Tevian Jones is going to have a lot more impact than some rankings may lead one to believe. I agree with the Trent Frazier ranking versus impact as a freshman comparison. He can shoot, drive and play defense. My hope is that he can push Kipper to play more consistently and they can make each other better. Different bodies but they have similar game on the offensive end and are kind of 3/4 tweeners on height. If we are to have a surprise year this coming season (bubble team) Tevian Jones will be a big reason why.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2018)
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Tevian Jones is going to have a lot more impact than some rankings may lead one to believe. I agree with the Trent Frazier ranking versus impact as a freshman comparison. He can shoot, drive and play defense. My hope is that he can push Kipper to play more consistently and they can make each other better. Different bodies but they have similar game on the offensive end and are kind of 3/4 tweeners on height. If we are to have a surprise year this coming season (bubble team) Tevian Jones will be a big reason why.
Smith is a terrific athlete, he's just not a basketball player yet at this point in time.
Ayo is 100% basketball player. But he's not one of these electrically bouncy guys, and with a shaky jump shot at this point his his development that will limit his ability to impose himself on college games. Big Ten teams are going to make him a jump shooter until he can hurt them.
I don't necessarily think you're wrong but I do believe you're grasping here a little bit. You won't convince me the staff is failing by not being in on every 2021 kid they should be at this moment.
haasi
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My projection is that Ayo will be OK first year, pretty good second year, and a monster by third year as he develops skills and ability to control college game
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Being first on the best in-state kids is one of the in-born advantages of the Illinois job. If self-induced roster chaos soaks up those man-hours, that's robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Not the end of the world by any means. Might not matter at all. But the big things are the sum of a lot of little things.
Smith is extremely strong but I honestly think he looked slow out on the court this year. Also feel like he was touted as much more of an explosive finisher than he was, don't remember ever seeing any high flying finishes or dunks from him. Seemed like he got stuffed at the rim or ran into the trees more often.
Agree with you on Ayo though, doesn't seem to be super bouncy per se, but I'm still in love with his quickness on the court. I think he and Frazier or gonna do so well playing together.
Compared to the year Trent had this year, do you see Ayo coming close in his first year? I feel like he can, as a product of playing with Frazier mostly .
As the young Martez Wilson showed, the player who hesitates is the slowest player out there.
I do believe a well established head coach at the University of Illinois should be able to leverage the advantage of proximity to the talent in our back yard.
I think that leverage is still pretty limited in many cases but one of various angles we should be working as this staff gets their footing.
It's a valid criticism just one that doesn't concern me at year 1 and 1 month for BU and staff, especially considering the state of the team/program and need for immediate contributors.
If we never leave this stage, to your point, we are not program building and will likely never reach any sustained level of success.
Exactly true.
I think he is a two year player, but much depends on the success of the entire team.
Suspension was from the DIA supposedly.
Obviously Ayo is a good player but he isn’t a top recruit player that will change the
program in one year or even 2 years IMO. That’s ok. He needs to work on shot and just keep driving & dishing & scoring.
The other new recruits i haven’t seen play, so I’ll state the obvi, they could have a better or
Worse record than last year. It’s all speculation at this point. Hopefully BU got the players he feels he can mold into the WVU/OSU mold. We will see. Time will tell. Let’s hope so it has been a LONG TIME since we been good
program in one year or even 2 years IMO. That’s ok. He needs to work on shot and just keep driving & dishing & scoring.
The other new recruits i haven’t seen play, so I’ll state the obvi, they could have a better or
Worse record than last year. It’s all speculation at this point. Hopefully BU got the players he feels he can mold into the WVU/OSU mold. We will see. Time will tell. Let’s hope so it has been a LONG TIME since we been good
This staff won't be here in '21 if they don't focus on '18 and '19.
I will be very happy if his replacement is as effective as TJL. He was very athletic in terms of both jumping (watch some of his rebounds) and quickness. He was an excellent passer and the best defensive player on the team. Not sure he really shot enough to totally judge his shooting ability as he was a pass first PG. As BU started him with TF, don't believe it was team's decision for him to transfer. However, he was not the "long" guard that I believe BU would prefer but neither is his replacement.
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Exactly.
The landscape is full of instances in which coaches convince stud recruits to come join a losing program. That usually happens in a coach's first year or two after inheriting a losing program, but as the Lorenzo Romars of the world showed, losing coaches can still get recruits for whatever reason.
However, most stud recruits play for winners. And if we don't manage to establish some stability and begin showing promise in the next year or two, it doesn't matter how much time we invest in the 2021 or 2022 kids. They'll see a coach on the hot seat and a program that hasn't won jack in 10+ years.
Jalen Smith
Griffin is not “land bound.” Better athlete than most are giving him credit for. In person viewing confirmed that.
Feliz has high school video of him driving the lane and dunking. Lucas never did that.
We needed an upgrade. Lucas was a decent back up. That was it. We needed a starting point guard. Look which teams are pursuing Lucas now. That is a clue to his talent level.
Not that it's any indicator one way or another, but there is footage of Lucas doing that in high school.
I'm optimistic with this class. But in today's college scene players have become inpatient and want immediate results. I see all incoming players being successful as long as they stick it out. I still think MSmith would of found success if he developed for a couple of years.
Hope you are right, but I don't think he is a starter as he won't beat out Ayo and Trent.
What are the differences between official and unofficial visits? What can they do in an official visit that they cannot do in an unofficial? Can you pay for transportation/lodging in either?
Thanks
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