Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[sdillini]

Originally Posted by ILHoff

In response to some of the posts on here about missing out on a few guys. IMO the only guy I feel we missed out on or will regret not getting is Demetrius Jackson. He is at a position of need, seemed to fit the system, and is just a really good player.

I was never overly excited about XRM because we already have Nunn and Hill. I know I'll get some grief for this, but I just don't think XRM will live up to his ranking. He's not a point guard, is a below average athlete, and a volume shooter. He seems like a hard worker and an overall good kid, so I do wish him the best.

With Moore and Colbert we are probably looking at guys that won't contribute until their junior years and could potentially be passed up by the 2014 big men we are recruiting. I like our 2013 class and I think our 2014 and 2015 classes could have some 5 star type instant impact guys. Really pleased with the direction of recruiting.

I have to mostly agree with the comments on XRM. The one thing I would say is that he looked to be a GREAT shooter to me. But that was really the only thing that stood out.

[FinalFour88]

Originally Posted by ILHoff

In response to some of the posts on here about missing out on a few guys. IMO the only guy I feel we missed out on or will regret not getting is Demetrius Jackson. He is at a position of need, seemed to fit the system, and is just a really good player.

I was never overly excited about XRM because we already have Nunn and Hill. I know I'll get some grief for this, but I just don't think XRM will live up to his ranking. He's not a point guard, is a below average athlete, and a volume shooter. He seems like a hard worker and an overall good kid, so I do wish him the best.

With Moore and Colbert we are probably looking at guys that won't contribute until their junior years and could potentially be passed up by the 2014 big men we are recruiting. I like our 2013 class and I think our 2014 and 2015 classes could have some 5 star type instant impact guys. Really pleased with the direction of recruiting.

You say 2014 big MEN (plural) but we likely won't have enough '14 scholarships available to get multiple bigs. We'll still need another PG, so that will be a priority. After that, we might only have one more scholarship. So I don't think a guy like Colbert would have to worry too much.

[SimonHoffman]

Illinois offered Larry Austin tonight according to his AAU teams twitter feed.

John Groce & Illinois offered our very own Larry Austin Jr tonight.

http://twitter.com/DRoseAllStars

[stormillini]

Offered per Team Rose AAU Tweet

[Dreamteam05]

Originally Posted by stormillini

Offered per Team Rose AAU Tweet

Great news! Larry is a great athlete and seems to be a great kid and I think he is a fan of illinois. That video of him at practice was very impressive. Im talking about his physical attributes. The kid is just 16 and looks like a grown man. His body is made for BIG basketball. Very exciting. Our state our team!

[illini80]

A bit surprised. I would think we are on the outside looking in at this point, but I certainly don't know anything.

[FinalFour88]

Austin is 2014, right?

[Dreamteam05]

Originally Posted by illini80

A bit surprised. I would think we are on the outside looking in at this point, but I certainly don't know anything.

That may be true but remember he is class of 2014 so Groce has a lot more time to recruit him compared to IDWTI and X. I like our chances.

[MTILLINOIS]

Interesting. I never thought he would get a offer. I wonder if they are going to push hard for him or if he's a plan B or C recruit.

[ChiCityHoops34]

Something about his highlights scream missouri PG to me.

I didnt really know he was on our radar

[illinoisfan11]

I've seen Austin play a handful of times, and I don't think he's good enough to play at the UI level. But of JG thinks he is, I'm good with the offer.

On an unrelated note, any news on Colbert? Any word on when he may make his decision?

[JimmyChitwood]

Originally Posted by illinoisfan11

I've seen Austin play a handful of times, and I don't think he's good enough to play at the UI level. But of JG thinks he is, I'm good with the offer.

On an unrelated note, any news on Colbert? Any word on when he may make his decision?

I've not seen him play, but Rivals does have him ranked in the top 55 of 2014. That has to say something about his game. I think he could easily play for the U of I. Not sure about him running the point full time, but he seems like a good player to me.

[illinitownie]

Originally Posted by JimmyChitwood

I've not seen him play, but Rivals does have him ranked in the top 55 of 2014. That has to say something about his game. I think he could easily play for the U of I. Not sure about him running the point full time, but he seems like a good player to me.

Personally I think he is ranked high because he is an overall great athlete which I am perfectly fine with. I think he is good combo guard but not a true PG. just my two cents though

[ILHoff]

Originally Posted by FinalFour88

You say 2014 big MEN (plural) but we likely won't have enough '14 scholarships available to get multiple bigs. We'll still need another PG, so that will be a priority. After that, we might only have one more scholarship. So I don't think a guy like Colbert would have to worry too much.

