Illinois Basketball Target: Cole Certa

One of the few recruiting names that have popped up recently for Illinois has been Cole Certa

Illinois basketball has been rather quiet on the recruiting front. Though the focus is on finishing this current season, there have not been many names popping up on the recruiting front. This is likely due to the fact that Illinois will likely utilize the transfer portal to fill out its 2-3 open scholarships. The Illini have already signed two prep prospects Amani Hansberry and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn. Additionally, they are technically adding international guard, Nicollo Moretti to that mix. Illinois has a young roster once again next season, so it is understandable that the remaining scholarships will be used on transfers.

One name that has been thrown around is 2024 Shooting guard out of Bloomington, Illinois, Cole Certa.

Bloomington Central Catholic junior Cole Certa (26.5 PPG) has an offer from just about every D1 school in the State of Illinois.

Today, he plays at State.

📻 His Saints battle Rockridge at 4:25 on https://t.co/L75ugztZiK. Can’t wait to call it with @JoeyWright2000. #ClutchUp pic.twitter.com/17Uy8GVZi6

— Larry Larson (@MLBLarry) March 9, 2023

Filling a need.

With the way that this season has gone, the Illini have shown a dire need for shooting. Illinois dropped their tournament opener to Penn State, a team filled with shooters. Players like Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy were a direct reminder of the type of skillset Illinois currently lacks. Though he is a 2024 prospect, Cole Certa fills this need as this is his major strength.

Cole is a 6 foot 4 shooting guard and has gained interest from high-major programs due to his smooth stroke. As per the tweet above, Certa averaged 26.5 ppg this past season and is currently playing in Champaign for the IHSA state finals. The Illini has multiple staff members at the scene given that they have been eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament. This is a silver lining as the Illini will be able to evaluate Certa and his capability to contribute at the high major level.

Who else is involved?

Certa has recently received offers from other Big 10 programs. Nebraska, Penn State, and Northwestern have all recently offered. Per Brandon Jenkins of 247, Certa took an unofficial to Wisconsin as well. Certa currently plays for Illinois Wolves on the AAU cycle. I expect Illinois to evaluate him closely as he goes up against the stronger competition. Illinois has been involved with wing shooters such as Brady Dunlap and Nojus Indrusaitis. However, they always seem to cool on these players. A lot of these shooters have thin frames and lack the physicality that is required to be effective in the conference, which is likely the reason we hear Illinois cooling on these prep prospects.

Illinois will most definitely aim to add shooting on the wing and strong ball handling in the transfer portal. If they can balance this with prep prospects who can develop in their program, Illinois will continue to have success in the Big Ten.