Brad Underwood is going to be busy in the months leading up to the 2026-2027 college basketball season, and not just because practices are starting back up soon.
Unlike college football, the official visit season for college basketball happens in the months before the season begins, and even during the season itself. Illinois will be busy in September and October, as Underwood just landed his fourth official visit for the Illini, and yes, it’s another five-star recruit.
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Five-star small forward Moussa Kamissoko announced that he locked in nine official visits during his senior year of high school, one of which was to Champaign. Along with Illinois, Kamissoko is set to visit Florida State, Syracuse, UConn, Virginia, Oklahoma State, BYU, Baylor, and Louisville. Kamissoko loaded up his official visits with Big 12 and ACC schools, with UConn and Illinois as the outliers.
Brad Underwood’s parade of five-star official visitors is a testament to what has built at Illinois
It had been 19 years since Illinois went to a Final Four before the 2026 NCAA Tournament. After being the head coach for the Illini for eight seasons, Underwood finally led Illinois back to the Final Four in 2026, the furthest he had gone since 2024, when they were one game short of the feat, falling in the Elite Eight.
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The best part of Illinois’ trip to the Final Four was that they did so without a five-star recruit on the roster. In fact, the star of the team, freshman Keaton Wagler, was a three-star recruit with barely any Power Four offers. Underwood proved that he didn’t need the top talent in the country to take Illinois far in March Madness.
Now, that leaves the question: what could Underwood and Illinois do with five-star talent on the roster? Well, Underwood had worked with five-star talent before and will again this season with freshman Quentin Coleman, but with three official visits from 2027 five-star recruits and another from 2028, Underwood could be swimming in talent after this season.
Kamissoko is the third 2027 five-star recruit to set an official visit to Illinois and will be the second to set foot on campus after NaVorro Bowman Jr., who is in Champaign the week before. The 6-foot-7 small forward is ranked No. 15 nationally and the No. 5 small forward in the class, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
All of these official visits are evidence that Underwood is building Illinois into a recruiting powerhouse. Underwood can solidify that if he can land even two out of the three recruits in his 2027 recruiting class. There is also 2028 five-star combo guard Brady Pettigrew, who, early in his recruiting process, is already showing interest in the Illini.
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Illinois made a statement last season, and now Underwood can prove the Illini are a force to be reckoned with on and off the court with another successful season ending in a National Championship.
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This article was originally published on www.writingillini.com as Brad Underwood’s official visit hot streak continues with 5-star SF Moussa Kamissoko.
