Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2017)

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#3,701      

RickBB

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RickBB
miketherevelator said:
from the info on here it looks like he graduated from Ossining in 2016 and went to Mt. Zion Prep. Only watched the first basketball video but he looks like he can shoot from distance and go to the basket.
http://www.hudl.com/profile/5477049/obadiah-toppin
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3 things impressed me in particular.

1) There was a reach back steal and immediate transition end to end where he finished with a dunk. It showed a willingness to get into a passing lane, acceleration in the open court, decent enough handles, and some ups.

2) He made an entry pass in the post after a ball reversal and pin down by the post (at least it looked like him making that entry pass). Either it shows someones ability to anticipate when someone is about to get open, or if he was actually the post player, and ability to know when to get your rump into someone to create a passing angle. Either way....a bit of hoops IQ.

3) There is a football video on there...not that I think Lovie is going to come ask him to hop on the football field if basketball doesn't work out, but just the factt hat he played another sport in high school...I'm a proponent of (my personal opinion of course)
 
#3,702      

IlliniMed

I
Lillington, N.C.
IlliniMed
RickBB said:
3 things impressed me in particular.

1) There was a reach back steal and immediate transition end to end where he finished with a dunk. It showed a willingness to get into a passing lane, acceleration in the open court, decent enough handles, and some ups.

2) He made an entry pass in the post after a ball reversal and pin down by the post (at least it looked like him making that entry pass). Either it shows someones ability to anticipate when someone is about to get open, or if he was actually the post player, and ability to know when to get your rump into someone to create a passing angle. Either way....a bit of hoops IQ.

3) There is a football video on there...not that I think Lovie is going to come ask him to hop on the football field if basketball doesn't work out, but just the factt hat he played another sport in high school...I'm a proponent of (my personal opinion of course)
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Everyone is complaining but all I saw was a solid player who's athletic, (shocker) transitions well and plays above the rim. And he runs the floor. Solid offer :illinois:
 
#3,703      

BMo79

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BMo79
AJT said:
So did Purdue last fall, however, this offer makes me think the coaching staff might be concerned about other recruits.
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It makes me think that the coaching staff isn't just going to sit around and wait on kids to make up their minds, they are out looking for kids who want to play here.
 
#3,707      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
#3,708      

Illiniguy13

Illiniguy13
Illiniguy13
Branson53 said:
I agree. In terms of his ranking (which is all I really have to go by) he's not quite on the level of "new names" of recruits I was expecting. I really liked all the guys on our team this past year, bur it was obvious the overall talent level was lacking in order to seriously compete in the B1G.

However, BU did say he was going to recruit to his system and team mentality; not always the highest ranked guys. Since he hasn't lost a game yet and the concensus seems to be that he was a very good hire for Illinois, I'll trust him and his staff until they give me reason not to.

If we can get Mark Smith, I think Underwood may be able to turn this thing around fairly quickly.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
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I also love our guys as much as anyone, but those Underwood SFA teams would have taken us to school with even less talent.
 
#3,709      

bert1991

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bert1991
BMo79 said:
I watched a bit and I would compare him to A Welch from a ways back. If he could turn out to be like him I wouldn't mind it at all
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The Spider! Fair comparison and, if true to life, agree that talent and fit wise would be a nice pick up for this program.
 
#3,712      

Deleted member 10676

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Deleted member 10676
Finke having a rough morning so far but this Ohio Red team has 2 MSU commits and an Ohio State commit and is pretty tough. Meanstreets down 6 with 5 minutes to go.
 
#3,713      

jmilt7

J
Waukegan
jmilt7
skyIdub said:
In case any of you needed any more proof that BU and his staff are not going to sit around wringing their hands waiting for the phone to ring hoping a 5 star "program changer" is on the other line. They are going to change this program, not wait for the program to change.:illinois:
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Exactly. While not giving up on any big names, Underwood is, as others have pointed out, trying to fill the roster with athletes he feels will fit his system, whether they are 2 star, 3 star or higher. I think right now Illinois does not have much to offer. I don't know if prospective recruits look at Underwood's success at SFA or not. I kind of doubt it. Those who are being wooed by the likes of Kentucky or Kansas probably don't see anything beyond all the championships those schools have won. So Underwood is going to win with the types of athletes who fit his system, the ones who want to play basketball and want to prove they should have been ranked higher and to prove it they will beat MSU and those types of programs and then we will get 4 and 5 star recruits.
 
#3,714      

Deleted member 10676

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Deleted member 10676
But just as I type that, he and Donatlan (West Aurora!) hit back to back 3's and it's a tie game.
 
#3,715      

Deleted member 10676

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Donatlan with a steal and a layup at the buzzer for a 65-63 MS win. Nothing like a hometown boy showing out at EYBL.
 
#3,716      

Sal Iacuzzo

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Yonkers, NY
Sal Iacuzzo
I hope we get this guy Toppin for the sole reason that I work across the street from Ossining HS.
 
#3,717      

Deleted member 8213

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Deleted member 8213
Found this regarding Mark's visit to tOSU this weekend. Some good quotes from Yvonne but none that really give away which way they are leaning...

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/2017...t-four-star-point-guard-prospect-this-weekend

Yvonne Smith said her son hopes to make a final decision soon, before his Mr. Basketball banquet May 6.

“The first thing (he’s looking for) is who’s going to develop him into the best basketball player that he can possibly be,” she said. “Also, the family atmosphere. I think that’s very important, not being around kids that aren’t good kids. The family atmosphere is very important. I would hope that he would be around very competitive kids, because that’s only going to make Mark a better basketball player. And a staff that’s going to be honest and help Mark become a better man.”
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#3,718      

Deleted member 10676

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[FONT=&quot]D1 Circuit‏ @D1Circuit 12m12 minutes ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]MeanSteets with a runout as time expires, they take it over All Ohio Red. Crazy finish.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Finke 11, Donatlan 9 http://www.d1circuit.com/game/show/17609881[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Next up Mac Irvin Fire vs Milwaukee Playground Elite with Wisconsin commit Tyler Herro and Chase Adams (he's not starting and they have him listed as 5-5 -- looks generous.) Underwood and Walker in orange sitting prominently in the corner.
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#3,719      

Deleted member 10676

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THT with an awesome block and a length of the court drive and dipsy do layup in traffic. Herro's pretty good.
 
#3,723      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
Adnarel said:
Good find. They're doing a great job at keeping a poker face, I feel.
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The quotes really show why Mrs. Smith was so fond of Groce too. It's pretty clear to me now why they are taking this time. This staff has to show that family aspect of the program is going to continue. Another good reason for Jamal remaining on staff IMO.:illinois:
 
#3,725      

Deleted member 10676

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Okoro 2, Wiseman 8 in a loss to MOKAN. Don't have the stats up for MOKAN yet but I watched them last night and without Carte'are Gordon they beat a team from Georgia by 30+ points. Jontay Porter had 30/13. If he reclassifies to 17, he and his brother are going to be a load down low for Miznoz. http://www.d1circuit.com/game/show/17609880
 
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