The other point that I don't see on the recent posts at least is you can't really compare the players recruited by Groce vs. Underwood because their systems and style of play are so different. BU clearly targets players that he believes fit his system. He appears to be somewhat in that "positionless player" camp where players rotate between 3 or more positions.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2018)
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The other point that I don't see on the recent posts at least is you can't really compare the players recruited by Groce vs. Underwood because their systems and style of play are so different. BU clearly targets players that he believes fit his system. He appears to be somewhat in that "positionless player" camp where players rotate between 3 or more positions.
What player did I mention that JG was recruiting do you feel BU wouldnt? I dont buy completely in to all of that as it pertains to the wings at least. The 4s n 5s may want more agility it would seem or BU may develop or use the differently. They both wouldve recruited the top players JG seemed to focus 90% of his staff on. I think JG wanted length and athletes ar all positions he just was unsuccessful for the most part. Just like they both wouldve recruited Ayo or Brunson or who ever the best player in Illinois may be. I do think some players that commit to BU may have "thicker skin" or benefit to his style of coaching. The results of who BU actually got here do seem different and that is awesome. I mean what system doesnt want athletic, long, preferably tall players that can move, handle the ball, rebound, and shoot? Itsgetting them that is the hard part and fir now appears to be the difference
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As far as recruiting, a big part will be whether BU can land some highly ranked players but also not leaving gaps in his recruiting. Groce's failure in recruiting was not only going after many highly ranked recruits and not landing them, but also leaving big gaps in certain positions, primarily point guard and inside game.
BU seems to have a better start at PG (partially with the help of Groce who recruited Frazier) but will need to solve the inside game question. Hopefully some of his "project" recruits at those positions pan out.
BU seems to have a better start at PG (partially with the help of Groce who recruited Frazier) but will need to solve the inside game question. Hopefully some of his "project" recruits at those positions pan out.
Agreed..I like what BU said about Bez and Feliz about helping sooner rather than later. Maybe thinks Bez will do more than we may expect. He says Fletch should get him up to 250lbs.
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Point Guards and Bigs were his downfall. In a a ball screen offense, you really need those PG's. Point Guards were Weber's. His motion offense really needed to have a couple of good PG's. The team's had plenty of decent wings.
I think it's pretty clear he move much more fluidly than Mav. Mav could really shoot from mid range though and could block and change a few shots. The thing BU keeps bringing up is his passing. We will have to wait and see but I think both Kane and Bez have a much higher ceiling offensively
:thumb: lol hell no IU sucks!Is that you Dan Dakish?
One, they had one kid say he's transferring, waiting for the second guy, they speculate its one of the incoming transfers just heading elsewhere
And even with a decent Senior year, he was still only rated in the lower half of the league for centers.
illini80
- Forgottonia
That would be incredible! I didn't think he (Jerry) normally came out this early. I would assume it will be fall before a decision is made.
UIHoopsRecruits Retweeted
Aaron Rose@AaronBenRose
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Jun 1
Former Fenwick star and @nikemeanstreets guard DJ Steward informed his coach that he will be transferring to Whitney Young (@wyhs) or La Lumiere (@LaLuAthletics) next season, according to multiple sources.
Aaron Rose@AaronBenRose
·
Jun 1
Former Fenwick star and @nikemeanstreets guard DJ Steward informed his coach that he will be transferring to Whitney Young (@wyhs) or La Lumiere (@LaLuAthletics) next season, according to multiple sources.
correction
Gill wasn't the lowest rated recruit. If you disagree then list all the recruits ranked higher than KG.
Gill wasn't the lowest rated recruit. If you disagree then list all the recruits ranked higher than KG.
People have to understand the notion of statistics and probability. There is definitely correlation between rankings, talent, and performance, especially at that higher tiers. Correlation does not mean that every recruit will perform according to rankings.
The classic, failed argument, that posters often bring as evidence that rankings do not matter is: "hey look at this low ranked kid, he performed better than that higher ranked kid." It's a bad argument. Identifying talent after their careers is in full swing is the same as playing Monday morning quarterback. Sure you can always identify that kid after things have happened, but the difficulty is identifying that low ranked kid a priori.
