When senior point guard Blake Fagbemi led Benet to the Class 4A state title at the State Farm Center in Champaign on March 15, he had no idea that arena would be his future home.
At the time, Fagbemi was committed to Truman State, a Division II program. Then he heard from one of its coaches.
“The assistant coach called me and told me the coach and the school parted ways, so after I heard that, I reopened my recruitment,” Fagbemi said. “That was about a month ago.”
It didn’t take long for Division I coaches to come calling. Zach Hamer, an assistant to Illinois coach Brad Underwood, was one of them. Underwood and his staff have been retooling the roster since the Illini’s loss to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“When I decommitted, that same night coach Hamer reached out to me,” Fagbemi said. “We just continued the conversation. He was talking about how much coach Underwood loved my game.
“I had other schools reaching out, but I didn’t have any actual offers.”
That changed Wednesday, when Illinois extended an offer, and Fagbemi accepted. He will become the third Benet player in coach Gene Heidkamp’s 17-year tenure to commit to a Big Ten program, joining former Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky and former Northwestern standout Dave Sobolewski.
“It’s great for Blake and his family and for our program,” Heidkamp said. “We’re very excited that he’s got this opportunity to be a part of the Illinois program.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for him, so everybody is very excited and very proud of him.”
Fagbemi was one of the best passing guards in the state as a senior. He averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the Redwings (33-5), who defeated Warren 55-54 in the 4A championship game to win their first state title.
Fagbemi, who was the East Suburban Catholic Conference player of the year and a 4A all-state second-team selection by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, will be joining a program that has made five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
“It feels great to stay home and represent the community by playing at Illinois,” Fagbemi said. “They saw that I’m a winner.
“That’s one thing that they brought up to me, is that they like how I find a way to win. They like my ability to get my teammates better and get them going.”
The 6-foot-1 Fagbemi often had a lot of pressure on him but was always able to get the Redwings going. He was the straw that stirred the drink for a team that reached the pinnacle of success for the first time in program history. Benet had lost three previous state championship games.
“Sometimes I enjoy it, and sometimes I don’t,” Fagbemi said of the pressure. “I enjoy it because I like to see my teammates succeed. I take pride in helping other people and getting them where they want to go.”
Fagbemi has gone further than he initially thought. In that way, he is following in the footsteps of his older brother Brayden, who was the point guard on Benet’s 2023 state runner-up team. Brayden Fagbemi played one season at Johns Hopkins and then transferred to Central Arkansas, making the jump from Division III to Division I.
“I talked with him about his experience, like what to expect and how to go about it respectfully,” Blake Fagbemi said.
What can be expected of Fagbemi as a freshman at Illinois?
“Right now, his role is to do whatever the coaches ask him to do,” Heidkamp said. “He’s got to work on getting better and giving the team everything he can day in and day out.
“That’s his role right now and one that he’s going to embrace willingly and be excited about. It’s an excellent opportunity for development with all the resources that they have, with the coaching that they have and with the players he’s going to be playing with and against in practice every day.”
Fagbemi is already excited after what has been a whirlwind few weeks.
“This is what I’ve been working for my whole life, so it’s great that it’s finally paying off,” he said. “It’s great to experience it.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
