Homestead’s Luke Goode has committed to play college basketball at Illinois. He announced his commitment via Twitter Friday afternoon.
“I was their number one recruit all the way,” Goode said. “I was their priority in the 2021 class, and I really appreciated that. I feel like coaches that believe in me, I should believe in them and return the favor. Everything that they told me; how I fit into the system, and what the school has to offer, it’s a perfect fit for me.”
“Coach Underwood and [Assistant] Coach [Steven] Gentry from Illinois showed a lot of love toward him with what he can do and his game,” Homestead head coach Chris Johnson said. “Like I shared with Coach Gentry…he’s getting a great person, not only on the court but also off the court. That’s something that they should be very proud of in a man like Luke Goode.”
Goode plans to major in Business. The Fighting Illini may use him as a shooting guard or a wing. He is listed as a shooting guard on Homestead’s roster. Goode was highly sought after by head coach Brad Underwood and his staff.
He was able to visit the school during basketball season. He went to their games against Indiana and Purdue.
“I went to two games this year and was able to talk to Coach Underwood, Coach Gentry, talk to all the players, and get a good sense of what Illinois basketball’s about,” Goode said.
Illinois just finished its third season under Coach Underwood. The Illini took a huge step forward this past season. They went from 12-21 in the 2018-2019 season to 21-10 this year. They were ranked 21st in the AP Top 25 poll and 22nd in the Coaches poll at season’s end.
Historically, the Big Ten has been home to several successful head coaches such as Bobby Knight (Indiana), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), Gene Keady (Purdue) and several others. It’s also been home to several great basketball stars; such as Deron Williams (Illinois), Magic Johnson (Michigan State), Isiah Thomas (Indiana), Robbie Hummel (Purdue) and several others. Playing Big Ten basketball is something that Goode has dreamed about for a long time.
“It’s always been a big goal for me to reach, growing up in the midwest and watching the players in the conference and coaches in the conference,” Goode said. “And just being able to compete against them in a couple of years will be really cool.”
Goode has played at the varsity level each of the last three years. He was the Spartans leading score each of the last two years. He averaged 17.6 points per game as a junior and 14.9 as a sophomore. This year he averaged six rebounds and tied with Zak Krueger for the lead in assists per game (3.1). Homestead basketball has proven to be an enjoyable experience for him.
“I’ve enjoyed it so much, all the relationships that I’ve gained, all the friendships I’ve gained, being able to play with my friends and being able to be coached by one of the best coaches in the state is been an honor,” Goode said.
He’s been coached by Chris Johnson, who has coached for over 25 years and won over 400 games in his career. One lesson that Goode learned from Johnson was to have a “team-first” mentality.
“Coming in, obviously I was a freshman, got to play freshman year, and he always preached, ‘put the team ahead of you, team success is way more important than personal success,’ and I’ve always kind of taken that to heart,” Goode said.
Johnson has seen plenty of growth from Goode at the high school level and has a great deal of confidence that he can succeed at the college level.
“He’s grown tremendously, and he’s only going to get better as he matures and gets stronger, and I know that’s what he’s going to want to continuously do is get himself in the weight room, get himself stronger,” Johnson said. “You know his game’s there, any time you’re 6’5/6’6 and you can stretch the defense like he can, that’s going to make any coach happy to be a part of their team.”
Goode was a multi-sport athlete for most of his career at Homestead. He was the starting quarterback this past year on Chad Zolman’s football team. In 2018, he split snaps at QB with Jake Archbold, who later went on to play slot receiver and defensive back. Goode led the SAC in passing yards (2778) and touchdown passes (27) and helped lead the Spartans to a conference title. However, he will not suit up on the gridiron his senior season but will focus on basketball.
“The last three years of high school football have been so enjoyable. Once again, the friendships and the relationships that I’ve gained from that sport have just been incredible,” Goode said. “I’m definitely going to miss playing football next season, but I think it’s the best decision for myself and my family.”
Since Goode does have one more season of high school basketball left, He looks forward to taking the court his senior season. The Spartans also stand to return talented players such as Andrew Leeper (soon to be a junior) and Grant Simmons (soon to be a senior).
“We’ve got a couple of guys coming back that are pretty good,” Goode said. “We should have a good team, and obviously Coach Johnson and [Assistant] Coach [Nick] Ankenbruck are great coaches, so they’ll put us in the best possible position to go far in the tournament.”
