N.J.) guard Chidi Nwigwe and Newport (Ky.) guard Taylen Kinney.
