Good Morning, Illini Nation: Major opportunity for Illinois target Cole Kelly
· Yahoo Sports
May 22—Cole Kelly earned his Illinois offer before he had played a single minute as a freshman for Neuqua Valley during the 2024-25. The Illini were on board with the in-state wing in July 2024 and remained his only offer until the following spring.
Kelly has shown why he's considered a top 40 prospect in the Class of 2028 multiple times throughout the past two years. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 18.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists for Neuqua Valley as a freshman. His sophomore year follow-up, saw him put up 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals per game for the Warriors.
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Now, Kelly is taking his game global after earning a roster spot on the Adidas-sponsored U18 3SSB team for the NextGen Euroleague Finals. Games got underway Thursday in Athens, Greece, and Kelly helped the 3SSB squad take down the reigning NextGen champions with a 104-93 victory against Lithuanian side U18 Zalgiris Kaunas.
Kelly scored 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting in the win against Zalgiris and also had five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Bremerton (Wash.) guard Jalen Davis led the 3SSB team with a game-high 26 points. Prolific Prep (Fla.) guard Nasir Anderson, a five-star 2027 guard and Illinois recruiting target, finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Kelly and Co. will also face U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade and powerhouse U18 FC Barcelona in pool play. Barcelona features a pair of soon-to-be ACC big men in Duke-bound Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and North Carolina commit Sayon Keita. That's in addition to 14-year-old phenom Mahomed Dabone, who had 23 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's win against CZB.