Alex Illikainen, a 6-foot-8, 192-pound rising freshman from Grand Rapids, is considered the top player in the state in the Class of 2015. He made an unofficial visit to Minnesota in May. GopherHole.com caught up with Illikainen this weekend at the Pacesetter Sweet 16 to learn the latest on early recruitment and expectations for his upcoming season.
Illikainen helped lead Grand Rapids to the Class AAA state boy’s basketball tournament. Illikainen led the Thunderhawks to a 19-10 mark, losing to Waconia 62-52 in the first round of the state tournament. He finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds in the loss against Vanderbilt signee Shelby Moats.
Illikainen has had a strong spring and summer with the Cyclones AAU program, winning the Hoosier Shootout and Kentucky Hoopfest.
He has started to attract interest from several schools, including Minnesota. They won the 14-and-under title in the Minnesota Comets Tournament and were third in the Spring Jam as they played up in the 15’s division and finished runnerup in the King of the Court tournament in Des Moines.
Illikainen, who also plays baseball, comes from an athletic family. His father, Darin, played hockey at UMD and was drafted by the New York Islanders. The former Hermantown standout is currently the girl’s hockey head coach at Grand Rapids. His mother, the former Mary Zgonc, played women’s basketball at UMD after starring at Chisholm. Illikainen has three sisters, two older and one younger.
Illikainen played hockey until second grade before switching to the hardcourt
GopherHole.com caught up with Illikainen this weekend at the Pacesetter Sweet 16 to learn the latest on early recruitment and expectations for his upcoming season.
GH: Your team had a really good summer, winning the Hoosier Shootout and Kentucky Hoopfest. How pleased were you with your team’s play?
AI: We played really good this summer. Towards the end, we started playing really good as a team. Everybody had their moments. We played some really good team. They started to get bigger and better, but we handled them pretty good.
GH: How about your own individual play? You put up some incredible rebounding and scoring numbers this summer?
AI: I was very pleased. I just took it to ‘em. I got a lot of boards and made my shots count.
GH: Did you get some ideas on things that you need to work on to continue to improve as a player?
AI: I want to work on my post moves and boxing out a little bit better. Going up against those big guys, you have to push them out of there. Besides my post moves, I want to work on my jump shot and my hook shot and dribbling.
GH: Have you had a chance to play together much as a high school team?
AI: A lot of us were playing AAU ball and we had a tournament earlier and not all of us would be able to participate. We’ve had a couple of practices here and there, but that’s about it
GH: What are the expectations this season? You made it to the state tournament, but you are hoping to get back and go even farther
AI: Definitely. That’s our goal and I think that we have a great team this year, so I am just hoping that we can win some games.
GH: I know that it is still very early, but are you starting to hear from some more schools?
AI: A little bit. Some letters.
GH: You took a visit to Minnesota. How was that?
AI: It was awesome. A lot of new stuff that I got to see. I loved it. They have it made down there. I loved seeing the campus and Williams Arena. The locker rooms. Everything is great there. I got to meet the coaches and the trainers. All the coaches are friendly and all the staff members are just great.