Alex Illikainen - F (2015) - Bucky's 5th Quarter

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Class	Position	Height	Weight
2015	PF	6'8"	220 lb
School			AAU
~~Grand Rapids (MN) HS~~ / Brewster Academy (NH)			Howard Pulley

Rankings

Rivals: (#31 PF / #146 overall) Red_arrowdown_medium
Scout: (#27 PF)
ESPN: 80 (#32 PF)
24/7: 91 (#32 PF / #113 overall)

Last updated: May 5, 2015
Previous Rankings: 3-star (#130 overall > #110) > 4-star (#18 PF/#83 overall > #37 PF) by Rivals; 3-star (#26 PF > #25 > #17 PF/#93 overall) by Scout; 4-star/80 (#21 PF/#95 overall) > 84 (#14/#88) > (#37 PF > #11) by ESPN; 4-star/91 (#27 PF/#105 overall > #25/#105) by 24/7
Rankings at time of commitment: 4-star (0.9256) by 24/7 Composite, #31 PF/#114 overall/#1 in NH; 3-star by Rivals & Scout, 4-star by ESPN

Honors

2014 First Team All-State (AP)
2012 All-Tournament Team (AAA)
2012 Honorable Mention All-State (AP)

Statistics

2014-15: Senior (Brewster)
2014: 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.5 bpg | EYBL (adv)
2013-14: 26.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg | Junior (G. Rapids) - MN Basketball Hub
2012-13: 26.2 pp, 12.0 rpg | Sophomore (G. Rapids) - MN Basketball Hub
2011-12: 16.9 ppg | Freshman (G. Rapids) - MN Basketball Hub

Signed National Letter of Intent

Signed on November 12, 2014
Badgers sign three for Class of 2015 (UWBadgers.com)

Verbally committed on September 21, 2014
'15 PF Alex Illikainen commits to Badgers (B5Q)
Wisconsin lands commitment from 2015 forward (NBC Sports)
Badgers land 2015 forward Alex Illikainen (Journal Sentinel)
Illikainen Pledges to the Badgers (BadgerNation.com)
Forward Alex Illikainen to join Class of 2015 (Wisconsin State Journal)

Perhaps finally admitting the reality of its situation with other recruits, Wisconsin reached back out to Illikainen in August with a scholarship offer. Minnesota was the clear team to beat by the time this prolific prep post man finally decided to really transfer out east to Wolfeboro's Brewster Academy for more seasoning ... the Gophers might have very well been at the top of Illikainen's list, before they took a commitment from Jarvis Johnson that muddied up their scholarship situation. The Badgers seized the moment.

Illikainen does not shy from contact when scoring inside, but is also comfortable stepping outside with his jumper. Normally an offer to a recruit like Illikainen this late would be laughable, but UW has had success in Minnesota for years and he plays on the summer circuit with two other targets the Badgers offered, in Johnson and Amir Coffey. Illikainen has been a known commodity since he made an impact as an eighth-grader for Grand Rapids' high school team. In fact, in his first start, he went off for 22 points and 18 rebounds against Duluth East.

New coach Jason Smith of Brewster, had this to say about Illikainen's game:

"He's a kid that's really versatile," Smith said of the Minnesota native. "Early on in his [high school] career he was primarily an interior physical banger. This spring and summer he showed an ability to step out and hit shots. He can play as an inside guy who can bang and finish at the rim or he can be a pick-and-pop four man."

Alex Illikainen - F (2015)

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Signed National Letter of Intent

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