Illinois Basketball to host French forward Jonas Boulefaa for Official Visit

Per Derek Piper of IlliniInquirer.com, French power forward, Jonas Boulefaa will be taking an official visit to the Illini this weekend. Jonas Boulefaa is a 17-year-old,  6 foot 9 power forward who currently plays for Pôle France. During the 2023-2024 season, Boulefaa averaged 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. During this past summer, he played on INSEP in the Adidas NGT and averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds. Of note, that is the same competition that current Illini Kasparas Jakucionis and BYU forward, Egor Demin, played in. For reference, Jakucionis averaged 18.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game during that tournament.

With the recent successes of  Jakucionis and big man, Tomislav Ivisic, Brad Underwood and his staff continue to heavily dive into the overseas market.

The Fit?

Jonas Boulefaa is a prototype stretch power forward. He has a smooth shooting stroke and would make a lot of sense in an Illini uniform. With current starting forward, Ben Humrichous, set to graduate, the Illini need more floor spacing. Also, if Tomislav Ivisic does decide to turn professional, Boulefaa would be the perfect compliment to Morez Johnson Jr. In fact during the Adidas NGT, per Derek Piper’s article, Boulefaa put up 23 points and 13 rebounds in the championship game vs Real Madrid. With how smooth his stroke looks, Boulefaa has a high upside as a skilled, versatile stretch four.

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