Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[Foo G]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

You would not offer if you did not intend to recruit someone at that position would you?

Recruit contingency players until everyone is on campus.

[OrangeAndBlue217]

Originally Posted by cardsillinifan

The recruit that is making me nervous is Kendrick Nunn, his stats sound like Mike Shaws in high school . Every game I feel like he has about eight points . Is he that limited on the offensive side of the ball? I know he is on a good team but he does not help them out much on that end of the court .

From the Simeon games I have seen, it's because they dont even run an offense. Everything seemed to be created in 1 on 1. The other 4 guys just stand there most of the time regardless of who has the ball. From what I saw he did seem to be struggling to knock down open shots. He had good looks. Form looked great, everything was good but the ball wasnt going down. He is very athletic and the combo of him and Tate seem to be the best thing Simeon has going this year, with JP not being at full form. I think they will be great in JG's offense. Next year could be an even bigger leap into getting up and down the floor a lot like Jg wants.

[Foo G]

Originally Posted by Monte Carlo

Guess I am not seeing what others are because I don't find that two points, three rebounds and six fouls in 24 minutes over the last two games suggest he is figuring anything out. He may be showing energy out there but it doesn't appear to be accomplishing much of anything. I don't care if Henry doesn't play good defense, he needs to be in the game. Griffey doesn't play any defense and he plays quite a bit. I think it's to the point where the younger guys have got to get some PT because we are losing badly and to bad teams with the starters, so what is there to lose? Nothing and yet we can gain by our players that don't get much playing time now maybe gaining some confidence with extended playing time.

My point about Shaw "figuring it out" is about him providing max effort every day and doing dirty work that doesn't necessarily show up in the stats. He seems to be understanding his role and what he can do to contribute.

Originally Posted by mikpence

Like when Mychael Henry led the team in scoring as a frosh against Chicago St.? He needs minutes at his actual position, not stuck at power forward.

The biggest difference between the 3 and the 4 is that the 3 is guarded by and tasked to guard smaller, quicker guys; handles the ball a bit more; and spends more time in the corner on offense.
Do you really think that would make the difference for Henry?
I don't see any benefit to that.
At the 3 he goes up against Oladipo, Stauskas/Hardaway, Thompson, Hollins, Dawson, etc.
I don't think he matches up well either way.

[zoggle101]

Can how Shaw is playing which is very good regardless of his stats stay off the recruitingbthread?

[blmillini]

Originally Posted by zoggle101

Can how Shaw is playing which is very good regardless of his stats stay off the recruitingbthread?

English Translation please!

[OrangeandBlue89]

Another problem with Henry is that he doesn't seem to have a position. He is one of those "tweeners". He doesn't seem to have that killer instinct, or that tenacious mentality. I'm not sure I can even picture in my head him diving on the floor for a loose ball.

I'm not too worried about Nunn's scoring. He will be just fine in my opinion. He will bring a toughness and mean streak that we desperately need at this school.


I'm hungover from the night before, along with being a bit bored. So I thought I might do a rundown of the 2013 recruiting class in my opinion. Like I said it's just an opinion. I'm not a college coach or recruiter, just a guy who loves this stuff along with UI basketball. With all that said I think Groce pulled in a great first class. He balanced out the roster filling every position with a player.

PG Tate- A quick, pass first player with good vision. This seems to be a depth chart pickup as we desperately need ball handlers. Hopefully will be a solid role player in his time here.

SG Nunn- Huge pickup for Groce not only in that Nunn is extremely talented, but also to building bridges with the CPL. I think Nunn will get some playing time as a frosh due to his defensive abilities and tenacity. Extremely athletic player who has all the tools and will develop nicely under Groce.

SF Hill- So crucial that Groce kept this kid committed to UI. Seems like he's very intelligent, loyal, and well spoken. Like many others have said I think he will be the best of them all, along with the most NBA potential. Six foot seven and possibly growing? Pure scorer with a silky smooth jumper, also shoots a ton of free throws at a great percentage which is always nice. He will get PT as a frosh mainly due to his talent.

PF Colbert- I'll admit this is the guy I know least about. Seems to be 6'9-6'10 but very skinny. A very athletic big man who can hit those mid range jumpers as well. A guy none of us on here expected to sign, but I'm sure in the end we will all be happy he did.

C Morgan- Man did we ever need a big guy with his size and weight in the worst way, and we got him in Maverick. 6'10 and 250 pounds this guy will definitely get some tick right off the bat due to depth issues in the post. Sounds like he is a bit raw, but you can't argue with the numbers he is putting up against strong competition in Ohio. You also cannot teach that size. You need a big guy like that in the middle in the BIG conference to be able to compete.

I'm ready to see how this class develops in the coming years. It will be exciting to see Groce implement his full system with the players HE recruited and not inherited. I think we have some talented players on this team, but I'm ready to turn the page.

What do you guys think? Agree with anything or disagree?

[Bailey]

Originally Posted by zoggle101

Can how Shaw is playing which is very good regardless of his stats stay off the recruitingbthread?

I think it's relevant considering many on this board thought it'd be his scholarship that was freed up for a '14 recruit. If his role continues to grow, it might mean us closing the book on that class.

