Illinois Extends Offer to In-State Guard Mason Martin: What It Means

With all the recent in-season developments around the Illinois basketball team – including a frustrating home loss to Nebraska and a curious midseason signing of another international recruit – it can be easy for fans to overlook the process of long-term team-building and talent acquisition. But the work of adding bricks to the foundation never stops, and over the weekend the Illini and Brad Underwood extended a scholarship offer to class of 2027 guard Mason Martin.

On Saturday, Martin himself announced the news on his various social media platforms:

Who is Mason Martin?

A 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Neuqua Valley (Naperville, Illinois), Martin is the sort of lengthy sharpshooter Underwood typically prizes in his preferred recruits. He is also well-coached playing under Todd Sutton at Neuqua and working in the Breakaway Basketball AAU program (renowned for developing its shooters). Just a junior, Martin will have another year of high school (and another hoops season) after the upcoming spring semester.

Martin, who recently binged for 41 points and a school-record 11 threes in one Neuqua win, is also teammates – both in his high school and AAU programs – with four-star forward Cole Kelly, considered a top-40 player in the class of 2028.

Mason Martin scouting report

Martin isn't only a long-distance sniper, but boy, can he hit his target from deep. He has great balance, smooth mechanics and a quick load-up and release on his jumper. He also lets fly with zero hesitation when he senses his opening – and he needs very little daylight to find one. Martin appears most lethal on in-rhythm spot-up jumpers, but he is comfortable creating against a defender and scoring with advanced footwork and dribble moves. He's more productive going to the rim than a pure shooter, but he likely will spend most of his time in college outside the arc without the ball in his hands.

It's hard to get a read on Martin's rebounding and defense in currently available footage, but he is very lean for his height and appears to be more of a smooth athlete than an explosive, quick-twitch performer. Matching up against Big Ten 2-guards could be an assignment that's a bit too far over his head.

Illinois' competition for Martin

The Illini are just the second school to offer Martin (Holy Cross was the first) and the first among high majors. Martin will get more attention – and almost certainly more offers – in time, including possibly some other solid high-major opportunities. But Illinois being the flagship in-state school, a borderline contender and one of the first to offer Martin may give it a leg up.

The interesting sidebar (or perhaps even the main story) will be how important it is to Martin and Kelly to continue playing together. Kelly already has an offer from the Illini (as well as Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, among others), which would currently make Champaign the ideal destination for both if they want to keep running it back. But even as more schools make their bid for one or both, Illinois will likely rank on the short list of the best landing spots for each.