Brad Underwood and his staff received a huge commitment last month in 7-foot center Samba Kane. Kane is originally from Senegal and played high school basketball for Florida Preparatory Academy.
Kane provides the Illini front-court with much needed length and athleticism. Illinois’ defensive FG% at the rim was amongst the worst in the country last year. Underwood and the staff are hoping Kane can be a large part of the solution to that problem. Kane is an ideal big man for Underwood’s style of play. He’s long and athletic and can run rim to rim. He has potential to develop a more polished back-to-the-basket offensive game while in Champaign, but that’s not necessity, especially right away.