Illini offer 3-star junior forward
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3-star power forward Theo John picked up an offer Illinois just hours after the Illini offered his teammate at Champlin Park HS in the Minneapolis area.
"My good friend McKinley Wright got an offer from there, and I was congratulating him on that and thinking that's a great school", John said. "The next thing you know, the assistant from Illinois contacted me and told me the head coach John Groce wanted to talk to me. I talked to him and that's when I got the offer. "
Both 2017 prospects, John and McKinley helped lead Champlin Park to a 31-1 record and a second place finish in the Minnesota state playoffs last season.
A 6-foot-9 power forward, John sports offers from Illinois, Iowa, Marquette, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Texas Tech. He also has strong interest from Wisconsin and Creighton.
John said he had a good conversation with Groce.
"He said they see a lot of potential in me," he said. "I got to know a little bit more about their program, the people who are part of it, and the style they play."
According to John, he and McKinley have talked some about the possibility of attending the same college, but they aren't part of package deal. Each player is looking for the best fit, and it's still early.
"I'm keeping my options open," John said. "I have two more years of high school. I want to make my decision some time down the road."
John played up this spring with the 17U Nike EYBL club Howard Pulley, averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. OrangeandBlueNews.com will catch him in action July 15-19 at the NY2LA Summer Jam in Milwaukee.
A long and versatile "4", John said he takes what the defensive gives him and can score in a variety of ways.
"I'll attack the defense's weakness," he said. "If it's a bigger guy on me, then I'm going to face him up. If it's a guard on me, I'll back them down. Defensively I'm locking everybody up to the best of my ability. I take it personally if the man I'm guarding scores."
With the July AAU season coming up, John wants to continue to expand his game.
"I want to make my jump shot more productive and tighten up my ball handling," John said. "Obviously, I want to get bigger, stronger, and faster."