Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May 2019)

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#803      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
No offense intended, but glad you're not heading up our recruiting.

None taken, I would be terrible at it.

Beyond the elite recruits, the ability to evaluate and PROJECT is critical. At this age, it ain't moneyball. Character, effort, development, and fit are all very important at a future skill level that's TBD. And the further out you recruit, the more of a crap shoot you're taking.

Everything is moneyball, properly understood. All of those factors you mention, as well as many others, guide the expected value of players. And then you have to calculate how likely you are to land them, and when, using what amount of resources.

This doesn't all have to be quantified on an excel spreadsheet, in fact I'd imagine you're better off not doing that. But a winning operation thinks in those terms, maximization of available resources. Sometimes the smart move is putting a big chunk of chips down at the craps table and seeing what happens. At Illinois especially, where we have the advantage of a puncher's chance at a lot of elite kids.

But falling head over heels for fantasy dreams of hitting some longshot four player inside straight every single year, and letting the whole rest of the recruiting cycle pass us by while we pray for the tooth fairy to come is a mistake we've made over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Look at the results. Wake up.
 
#804      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
“The fan base has no clue – such unrealistic expectations. They are nuts. Plus, Chicago has players – but it might take a little more than a scholarship to get a lot of them.” – Big Ten assistant coach

Bruce Weber and his allies still pushing this absurd smear so many years after he was deservedly, too late-ly, fired is just so pathetic and gross and telling about what kind of people he and they are.
 
#805      
I think Bruce was a very good bench coach but recruiting is where it all starts and if you can not build off of 2005 i am glad he is gone
 
#806      

Deleted member 236589

D
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I think this one is better. https://watchstadium.com/news/big-t...k-the-best-jobs-in-the-conference-10-11-2018/



That describes the majority of the posters on this board, "nuts" with "unrealistic expectations".
Unfortunately, it is true. I'm not saying is wrong to have hope and belief for the upcoming season. We're fans, it's what we do because it's better than the alternative.

That said, if the expectation is that a 20+ loss team is going to turn into a 20+ win team with a birth in the NCAA just because they're a year older and the non conference schedule is softer....then the expectation is unrealistic and there will probably be some disappointed fans.

18 and 19 tear old kids are not like a fine wine. They don't just better with age. Some progression can be linear or there could be no progression because a ceiling has already been hit or the talent wasn't there to begin with, despite the hope. Absolutely nobody knows what Kofi is outside of being a big body.

I hope that we are a significantly better, but to expect a 10 game flip is more unlikely than likely. This program has been in a dark place for a long time. Let's call it what it is....we've been irrelevant.

So, the author of that comment is correct. Until we prove that we're more than an open scholarship, that will continue to be the narrative.
 
#807      

Deleted member 236589

D
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I think Bruce was a very good bench coach but recruiting is where it all starts and if you can not build off of 2005 i am glad he is gone
Wasn't a huge fan of Bruce, but we were relevant when he was here, Kansas State has been relevant since he's been there and we've become irrelevant since he's been gone. I'd love to have had multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as an Elite 8 in the last half decade.

Good coach, dry personality....at the end of the day, his teams win though it may not be visually appealing.
 
#808      
Absolutely nobody knows what Kofi is outside of being a big body.

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This sounds like we got a picture of Kofi and gave him a scholarship. Was he rated by recruiting services? Did he play in the absolute toughest HS competitions? Did we see clips of his games? I think we have a pretty good idea of his capabilities. I see last year's team as a five wheeled vehicle with three wheels and a set of training wheels. Next year's team has four wheels and a larger training wheel. Does it mean a 10 game swing? Maybe not but playing four vs five is a dramatic change from playing three vs five.
 
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#809      

Deleted member 643761

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Unfortunately, it is true. I'm not saying is wrong to have hope and belief for the upcoming season. We're fans, it's what we do because it's better than the alternative.

That said, if the expectation is that a 20+ loss team is going to turn into a 20+ win team with a birth in the NCAA just because they're a year older and the non conference schedule is softer....then the expectation is unrealistic and there will probably be some disappointed fans.

18 and 19 tear old kids are not like a fine wine. They don't just better with age. Some progression can be linear or there could be no progression because a ceiling has already been hit or the talent wasn't there to begin with, despite the hope. Absolutely nobody knows what Kofi is outside of being a big body.

I hope that we are a significantly better, but to expect a 10 game flip is more unlikely than likely. This program has been in a dark place for a long time. Let's call it what it is....we've been irrelevant.

So, the author of that comment is correct. Until we prove that we're more than an open scholarship, that will continue to be the narrative.

So much wrong.

