Just two days after his son was born, Gophers Richard Pitino made the trip to Grand Rapids to watch Illikainen play.
Alex Illikainen, a 6-9, 210-pound junior from Grand Rapids, is considered one of the top players in the state in the Class of 2015 and is considered a very high priority recruit for head coach Richard Pitino, who visited Illikainen Wednesday.
Illikainen helped lead Grand Rapids to a 16-10 mark this season, but they missed out on making their fourth straight appearance in the Class AAA state boy’s basketball tournament, after falling to Hermantown 53-47 in the section semifinals.
Illikainen talked to Gopher Hole Tuesday evening after practicing with the Howard Pulley AAU program to learn the latest on his recruitment and his summer plans.
Gopher Hole: You had your first AAU event this past weekend. How do you feel you played and how does that get you ready for this weekend’s EYBL event in Sacramento?
Alex Illikainen: I thought that we played really good as a team. First tournament, sometimes doesn’t go well for teams, but I thought that we played great. Everyone stepped up. Everyone scored. Played defense well and I think that we are going to be ready for this weekend. It is going to be tough, but we’ll be ready.
Gopher Hole: You have seen some of your teammates in the past and have maybe got to playing against them. How do you feel the team chemistry has been so far?
Alex Illikainen: It is great playing with them because they are always on good teams and it is tough games to play against them and you always wonder what it would be like to play with them, so it is great to finally do that and it is going to be good.
Gopher Hole: You are going to be playing against some great competition this week. How do you think that is going to help you improve yourself as a player?
Alex Illikainen: It is going to tell me what I can do and what I can’t do. I just have to play my game and slow it down and be comfortable with it and I think that it will go pretty good.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment? Where do things stand?
Alex Illikainen: It has been pretty much the same schools. Some schools have been coming up. Same old stuff, though
Gopher Hole: I think that Nebraska was there yesterday (Monday), right?
Alex Illikainen: Yes. Nebraska was yesterday and Coach Pitino is coming up and I talked to some other coaches about coming up, but I don’t have dates set yet.
Gopher Hole: When is Coach Pitino coming up?
Alex Illikainen: Wednesday.
Gopher Hole: Obviously that has to make you feel pretty proud that they are taking the time to come up and watch you play?
Alex Illikainen: Yes, absolutely. I know that he (Coach Pitino) just had his baby and I told him that he didn’t need to come up. It is a big deal and I can wait, but he is still coming up, so it means a lot.
Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to watch the team during their N.I.T. run much?
Alex Illikainen: Yes. I got to watch the SMU game. They had a great run. Coach Pitino had a great year and it is big time. Big for them.
Gopher Hole: What was your impressions of the team seeing them under coach Pitino this year with a different style?
Alex Illikainen: I think that they played with fire. They really got going and they played as a team. They looked pretty good.
Gopher Hole: Does that get you more excited about Minnesota?
Alex Illikainen: Yes. It was a good start and I know that they are going to continue to get better and get recruits, so I think that they are going to keep getting better.
Gopher Hole: I know that you visited Cal and they recently had a coaching change. Does that make you appreciate that this is a business and that things can change from one day to another?
Alex Illikainen: You never know. You could kind of sense that he (Cal Coach Mike Montgomery) was going to leave, so I was okay with that. He had a great run. You just have to take what you have got. I know that things are going to disappear.
Gopher Hole: Are you expecting to hear from Cal with a new coaching staff coming in who maybe doesn’t know you?
Alex Illikainen: I have no idea. I think that usually, when Pitino came in, he looked up his old recruits and looked to see if he still wanted to offer them, so maybe that will happen, maybe it wouldn’t. Just got to take what I have.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about taking some visits to some schools in the near future?
Alex Illikainen: Right now, I am so busy with the next five weekend straight I’ll be doing stuff, so I haven’t really thought about it.
Gopher Hole: How many offers are you up to right now?
Alex Illikainen: I think it is 12.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest one?
Alex Illikainen: It might have been Vanderbilt. That was a while ago. It was in the fall.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to play for the hometown team?
Alex Illikainen: It would be great. Recently, now that I am with Pulley, I have been hearing a lot from people on Twitter and they are really fired to get us. I think it would be great just having the home fans and my family and playing for the homestate would be awesome, too.
Gopher Hole: Do you hear a lot from classmates who try to tell you where you should go?
Alex Illikainen: Yes. A lot of younger kids, too. Kids that look up to you and get to watch you on varsity all the time and say that they want to see you become a Gopher, so they can watch me play. It’s pretty cool.
Gopher Hole: Do you like that or do you get tired of that?
Alex Illikainen: I like it. I don’t say much about it, but I like to hear about it from my fans who look up to me. It is nice to know that I have kids who think that I am a good person.