Three-Star Forward Zavier Zens Signs With Illinois – How He Fits With the Illini

In one of the biggest offseason weeks in Illinois basketball history, the players who are set to return from this past season’s Final Four squad have mostly outshined the new additions. But that doesn’t make Friday’s signing of three-star forward Zavier Zens any less important to the Illini’s future.

A rugged, 6-foot-7 sharpshooter from Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee), Zens will join the Illini next season after winning three state championships and 88-2 record, including a senior season in which he averaged 23.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists to earn Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball award and Gatorade Player of the Year award.

Zavier Zens scouting report

An easy shorthand for Illini fans when considering Zens is to think of him as a potentially more dynamic Jake Davis. Trust us: that isn’t faint praise. Davis is, as the nation now knows, a fantastic long-distance shooter – but he also is an unheralded rebounder and defender, and the sort of hoops thinker who cracks a loaded Brad Underwood lineup despite certain physical limitations at the Big Ten level.

Zens checks in at No. 237 nationally in 247Sports’ composite rankings, and even if it’s highly unlikely that the Illini have found another Keaton Wagler-level diamond in the rough, Underwood and his staff have made a habit of plucking overlooked values who also make excellent fits in Illinois’ system from the recruiting trail.

Advertisement

Zens is strong, reasonably athletic and can score at every level – including three-point range, where he knocked down 42 percent of his attempts as a senior. And Underwood is as excited about his intangibles as his evident production.

“Zavier, first and foremost, is a winner,” Underwood said in a release announcing Zens’ signing. “He is an extremely high-IQ player who has been well coached and brings a championship pedigree to the table, winning three straight state titles. He fits our recruiting mold as a 6-foot-7 versatile wing who can score at all three levels and process the game.”

How Zens…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/three-star-forward-zavier-zens-221216358.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-04-17 22:12:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.