I used plural because you can look at it in different ways. One, we're recruiting multiple big men and that position and any one of them could pass up Colbert or Moore. Two, when could end up with KBD, who can play the four and another big like O'Mara or Alexander (crosses fingers) without a PG. Three, we may roll a scholarship and have an extra ride. You could be right and we only have two available, but it's all guess work at this point.

[ChazzReinhold]

Originally Posted by illinoisfan11

I've seen Austin play a handful of times, and I don't think he's good enough to play at the UI level. But of JG thinks he is, I'm good with the offer.

On an unrelated note, any news on Colbert? Any word on when he may make his decision?

Come on. Larry was on the U16 U.S. National Team.

[illinoisfan11]

Originally Posted by ChazzReinhold

Come on. Larry was on the U16 U.S. National Team.

Just one man's opinion. Maybe I've just caught him on off nights. I'll also say I didn't think Abrams was good enough to play at UI. Soooo my track record may not be the best.

[Sports101 on 1450]

Larry is PLENTY good enough to play at the UI level. A fine athlete who has time to get even better before his (hopeful) days with Illinois.

[JimmyChitwood]

Originally Posted by illinitownie

Personally I think he is ranked high because he is an overall great athlete which I am perfectly fine with. I think he is good combo guard but not a true PG. just my two cents though

I dont think he is a true PG either, but he does have some handles and his athleticism seems to be very good. Reminds me of the types of guards that Izzo likes to have around. It just seemed silly to me that Groce hadn't given this kid an offer yet. Top 55 and 4th highest rated IL kid for 2014. As a buddy of mine said to me...it really wouldnt be "Our State, Our School", if Groce wasnt offering the best players in the state.

[T Fly2000]

Originally Posted by illinoisfan11

I've seen Austin play a handful of times, and I don't think he's good enough to play at the UI level. But of JG thinks he is, I'm good with the offer.

You dont think he is good enough to play for UI now? Or after two more years of hs bball. The kid is a beast on the defense of end and on the glass. His offensive skill set needs improving but with his work ethic I cant see why he wouldnt be UI worthy.

[BlockI]

Could the Austin offer indicate the staff has rolled over the 13' ride? I know Colbert is still working on his choice but the 14' roster has very few open spots. We have Zabo, another PG, KBD, T Bluiett, Finke, O'mara, Alexander and now Austin with offers. If we take another in 13' does that only leave 1 for 14'?

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by ChazzReinhold

Come on. Larry was on the U16 U.S. National Team.

yeah but they only play 1st graders. :rolleyes:

He seems perfect for Groce's system. A guy who can dribble, penetrate, defend, get out on the break. His biggest question mark is his ability to shoot the jumper. That is not a requirement of Groce's system for a PG (though it is a plus). See for example Mike Conley.

[Illini70math]

Originally Posted by BlockI

Could the Austin offer indicate the staff has rolled over the 13' ride? I know Colbert is still working on his choice but the 14' roster has very few open spots. We have Zabo, another PG, KBD, T Bluiett, Finke, O'mara, Alexander and now Austin with offers. If we take another in 13' does that only leave 1 for 14'?

Yes. If we were to take five in 2013 (we now have four not including Rice), we would have only one sure scholarship open for 2014. I hope this means that we are rolling the 2013 ride over to 2014 because we have to have a ride for KBD at the very least. Now we may have some transfers, but that is always a risky way to go.

[CAHALL15]

Originally Posted by BlockI

Could the Austin offer indicate the staff has rolled over the 13' ride? I know Colbert is still working on his choice but the 14' roster has very few open spots. We have Zabo, another PG, KBD, T Bluiett, Finke, O'mara, Alexander and now Austin with offers. If we take another in 13' does that only leave 1 for 14'?

Yes sir. If Colbert comes, we only have one ride at this time for 2014. That could change if someone transfers and if anybody remembers this past spring/summer, you know that NCAA basketball is like NBA free agency (perhaps even worse).

[BlockI]

If he can handle the ball better than Paul, DJ and Betrand I don't think his ability to shoot will matter as much either. The main concern is ball handling from what we have heard in interviews. Hill, Henry, Nunn and Tate can shoot the ball.

[-josh-]

As for 2014 point guards we've offered (Lyle, Austin, Zabo) i wonder if it will be first come first serve for those three then leave the last two schollies for Diop and one of the big boys like Alexander.