Lucas Morillo Has Illinois in Top Six: Does He Compare to Another Illini?

A mere 10 days ago, it was reported that four-star class of 2026 recruit Lucas Morillo would be taking an official visit to Champaign in late September – the same weekend that fellow four-star prospect Jasiah Jervis is set to visit.

On Thursday, just over a week later, Morillo trimmed his list to six schools – and the Illini are still firmly in the mix. (Marquette, Texas, UCLA, Minnesota and Virginia are the other five programs still under consideration for Morillo.)

NEWS: 4⭐️ Lucas Morillo is down to six schools, he tells @Rivals.

The 6-6 point guard and No. 32 ranked player in the 2026 class breaks down his finalists: https://t.co/qp8mYX6fut pic.twitter.com/ej17y6jYRb
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) August 28, 2025

Lucas Morillo’s unique game

High school prospects come in different packages. Some are otherworldly athletic, strong and physically mature beyond their years, dripping with potential. Others are nearly finished packages only in need of optimizing their physical attributes. And then you have the recruit who is good at everything – but maybe not great at anything. That prospect's value may be leveraged to the hilt by a coach who knows how to bring it out of him.

If you were to force our hand, we’d say the Morillo probably lands in that last category – the important difference being that he’s really good at just about everything. Unbelievably versatile, Morillo can do it all at 6-foot-6: bring up the ball and facilitate, get to the rim, play off the ball in a spot-up role, crash the glass and defend.

Nothing better showcases his all-around game than this interesting nugget: All three major recruiting platforms (247Sports, On3 and ESPN) list him at a different position. On3 tabs Morillo as a point guard, while 247Sports sees him as a shooting guard and ESPN lists him at small forward.

With Illinois coach Brad Underwood’s known appreciation of position-less basketball and his fluid offensive scheme, it hardly comes as a shock that he and his staff are chasing Morillo. Still need a comparison? Here's one that may feel familiar: current Illini swingman Ty Rodgers.

Ty Rodgers-Lucas Morillo parallels

Morillo, despite being long enough to match up with small forwards, can provide depth at the lead guard spot in the same way that Rodgers has shown throughout his career. Neither are exactly the go-to option at the 1, but they offer a tremendously different look that can throw defenses for a loop while offering a breather to Illinois’ starter.

Both players can get downhill and make an impact – although they do it in drastically different ways. Rodgers, with his quick-twitch burst and strong frame, often blows by defenders or bullies past them, whereas Morillo is a craftier player who relies on patience and disrupting the timing of defenders.

Another key difference is Rodgers’ ability as a dunker-spot player. It's something Morillo could likely handle if the Illini were in a bind, but it’s not a role in which he would thrive like Rodgers has. Also worth noting: Morillo is miles ahead of Rodgers as a three-point shooter. (That said, who knows for certain how much Rodgers’ shot has developed over the last year and change?)

So, yes, there are clear differences in the games of Rodgers and Morillo, but the pair offer that same position-less versatility that Underwood covets in his recruits.

A Ty Rodgers-Kasparas Jakucionis morph?

Perhaps the best way to describe Morillo is as a combination of Rodgers and Kasparas Jakucionis. Morillo has roughly the shooting prowess of Jakucionis (though not quite the same off-the-dribble package), but his playmaking is much closer to that of Rodgers. Morillo also has a rim-attacking game nearer to Jakucionis’ (patient, featuring strong footwork and heavy on the up-fakes).

Obviously, as is the case with every recruit, Morillo is his own player, offering his own unique blend of skills and abilities. And given how multifaceted and adaptable his game is, there is no immediate clear position or role to slot him in if he were to wind up at Illinois. But that is undoubtedly an advantage for the Illini, not a drawback. Given Underwood’s track record of maximizing versatile players, Champaign may be the best destination for Morillo to tap out his potential.