[RichBradIllini]

Originally Posted by zoggle101

I don't think you ever "chase" anyone off. Ever since this talk about creaningg guys started we've been in a nose dive. I wasn't really sure why Groce kept recruiting 13 and filled all five scholarships in that class along with having a transfer in a Rice coming in next year. Honestly, when we brought in Sambo it set our sophomore pf's back which is looking like a huge problem right now. Duke routinely doesn't use all 13 scholarships every year. I would have loved to role a scholarship over to 14, but we did get two solid recruits with the last two scholarships. At least Colbert is an athletic pf who is long, and Tate is pg.

Uh...this is either unintentional ignorance or a lack of any racial sensitivity. Please say its the first thing.

[mikpence]

Originally Posted by Karl Welzein

Please. Kevin Berardini could score in double figures against Chicago St.

Henry doesn't play hard. Minutes are there for the taking but that still doesn't inspire him to go all out.

Yet he had more points than anyone else in that game. Anyone that watches him in games should be able to see he's playing out of position. That's what has suppressed his scoring, if he got to play the three and got the minutes some of our guys are getting he'd score a lot more. I also think that effort is very important, but so is talent.

[IanKEvans2]

I'm hoping Morgan will finally be the traditional post-up center Illinois has desperately needed for oh so long.

Meyers could have been that guy had the offense ever decided to pass him the ball. Groce' s offense should allow for Morgan to do his thing in the paint.

[zoggle101]

Originally Posted by RichBradIllini

Uh...this is either unintentional ignorance or a lack of any racial sensitivity. Please say its the first thing.

Off topic:

I'm pretty sure Sambo is Sam's ID on twitter. I know the terms asiamitc, Berber, and moor which aren't too offensive if you know history however I'm not too familiar with sambo. Care to let me in on this.

Blmillini if you can't translate that, I don't know what to tell you because it's not written in an ancient language. Maybe not the strongest sentence b, but it's hardly something that is indecipherable.

On topic : I'm hoping Morgan can be at least a Colton Iverson type for us. Iverson played decent minutes at Minnesota as a freshman. Iverson is tearing it up this year at Colorado St. A mix of Iverson and VanTreese would be awesome.

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

Originally Posted by RichBradIllini

Uh...this is either unintentional ignorance or a lack of any racial sensitivity. Please say its the first thing.

Or maybe neither.

[SimonHoffman]

Jalen Brunson scores an Illini offer. He would be our first true point guard since Dee Brown, correct? All I can think of from video I've seen is Kendall Marshall.

Question: With Matthews and Brunson both classified as point guards, I'm sure that they can coexist, but will they want to coexist?

[zoggle101]

Originally Posted by WesterveltVictoryCigar

Or maybe neither.

Lol, of course it's Samb0 and not sambo.... Maybe a little ignorance on my part.

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

Originally Posted by zoggle101

Lol, of course it's Samb0 and not sambo.... Maybe a little ignorance on my part.

We'd believe it if you claimed a typo.

[illini73]

Originally Posted by SimonHoffman

Jalen Brunson scores an Illini offer. He would be our first true point guard since Dee Brown, correct? All I can think of from video I've seen is Kendall Marshall.

Question: With Matthews and Brunson both classified as point guards, I'm sure that they can coexist, but will they want to coexist?

Matthews is a combo guard who can play PG when needed, but can also move over to the SG position and not miss a beat.

[combes]

Originally Posted by SimonHoffman

Jalen Brunson scores an Illini offer. He would be our first true point guard since Dee Brown, correct? All I can think of from video I've seen is Kendall Marshall.

Question: With Matthews and Brunson both classified as point guards, I'm sure that they can coexist, but will they want to coexist?

I thought McCamey was more of a true point than Dee. Dee was a combo, IMO

[zoggle101]

Originally Posted by WesterveltVictoryCigar

We'd believe it if you claimed a typo.

Thanks for trying to help. Sometimes it's just in the cards for a person to consistently make mistakes. I'm one of those people.

D Mac was a scoring point if there is a difference. I always thought a pg was a pg until I started reading IL

I'm now familiar with the term sambo. It will not be used again.

[SimonHoffman]

I still stand by the theory that the '15 class will help Groce get the ship turned around. Can our impatient fan base wait that long? Only time will tell...

[RichBradIllini]

Originally Posted by WesterveltVictoryCigar

Or maybe neither.

Can't argue with that. My apologies to Zoggle.

[combes]

Originally Posted by zoggle101

Thanks for trying to help. Sometimes it's just in the cards for a person to consistently make mistakes. I'm one of those people.

D Mac was a scoring point if there is a difference. n.

Dee would have to be considered a scoring point, too, since they averaged about the same ppg.

[pckldr]

I always thought of Dee as an undersized 2 guard, a much better shooter than creator.

I sure miss guys that can pass and catch the ball.

[illinilifer]

Originally Posted by combes

I thought McCamey was more of a true point than Dee. Dee was a combo, IMO

Did Dee and Deron coexist??? I think so

[illinilifer]

That was suppoesd to be linked to matthews and brunson coexisting post. Linked wrong one

[combes]

Originally Posted by illinilifer

Did Dee and Deron coexist??? I think so

Of course they did. That was not the point. Dee handled the point his senior year with help from Frazier but was more of a scoring, combo guard rather than a true point. Heck of a player and wish we could find another one.