The Last One In: Lincoln Williams Went From Unsigned to Unforgettable

At the end of March, the best high school scorer in Kankakee history was on a list of the top unsigned seniors in Illinois. No college had his name on a dotted line. Three months later he was an Illini. A month after that, there was video of him catching a lob and throwing it down on David Mirkovic.

Lincoln Williams was the sixth and final piece of Illinois' 2026 recruiting class. He was the last one in, and the one most people outside the state hadn't heard of. But if you ask Brad Underwood, he might be the most physically gifted player the Illini have had in a long time.

For entry No. 2 in our Meet the Illini series, here's the story of how a kid an hour up I-57 almost didn't make it to Champaign, and why everybody who has watched him practice won't stop talking about him.

The Best Career in Kankakee History

Williams was a four-year starter at Kankakee High School for coach Chris Pickett, and he left with every scoring record the school keeps. He scored 44 points against Thornridge last December, the most ever by a Kay in one game. He scored 703 points as a senior, a single-season record. And he finished with 1,853 career points, the most in program history.

The team stuff matched the numbers. Kankakee went 29-2 in his senior year, a school record for wins. The Kays went undefeated in the Southland Conference, won a third straight regional title, and reached the Class 3A sectional final.

The honors list is long. He was a first-team All-State pick by the AP, the IBCA, and the News-Gazette. He was the Class 3A Illinois Media Player of the Year, the Southland Conference Player of the Year, and the Daily Journal Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for Illinois Mr. Basketball. On the summer circuit he played for the Mac Irvin Fire in the Nike EYBL, where scouts saw a 6-5 guard who could play the point, the two or the wing.

The Defensive Stopper Who Also Scored 26

Here's the part of the Kankakee story that matters most for Illinois. Williams led his team in scoring every night, and Pickett still put him on the other team's best perimeter scorer. Most high school stars would have treated that as a night off on defense. Pickett told the News-Gazette that Williams took the assignment instead, and didn't think of defense as wasted energy.

The tools for it are obvious. Pickett has talked about Williams' wingspan and has sometimes compared his arms to Scottie Pippen's. The closest modern comparison Pickett gave is Jaden McDaniels, the long, switchable Timberwolves forward who guards everybody. Williams also has a nose for the ball. He averaged three steals and two blocks a game as a senior.

Why He Almost Wasn't an Illini

Illinois was on him early. Then-assistant Tim Anderson put him on the radar, and the Illini offered him in February 2024 after he came down to see the Nebraska game. He was a sophomore. Over the next two years he made trip after trip to Champaign, mostly on game days. Zach Hamer took over as his lead recruiter. In the end his top three were Illinois, Virginia Tech, and UNLV, with Arizona State, TCU, and DePaul also in the mix along the way.

So why was he still unsigned in the spring? According to the News-Gazette, his grades slipped during his junior year, and that hurt his recruitment. Underwood didn't dodge it either, acknowledging that Williams ran into some challenges in high school.

What I respect is what came next. His grades came back up during his senior year, right alongside the best season any Kankakee player has ever had. And when Illinois finished a retention-heavy offseason with two open roster spots, the Illini didn't have to look far. Williams signed on June 8.

His reasons were simple. Illinois recruited him the hardest. Champaign is about an hour from home. His older sister went to school there. And his favorite player growing up? Terrence Shannon Jr. Back in 2024, he told IlliniGuys that if he got a chance to play at a big school in his home state, he didn't see why he'd go anywhere else.

"As Gifted Athletically as Any Young Man We've Had"

Williams got to campus in June and didn't take long to get noticed. By early July, Underwood was telling the News-Gazette that Williams might be as athletically gifted as anyone he's coached at Illinois. That list includes Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Kofi Cockburn. Underwood even compared Williams' competitive edge to Dosunmu's, while admitting he usually hates making comparisons like that. He said Williams plays with a chip on his shoulder and that he's very high on him.

The video backs it up. A July clip showed Williams rising for a lob and dunking on Mirkovic. In Illinois' fall practice video, The Champaign Room noted that Williams is on a different athletic level than almost anyone on the roster. He threw down a two-hand jam, and both lobs in the clip came from fellow freshman Quentin Coleman. SI's Illinois site called him maybe the best vertical athlete on the team after Andrej Stojakovic.

Over on Illinois Loyalty, the board got carried away in the best way. Once the Dosunmu comparison started circulating, fans were half-joking about Jordan comparisons. The more grounded take from one poster was that the kid can be legit but needs to be pushed. Another answered that he's going to be pushed, for sure.

Where He Fits This Season

Let's be honest about the minutes. The top seven in Illinois' rotation look set, and Williams plays the same spots as Stojakovic and Jake Davis, two seniors who will be on the floor most of the night. In August, SI ranked him fourth among the candidates for the eighth spot, behind Lucas Morillo, Ethan Brown, and Zavier Zens. Several outlets have him tabbed as a developmental piece who gets a bigger role in 2027-28.

But the momentum has swung his way since then. By preseason, the Champaign Room had him and Coleman as the two freshmen who could earn real minutes. The reason is simple: outside of Stojakovic, this roster isn't loaded with athletes. A 6-5 guard who can guard three positions, get out in transition, and finish above the rim is a different look than anything else on the bench.

The to-do list is clear. At 180 pounds, he needs to add strength with Adam Fletcher, the same strength coach who helped turn Keaton Wagler into a lottery pick. He's still developing as an off-ball player. And he'll need to keep that defensive mentality against Big Ten guards who are a lot stronger than the ones in the Southland Conference.

The Bottom Line

Illinois' 2026 class has bigger names. Coleman has the ranking, Morillo has the hype, and Zens has the famous cousin. Williams has the story. He was the best player in Kankakee history, hit a rough patch in the classroom, fixed it, and then took the last open spot on a top-five team. Now his head coach is comparing his competitiveness to Ayo.

He might not play a ton in November. But the first time he gets out on the break at State Farm Center, you'll understand what everyone has been talking about. Remember the name.

I-L-L. 🧡

Reporting compiled from The News-Gazette, FightingIllini.com, 247Sports, Sports Illustrated (Illinois on SI), The Champaign Room, IlliniGuys, Fox Illinois, Shaw Local / Daily Journal, MADE Hoops, and fan discussion on IllinoisLoyalty.com.