First, it's not just fans here expecting a better season. We have plenty of preseason predictions from unbiased experts saying the same.

I'm not sure what to make of your comment about linear progression. Most people believe that for a good number of players the progression isn't linear so much as arced. At some point in a career, a good player is likely to make a nonlinear jump. that often happens after the sophomore year, but not always. The idea that one or more of our players make a non linear jump isn't unreasonable. In fact, with good coaching, we should routinely expect non linear improvement from a good number of players.
 
#810      

Deleted member 643761

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Wasn't a huge fan of Bruce, but we were relevant when he was here, Kansas State has been relevant since he's been there and we've become irrelevant since he's been gone. I'd love to have had multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as an Elite 8 in the last half decade.

Good coach, dry personality....at the end of the day, his teams win though it may not be visually appealing.

I would have liked that too. but most of us want to achieve the levels that we had during the 80s and the '98-'06 era. we have proof that it can happen and we have proof that Weber was incapable of achieving that.
 
#811      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
For me, Bruce’s tourney run last year has a big fat asterisk on it. Without the help of the first (and possibly ever) 16 seed upsetting a 1 seed, he wouldn’t have made it to the 2nd weekend. (IMO)

Now, I know he can only play the team that is in front of him, and he then went on to beat 5 seed UK, but I still don’t think he passes Virginia if they hadn’t pooped the bed.

Anyway, he is a good coach. We could be a great program. We need a great coach to get us there. He wasn’t doing it.
 
#812      
Hope you are right about landing someone else because we need major minutes from someone in addition to Kofi and Giorgi. Don't have any idea about Samba but don't think we need significant offense from him. If he can defend and rebound we are way ahead of last year. Do think that is more likely than Kofi not having foul trouble. If we could get functional minutes from Kipper it would also help but we would still be undersized. Also am not optimistic about Kipper based on last year's performance as I thought he was our biggest disappointment. Need OA to pull one out of his hat.
They need to take a look at Khalid Thomas. He's the #2 juco trsfr, I believe, and just decommitted from Tx Tech and is now available. Anyone know if we are in play for this guy?
 
#813      

Deleted member 643761

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They need to take a look at Khalid Thomas. He's the #2 juco trsfr, I believe, and just decommitted from Tx Tech and is now available. Anyone know if we are in play for this guy?
Holyfield domino?
 
#814      
#815      
I’ve seen people give the best information they have available and get slammed for it if it’s not exactly correct. I, for one, appreciate even hints of what is going on. I’ll not complain if things change. I think even the staff was surprised to see Holyfield pick TTU.
 
#819      
I’ve seen people give the best information they have available and get slammed for it if it’s not exactly correct. I, for one, appreciate even hints of what is going on. I’ll not complain if things change. I think even the staff was surprised to see Holyfield pick TTU.
I’ve seen people give the best information they have available and get slammed for it if it’s not exactly correct. I, for one, appreciate even hints of what is going on. I’ll not complain if things change. I think even the staff was surprised to see Holyfield pick TTU.
Strange, considering T.J. wanted a

This is comical. Once Beard said come aboard it was done. I mean they just made o e hell of a run. No more excuses, recruiting sucks!
 
#820      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
Didn't we just have the worst season in school history with the same players? Can't understand how we are DEFINETLY making the tournament.
Have to agree. It seems overly optimistic for so many to be putting Illinois in the tourney next season. They weren't within smelling distance last year.
 
#821      
Also, that’s the problem with college basketball. More than a scholarship? Isn’t anything more than a scholarship kind of against the rules? Our facilities are first rate. Anything else is against the rules, eh?
Our facilities are decent at best. We are not even close to the top half of the B1G. We have announced an upgrade but, no one seems to know when.
 
#822      

illini80

Forgottonia
Our facilities are decent at best. We are not even close to the top half of the B1G. We have announced an upgrade but, no one seems to know when.
My opinion: Facilities are over rated. Sure they make a difference and help, but if they were the deciding factor schools like NW and Nebraska would be reaping the benefits and they clearly are not. Idk what Memphis has for facilities but I doubt they changed much in the last year and look what they are doing.

I’d love to have the best arena and training facilities in the country but it still comes down to the staffs recruiting ability.
 
#825      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
My opinion: Facilities are over rated. Sure they make a difference and help, but if they were the deciding factor schools like NW and Nebraska would be reaping the benefits and they clearly are not. Idk what Memphis has for facilities but I doubt they changed much in the last year and look what they are doing.

I’d love to have the best arena and training facilities in the country but it still comes down to the staffs recruiting ability.

Clearly, Brad needs Little Undy to counter Little Penny. Little Undy will lead us to the promised land!
 
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