Illinois received a commitment from French forward Zacharie Perrin on Monday, with ESPN reporting that he committed to the Fighting Illini over UCLA, Texas, Florida, Memphis and BYU.
Perrin, who turns 18 on Aug. 30, most recently played for the Antibes Sharks of France’s second-tier pro league. The 6-foot-10, 220-pound Perrin averaged more than 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 assists for Antibes’ under-21 team last season.
Perrin was selected MVP of the Adidas Next Generation qualifying tournament in Greece in April, where he put up 17.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
“My goal is to first and foremost become a better basketball player,” Perrin told ESPN. “I am only 17 years old and still need a lot of development physically. There isn’t a better place to gain strength than college.
“I will also focus on becoming a very good outside shooter. I think I can become a very tough mismatch both at the 4 with my size and at the 5 with my shooting and quickness. Hopefully it gets me to a high level of professional basketball in a few years.”
The Illinois were the Big Ten co-champions in the 2021-22 regular season at 15-5, and they finished 23-10 overall after losing to Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
–Field Level Media