Quentin Coleman building chemistry with teammates early on

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of Illinois’ most anticipated newcomers is fitting right in.

Freshman addition Quentin Coleman, the five-star guard out of St. Louis, spoke with the media at the Champaign County Park District’s Future Stars camp about his first few months as an Illini. Coleman spent the first week of June in Mexico representing the U.S. at the 2026 FIBA U18 AmeriCup.

“I have had a busy summer, but you know I came in here in June and all the returners welcomed me in very well,” Coleman said. “The transition was very smooth, I learned a lot, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot just throughout these eight weeks.”

#Illini five-star freshman Quentin Coleman on the summer in Champaign: "All the returners welcomed me in very well, transition was very smooth. I learned a lot, and I feel like I've grown a lot throughout these eight weeks."

Says a priority through June and July for him has been… pic.twitter.com/muJEMoFS2E

— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) August 3, 2026

Coleman specifically emphasized the importance of connection with his teammates as he continues to build chemistry with them both on and off the court.

“Biggest thing is probably learning everybody’s strengths and weaknesses, learning what Andrej can do, what David, what Stefan, what the whole team can do, and not,” Coleman said. “Just learning everybody’s feel and learning them off the court and just building that connection.”

He’s already built a strong connection off the court with David Mirkovic.

“You can have that person where you know, everything’s serious on the court and then afterwards you just be a regular person, and you can just go to him,” Coleman said. “He’s already been through it, so I’m just following his path.”

That connection is present in the weight room, too.

“In the weight room we don’t go in having a quiet gym,” Coleman said. “Then when we go into the weight room and then make the transition on the court, we just bring that connection that we have, and we just talk on the court.”

summer pickup_mp4 pic.twitter.com/8dFStK5fc3

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) July 16, 2026

Seems like the noise in the weight room is one of strength coach Adam Fletcher’s keys to help the guys build muscle.

“I’ve already put on 11 pounds,” Coleman said. “I came in at 180, and I’m already at 191.”

The chemistry Coleman is building with his teammates this offseason could really pay off come the start of the season.

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