Illini get commitment from 6-foot-8 Djimde

It’s no coincidence that Illinois coach Bruce Weber offered a scholarship to Peoria power forward Max Bielfeldt one day after Purdue out-toughed the Illini at Assembly Hall.

While Bielfeldt wound up committing to Michigan in March — Illinois didn’t have an open scholarship at the time — freshman Jereme Richmond’s subsequent decision to turn pro gave Weber another chance to add a hard-nosed frontcourt player.

Illinois filled that bill Sunday when it received a commitment from Ibrahima Djimde, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound native of Mali in western Africa.

Djimde spent last season at Huntington (W.V.) Prep, a basketball academy that plays a national schedule while its students attend St. Joseph Catholic High School.

Djimde, who spent the 2009-10 season at Progressive Christian Academy in Camp Springs, Md., gives the Illini seven newcomers for the 2011-12 season.

He joins junior Tyler Griffey, sophomore Meyers Leonard and incoming freshmen Nnanna Egwu and Mike Shaw as the team’s options at power forward and center.