Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2018)
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FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
Ayo, Ayo, it's off to C-U Okoro goes!
Lol, this would sound particularly good sung in the round.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Ayo, Ayo, it's off to C-U Okoro goes!
haha, truly a tune for the true believers to rally around.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
I feel like you're contradicting your own point here.
They have more bodies in front of Okoro then PU. Get him there he would take Cage's spot and play sparingly. Bol Bol can only play so many minutes, but he will be the centerpiece, Not saying no on Oregon, just saying there's a lot of bodies looking for similar position minutes. He will the best chance of minutes at Illinois, He will share minutes elsewhere. Sure, PU and OU have been much more successful, but I'm not sure that matters.
Read article written by 24/7 sports , check to post, had PU and OU neck and neck we are the dark horse. Reading all indicators , we have the PT, offense system , and friendlies in camp , leads me to believe we are is choice, and they are chasing us. IMO. Time will tell.
Hands Malone
- Quad-Cities, IL
At both Purdue and Oregon, he will play within team parameters. At Illinois, he can be the man. We'll see what he thinking soon.
ivwilsoniv
- Aurora, IL
We need more Stuemke info ASAP.
OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
- Illinois
OR
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Deleted member 17900
D
Guest
Two crystal balls for Oregon yesterday...
No update yet. Not for lack of asking!!
ivwilsoniv
- Aurora, IL
Only because they read this board.
Apparently, this inability of Illinois to recruit big men is not only a recent thing. I came across this article from 1995 that talks about how Lou Henson couldn't land a big man at the end of his tenure.
A few interesting quotes from the article:
"This time around, Illinois seems to have suffered from both bad luck and bad perceptions. Local players wanted to leave home, while distant players wanted to be near home."
"'When you're recruiting one position, and you're going after five, six, seven players, sometimes that just doesn't work,' said Van Coleman, associate publisher of FutureStars magazine. 'Center is the toughest position to recruit. Guys who are 6-9 to 7-1, you don't see a lot of them at the mall.'"
"Henson plucked Clark from a junior college. And now Clark's departure, after just two years in Champaign, leaves the Illini wondering why they can't get a center.
"Said Henson: 'You'd think we could because we have a spot for one.'"
Any of that sound familiar?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-04-20/sports/9504200279_1_illinois-lou-henson-chris-gandy
A few interesting quotes from the article:
"This time around, Illinois seems to have suffered from both bad luck and bad perceptions. Local players wanted to leave home, while distant players wanted to be near home."
"'When you're recruiting one position, and you're going after five, six, seven players, sometimes that just doesn't work,' said Van Coleman, associate publisher of FutureStars magazine. 'Center is the toughest position to recruit. Guys who are 6-9 to 7-1, you don't see a lot of them at the mall.'"
"Henson plucked Clark from a junior college. And now Clark's departure, after just two years in Champaign, leaves the Illini wondering why they can't get a center.
"Said Henson: 'You'd think we could because we have a spot for one.'"
Any of that sound familiar?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-04-20/sports/9504200279_1_illinois-lou-henson-chris-gandy
Crystal balls are so inaccurate I rarely give them credence. Bryce Golden being a great recent example with 10 CB's (100%) to Syracuse and he commits to Butler. He might end up at Oregon but the two people flipping don't have any idea what Francis Okoro is thinking. JMO
Who is everyone else? 2 Crystal Balls? That's all I've seen. A ton of speculation regarding his comments about distance from his original home and knowing Oregon's facilities are top-notch.
The curmudgeon Roy Schmidt says Okoro to Illinois and he doesn't go out on a limb and end up wrong often. I would not consider him an Illinois homer. I don't think that means its a lock but its not just Illini kool-aid drinkers that are confident in Illini's chances.
When's the last time ole Roy has chimed in since the original statement? Seems he's not exactly oozing with confidence since he isn't out there retweeting about it and acting all puffy chested bc he knows.
This fall season cannot get here fast enough. At this point, I'm ready to see what our stable of fellas can do on the court. Until then, I'm not getting upset about recruiting.
They're pretty accurate as a recruit gets closer to a decision. It doesn't mean that they're always right but I'd bet they're right over 90% of the time in the days leading up to a commitment.
Late CB's tend to be more reliable. We should be realistic about Okoro.
(I hope I'm wrong)
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
I thought the lean PG years under Groce proved that already.
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Butler was also Bryce's last visit. I'd feel a whole lot better if we could at least get Okoro on campus for one last time.
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