For some reason, no one will comment about Schutt.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Just saw that both Quincy Guerrier and Johnell Davis signed for RocNation Sports. Congratulations to Quincy, and I believe that means Davis is now ineligible to come back to college, seems like he’s going pro.
sacraig
- The desert
They aren’t seniors, the game threads will be filled with fans venting on their mistakes. I’m optimistic for ‘24-‘25 and expect it be an entertaining season, but right now, really looking forward ‘25-‘26 right now as far as national relevance. Still very early though as far as both the portal and coaching carousel. Thinking a couple key additions and another top 10 season would be possible.
chrisRunner7
- Spokane, WA
The players can sign with agents now and keep their eligibility
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
The car I drove while at home in high school and when home from UI was my great aunt's 1972 Buick Skylark. A 350 cu inch V-8. A beast and it was no muscle car. I recall flooring it into a headwind on an entrance ramp to I-74 once to test its acceleration. The aerodynamics were so poor that it felt as if it were going to become airborne. Eight miles to the gallon city, 14 highway if I was lucky. AM radio with an FM converter. Massive chrome bumpers. Weighed 3600 lbs. Good times.
Am fully aware that this belongs in a separate cheese/car thread.
So... where do we stand with Storr... er... Maddox?
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
It will be interesting to watch Meacham on the BIG show trying to be objective about his homeboy, Boswell.
Fun fact. Skyy Clark is also with RocNation
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
If somehow we get Domask back, and we get a true, bona fide big man, the outlook changes considerably. Domask would be that proven, 1st-team all B1G, (and possibly AA-level) guy who would give us that much needed continuity going into next year. He'd be our obvious team leader going into next season. Combine him with the right big man and also having a talented distributor like Boswell and the nice pieces we'd have to add alongside them and this would be a very dangerous team. Dare I'd say we'd almost have to be the favorites to win the B1G going into next season. Without Domask it's going to take longer for the team to gel, but the talent will be there. I don't think we'd be able to go as far next season as with him, but we'd still be an upper echelon B1G team, and the year after if we can get most of our best players to stay (a big if these days), we'd easily be looking at a Top 10 worthy team again and could maybe make another run for a title.
TrueBlueIllini
- JVegas
Johnell is a great player, and no shame because IMO no one using their extra year is in the wrong to weigh that with their potential pro earnings once they graduate, but he is bag chasing. Have heard that he reached out to the staff of a school who isn't even in a power conference (and has been worse than FAU of late) and told them would come for $1.2M. We have the money, but similar to the Storr situation, staff just feels they could allocate their NIL pool better.
They say winning cures all, so hopefully they win, but I feel nothing with these four transfers. Glad they chose to come here, but it's a new group of mercenaries every year. Even in the NBA, players sign multi-year contracts. All fine when you're winning, but if this is the sort of environment and baseline norm is like an 8 seed kinda team, it's gonna be hard for anyone to maintain significant year in and out interest.
Definitely need someone to be an Alfa, scorer and the man.
It's early but not really. It is tough to get excited when you know that the team as currently constructed is not a final 4 or Elite 8 type yeam
Xavier source says Maddox has made up his mind.
Don't know what that means..
1. 1970 Ford Maverick, got me through 2 years of HS and 4 years in Champaign. Barely driveable when I graduated and I gave it to my girlfriend (now wife).
One wiper, no heater, 3.5 tires (slow leak and no spare), non-functioning gauges. Still miss that car. She sold it for $50 when she graduated.
2. Patty melts > grilled cheese. Expecting some pushback on this.
3. On-topic for the thread, I like Conwell even more than Maddox, though I know he is said to be out of reach already.
Storr performed very well at Wisconsin last year no questions but he doesn’t pass much. Can anybody tell me why Wisconsin kind of tailed off last season?
Yep. That’s kind of the vibe right now.
The vast majority of players start out as role players and evolve into being "the guy". It's a little bit different to have a group of guys that we aren't super familiar with come in and be expected to make that leap, but considering the talent they have and the experience they have gained at previous stops, it is their time to step up.
Prior to his arrival in Champaign, TJ was a 22-25 minute a game guy. His role at Texas Tech was similar to that of Ty or Quincy last year. A significant role player, but no one would have been surprised to see him on the bench for long stretches. We gave him 7 more minutes a game and he averaged 7 more points a game his first year as an Illini compared to his last year at TT. We needed him to become that guy, and that opportunity helped him find the confidence and drive for tremendous growth.
I get it, there is a lot we don't know about these guys. What we do know is that we have a heck of a coaching staff, and they have a pretty good track record of inspiring growth in the guys who commit to our culture.
The guys we have added have all the raw materials to make a team that can compete with the best in the country. There's some work left to do, but Illini basketball isn't a difficult thing to sell anymore. We've got good players on the roster. We are going to get good players to take the rest of the spots we are looking to fill. Then we just let that dozen or so guys scratch and claw for PT. I think it's going to work out just fine.
Edey was the best player in college basketball. Sorry but it’s true. Without him purdue is a bubble team.
I love this new era of illinois college basketball! Thank God for the portal! I think it's the best thing that has ever happened to college sports in my lifetime! Brand new teams every year, chance to great every year, no more backseat to the blue bloods!
It's way too early in the offseason to be concerned with any of this. If this is the same situation in June, by all means be concerned.
I’m not sure we can allocate it better though- if Johnell will come for $1.2M, pay the man!
He’s the best player in the portal IMO- size, efficient scorer, over 41% from three, good rebounder- he and Boswell would be one of the best backcourts in the country and he fills exactly what we need in a SG
We can get a legit C with the rest of the NIL and win a big ten title. It’s a no brainer in my eyes
Goillinikobd
- Southeastern US
Whoa, is that the qualifying criteria for NPOY. Don’t think so.
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