Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (June 2019)

[armo859]

Good strategy for BU and the recruiting crew. Make all the contacts, spread our net wide, including lots of 4 and 5 star guys, then IF (when?) we have a breakout season and start generating positive buzz we reel in a couple big fish . Especially some more guards that see a clear path to big minutes early on and the opportunity to compete with the upper tier teams of the Big Ten. I'm not sure how likely a national championship will be any time soon with all super elite players still being steered to the Blue Bloods year after year after year... Maybe if the NBA clears a path for the top players to jump into the first round right out of High School, it will take a bite out of the one-and-done market.

 

[Dan]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1144976709143486465

The FIBA u19 World Cup just tipped off here in Crete, Greece
https://twitter.com/EvanDaniels/

 

[Joel Goodson]

Underwood made the right call WRT our worldwide recruiting. Hopefully, it pays further dividends. Antigua is very well suited for being the point man here.

 

[Ratskin]

Zagsblog interviewed AJ Griffin. Recruitment heating up, he says, but no mention of IL. Duke and KY starting to get involved. Doesn’t sound good. Hope I’m wrong.

 

[Ratskin]

Anyone hear how the last two days went with the visits?

 

[Ratskin]

DJ Steward told Evan Daniels he is “definitely coming out with it “ after Peach Jam when asked about a decision. Really liked UL’s facilities.

 

[Calvin]

I thought Underwood was a great hire....

I think he’s going to pull this rebuild off.

Everyone loved the hire. I think poaching another coach from a P5 feels good, and his offense was among the best in the nation.

In retrospect, while there were concerns about Groce being soft, I don't think anyone anticipated the change in culture would be so painful. We look back and can see that year 1 wasn't laying the foundation like we thought, and it was year 2 where things got established. Still a ways to go IMO, as consistency is hard to build. There's every reason for optimism, though, and that feels good heading into year 3. This team should have a high ceiling, more depth, and very few of the head-scratchers we had at the start of last year. The foreign trip will be especially valuable to the young guys and getting ready.

Been a long wait, but we can make some noise this year.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Zagsblog interviewed AJ Griffin. Recruitment heating up, he says, but no mention of IL. Duke and KY starting to get involved. Doesn’t sound good. Hope I’m wrong.

Send me an alert when we're in on a Top 10 kid. Where "in" means a legit chance, not an (utterly meaningless) offer.

 

[Dan]

Transfer forward Donnie Tillman recaps his visit to Illinois
https://pypeline.co/pac-12-6th-man-...-donnie-tillman-recaps-his-visit-to-illinois/

 

[ILLHangOut]

Rutgers and Illinois the only visits for Tillman... Safe to assume he’d use our last schollie?

 

[Hoppy2105]

Did Tillman get more interest than just us and RU?

Seems like the PAC-12 6th man of the year would get a little more interest than B1G bottom-feeders.

 

[Indy Illini Fan]

Addison Patterson taking an official visit to Oregon next week.

 

[foby]

DJ Steward told Evan Daniels he is “definitely coming out with it “ after Peach Jam when asked about a decision. Really liked UL’s facilities.

Here's the complete article for those interested; https://247sports.com/college/louis...uard-dj-steward-reaction-interview-133271282/

 

[Illinifan533]

Transfer forward Donnie Tillman recaps his visit to Illinois
https://pypeline.co/pac-12-6th-man-...-donnie-tillman-recaps-his-visit-to-illinois/

I would assume that Illinois is the front-runner here considering he wants to be closer to his family in Detroit.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Thoughts on Tillman:
- good roster fit (Kipper gone, can play 4 or 3)
- good, proven player, tough, physical, can shoot and drive
- I'd much rather have an experienced 21 yo than a green 18 yo

Hope we land him. Methinks he's better than a lot of folks think.

 

[FiveStar]

Thoughts on Tillman:
- good roster fit (Kipper gone, can play 4 or 3)
- good, proven player, tough, physical, can shoot and drive
- I'd much rather have an experienced 21 yo than a green 18 yo

Hope we land him. Methinks he's better than a lot of folks think.

To build on your second point, I like having that type of proven player come in after Ayo leaves. Helps fill a high level role a bit.

 

[bombayIllini]

Thoughts on Tillman:
- good roster fit (Kipper gone, can play 4 or 3)
- good, proven player, tough, physical, can shoot and drive
- I'd much rather have an experienced 21 yo than a green 18 yo

Hope we land him. Methinks he's better than a lot of folks think.

Better than AP?

Looks like we have given up on AP.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Looks like we have given up on AP.

Doubtful, for sure. When a player of Tillman's caliber is interested, can't slow play him.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Another thought on Tillman:
- really like that he'll have a year in the system, before he debuts

 

[TxChief]

Seems, I would hope, that Tillman vs Patterson is just a "Bird in the Hand" case. Proven and experienced vs expected Potential. If the coaches are comfortable with the fit, I don't see them hesitating on Tillman and the Scholie is gone. We are still just one of four officially on Patterson's dance card. Otherwise, can only hope that Patterson waits until next year.

 

[jmilt7]

According to this article Illinois offered a scholarship to Luke Goode, 2021 SG, a week or so ago. I have seen some mention of him on the board but I did not see an actual notice that he was offered.

Luke Goode SG 2021

Oddly enough, IU has not offered, yet.

 

[illini80]

I would assume that Illinois is the front-runner here considering he wants to be closer to his family in Detroit.

6 Hrs vs 9 hrs. Not sure that’s a huge advantage. He seems pretty high on Rutgers too.