You can always identify the very low ranked player who will be better than Ayo, Whitney, Okoro, Liddell, etc., but please tell us now. Statistically, these highly ranked players have higher chance of success, and that is why people get excited landing them. The same reason fans get excited in football and the whole Littyville movement.
The classic, failed argument, that posters often bring as evidence that rankings do not matter is: "hey look at this low ranked kid, he performed better than that higher ranked kid." It's a bad argument. Identifying talent after their careers is in full swing is the same as playing Monday morning quarterback. Sure you can always identify that kid after things have happened, but the difficulty is identifying that low ranked kid a priori.
You can always identify the very low ranked player who will be better than Ayo, Whitney, Okoro, Liddell, etc., but please tell us now. Statistically, these highly ranked players have higher chance of success, and that is why people get excited landing them. The same reason fans get excited in football and the whole Littyville movement.
That's actually a good question, Kendall Gill was not the lowest ranked recruit in the 1986 class but he was definitely behind Nick Anderson and Larry Smith. Rankings were not going very deep back then though.
Kendall Gill would have been higher ranked in HS if he hadn’t been a 6’3” center.
Rankings are one input. If you look at the conference avg team rankings for last year ( Verbal Commits) we are rated 6 in the conference. I am assuming this is based on the whole roster. I think you would find a similar ranking for the last 5 years. However the rankings alone don't account for balance and system fit. Our lack of a pg and center have been often mentioned. Also don't believe Loyolas center would have been a good fit for BU's system but excellent for theirs. My optimism is that we have brought balance to the roster in that the five players left would cover all the positions and the incoming recruits also cover all the positions (or skills, size if position less). Our problem now is lack of experience and/or skill in the bigs. They have not covered that deficit in the short term by recruiting unless Kane is way ahead of the rankings. I'm just impatient to see "we will win".
Deleted member 14522
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Have zero info on Whitney but if we could somehow land him over the summer I would have to think that would be helpful in landing a post player in the fall. Whitney is the type of athlete that can be used in so many ways in our spread offense. It would be really impressive if the staff lands him.
Joseph Kerr
- Fort Wayne, IN
In response to ranking,most players are rated on the scale of being a star. Generally, these are stat stuffers, play for big name schools, etc and mostly they give a great account of what they will become. As I said earlier, there are NBA stars who were not ranked. I think what the optimists on here are looking at is different, and why we are hopeful. We feel about our guards and feel the wings will be solid and give us many options. How about the bigs? 2005 our bigs were James Augustine, Roger Powell, and Jack Ingram and we ran 3 guards. Were they all superstars? Loved the energy and commitment that Ingram and the Rev gave us, but let's not make them out to be anything but role players who hit it hard. Nanna Egwu, star? So we get a big guy who is a rim protector in Kane who has a developing offense that is ahead of Egwu at the same point. I've watched too many college games where role players did what they needed to do. I do think some of our players are under rated. AG can score from anywhere, instant offense off the bench? TJ is 6'7" and played the point at times for his team. He gives me the most optimism. They all have speed and athleticism....if they can D up, it would be scary to realize the guy coming off the bench is fresh and just as talented as the guy he replaced. Maybe you have 7 people averaging around 10 pts a game and every other game is someone lighting it up? Probabilities of this happening, lower than my optimism, but this is why people follow Illini basketball during recruiting season. I can't remember us having a fully loaded team since the late 80's and early 90's. The 2005 team had talent, but role players made the difference in getting to the finals, and sadly in losing it. Not good D at the big man spots.
That's just what Jeff Finke said on the radio a year or so ago. He was in that class so I took him at his word.
Illini in OC
In. The. Alley.
Let's hope we see similar year-to-year jumps and ongoing development for the guys that are on board as we saw for Kendall. There is no resemblance of KG the 5th overall NBA draft pick and KG the toothpick that entered UofI.
That's what BU, Fletch and staff are here to do for their recruits.
I know it's not likely, but if it happened for the right mix of players, I would project deep tourney runs for the beloved sooner than later.
I-L-L
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