skyIdub
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2018)
- Status
Find all insider info in this situation is pretty much BS. FO has been pretty close to vest on all this recruitment, and seems like the only thing we do know, he continues to play, working on his game. Not heard jack squat about any of reclassification , it's not really anybody's business. Saw a post on OU board , they not sure he will even be able to reclassify. Again, more BS , what do they know, have they seen his transcripts?
FO posting that all 3 schools still in mix. That's good enough for me, when he's ready to commit guess he will tell us. Found it real funny Piper had to eat crow, because he really isn't doing his homework, just being a parrot of others , guessing of the outcome.
Glad FO is playing this weekend, hope he does well. For him to play at next level, the more he plays the more improvement he makes. The people I know in Normal know people who consider themselves friendly with FO, they have said no one will know his decision till he makes it. That's just his family way. I respect that.
Our staff is still making zero moves on a big man , or at least we are hearing nothing. Gives me impression they are in holding pattern. We heard May 16 the as a date needed for him to reclassify, why this date?. Last year Bagley, decide to reclassify in August, he was on court for first game for Duke to play. Is there any reason why this can't happen here too?
The Instagram post said one thing to me, Okoro has made his choice, it's gets between 3 schools, and he holds the only crystal ball. He will let you know when he's ready!
I live in the area and I can tell you that hardly anyone thinks it's going to be Illinois. But you know people that know people so I'm sure your mind is already set that all the smoke is fake. Also, he can openly say he's going to reclassify but it doesn't mean it's automatically approved.Find all insider info in this situation is pretty much BS. FO has been pretty close to vest on all this recruitment, and seems like the only thing we do know, he continues to play, working on his game. Not heard jack squat about any of reclassification , it's not really anybody's business. Saw a post on OU board , they not sure he will even be able to reclassify. Again, more BS , what do they know, have they seen his transcripts?
FO posting that all 3 schools still in mix. That's good enough for me, when he's ready to commit guess he will tell us. Found it real funny Piper had to eat crow, because he really isn't doing his homework, just being a parrot of others , guessing of the outcome.
Glad FO is playing this weekend, hope he does well. For him to play at next level, the more he plays the more improvement he makes. The people I know in Normal know people who consider themselves friendly with FO, they have said no one will know his decision till he makes it. That's just his family way. I respect that.
Our staff is still making zero moves on a big man , or at least we are hearing nothing. Gives me impression they are in holding pattern. We heard May 16 the as a date needed for him to reclassify, why this date?. Last year Bagley, decide to reclassify in August, he was on court for first game for Duke to play. Is there any reason why this can't happen here too?
The Instagram post said one thing to me, Okoro has made his choice, it's gets between 3 schools, and he holds the only crystal ball. He will let you know when he's ready!
Felt this way for a while with Liddell. Very unlikely as of right now.
I am hearing Ohio State for him as of right now is the one to beat, obviously far from over.
IMO if he was even considering Illinois at this point there would be some smoke coming out of the Illinois camp and there is none again today. If he was torn between Illinois and either Purdue or Oregon he would at the least talk to Underwood and possibly make a quick, short trip to Champagne to voice his concerns face to face. He has been doing nothing positive towards Illinois after his trip Oregon, instead he has been avoiding anything to do with the U of I. Common sense tells me that his mind is already made up and he doesn't want to give the Illini coaching staff even a courtesy visit or meeting. I don't see any hope unless someone he really trusts can get him to give Illinois another fair shot at the last minute. How often has that happened recently in Illinois basketball recruiting ?
Last edited:
Fair enough, but I think it's silly to say that everyone else's take is BS just because it's bad news. We wouldn't be shaming people like Piper if he said that Okoro was coming here but people turn on him once he says he's not.
... hopefully not TOO good of a time
That's not Damone!
Very well said JE I don’t think anyone but only the closest in his circle knows which way he is leaning. It looks like we find out on Monday.
Its ain't looking good..but....1 in a million..so you saying theres a chance!
Ok mr Jim
Okoro likes soda.... and his car, is green!
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
I live in Blm/Norm, actually cattycorner to KBD, and I have never heard positive vibes of Okoro to Illinois unfortunately. At first it was North Carolina if they showed interest, which was only mild. I haven’t heard Oregon definitely but I haven’t heard Illini at all during this entire recruitment. Hoping to be pleasantly shocked but expecting to be jilted again by a B/N player.
In other news, if Adam Miller ends up at scUM, I will run through my house with scissors.
Idk- there is a lot to like at Michigan and they are putting guys in the NBA. And Beilein sure seems like a decent guy. Miller isn’t coming. If he has eyes for visits to UM, Florida,UCLA, and Oregon, that sounds like a dude who wants to go somewhere outside illinois with some glitz and shine.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
I find this to be a very sensible post. You never know with recruiting, but it really looks like he had us on his list, had folks persuading him to stay near his current home, lots of PT available etc., but all our logical reasons went out the window when he saw something else that resonated with him, where he could see himself doing well.
Part of recruiting is the sucky part where you lose a recruit, but they haven't yet finalized their decision. I strongly suspect that's where we're at.
Well, it doesn't sound good from a 2018 perspective, and if he's committing for 2019, I would say the best thing about that article is that even though he likes Oregon, he's still thinking it over. Sounds like he's at least considering all three to some degree or another. The part about Oregon wanting him regardless of class doesn't make me feel good, but I'm probably reading too much into it.
Good for him no matter what he decides.
Seems like he's taking his time and making a well thought out decision. Certainly can't fault him for that, and if he's targeting a couple weeks, at least we have some news, such as it is.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
How can so many of our fans not spell "Champaign" correctly??
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
"Coach Underwood is telling me how he really wants me. He texts me every day so I know how he feels."
Any word on how well Crean is recruiting at Georgia?
illini80
- Forgottonia
It’s tough to take a lot positively in those short quotes. Trying to read between the lines is probably not productive anyway. Two more weeks to a decision?!
I'm a little more hopeful after the Rivals article. Silly, but I'm running with that he's working just a bit to make us sound like the #3 choice. So he can knock our socks off when he announces.
I gotta lay off the orange coffee this morning.
I gotta lay off the orange coffee this morning.
Current players on roster from Illinois:
Aaron Jordan, Da'Monte Williams, Ayo Dosunmu.
This is not a team that will be getting many local recruits.
We've heard this many times, that the staff wants pieces that fit, not just great local players. I think we need to try to get our minds off of "the best local players must stay local" as this has not been the case for a very long time. Culturally, kids today want to get away from home and see new places. We're stuck in an old mindset.
Aaron Jordan, Da'Monte Williams, Ayo Dosunmu.
This is not a team that will be getting many local recruits.
We've heard this many times, that the staff wants pieces that fit, not just great local players. I think we need to try to get our minds off of "the best local players must stay local" as this has not been the case for a very long time. Culturally, kids today want to get away from home and see new places. We're stuck in an old mindset.
If he knows what he's talking about now we know one reason why there hasn't been an official visit. None available.
- Status