Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2018)

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#1,301      

Deleted member 29907

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Deleted member 29907
combes said:
We needed an upgrade. Lucas was a decent back up. That was it. We needed a starting point guard. Look which teams are pursuing Lucas now. That is a clue to his talent level.
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Don't totally agree that's an indicator of what he meant to this team. A 'sit out 1 year, 2 years left' PG is not going to be as in high demand which is likely going to affect his pursuits. And pretty sure TF filled that starting PG role pretty well as a 1st team Frosh.
 
#1,302      

illinitiger

I
illinitiger
NeaforThree said:
Smith is extremely strong but I honestly think he looked slow out on the court this year. Also feel like he was touted as much more of an explosive finisher than he was, don't remember ever seeing any high flying finishes or dunks from him. Seemed like he got stuffed at the rim or ran into the trees more often.

Agree with you on Ayo though, doesn't seem to be super bouncy per se, but I'm still in love with his quickness on the court. I think he and Frazier or gonna do so well playing together.
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MS didnt adapt his game to B10 competion. TF did adapt. After bull rush and being stuffed even in the last games...I repeatedly screamed at TV..."just kick it out!". I think best thing for MS will be a sit out, learn and practice year.

BL, if you know where your strengths are and learn what works and what doesnt at college level you will integrate much better...I think MS will be formidable when he adapts his game.

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#1,303      

haasi

haasi
New York
haasi
NewFan2011 said:
There's a huge difference between 4 and 5 stars. Probably more than 3 and 4 stars. Obviously exceptions but in the aggregate it's huge
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The closer you get to #1 generally the greater the differences become. The difference between 1 and 11 much greater than difference between 51 and 61


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#1,305      

Illini_1979

Illini_1979
Oregon
Illini_1979
SescIllini said:
I'm optimistic with this class. But in today's college scene players have become inpatient and want immediate results. I see all incoming players being successful as long as they stick it out. I still think MSmith would of found success if he developed for a couple of years.
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Freudian slip?
 
#1,306      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
combes said:
We needed an upgrade. Lucas was a decent back up. That was it. We needed a starting point guard. Look which teams are pursuing Lucas now. That is a clue to his talent level.
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So Lucas isn't good because of his offers, but Feliz will be better even though he had zero offers?

Lucas was playing at a pretty high level after the suspension. Elite defense and playing aggressive offensively, while also taking care of the ball. The last half of the year Frazier and Lucas were playing together because Lucas was too good to keep off the court.

I'm not sure Feliz will be better. Not necessarily because of talent, but because he's new. This is a tough system to learn, and by the end of the year it was evident that Lucas was comfortable in it. But we don't need Feliz to play out of his mind. He is an important get because it allows Frazier and Ayo to play together as much as possible.
 
#1,307      

Elgin7680

E
Elgin7680
jrichisamazing said:
So Lucas isn't good because of his offers, but Feliz will be better even though he had zero offers?

Lucas was playing at a pretty high level after the suspension. Elite defense and playing aggressive offensively, while also taking care of the ball. The last half of the year Frazier and Lucas were playing together because Lucas was too good to keep off the court.

I'm not sure Feliz will be better. Not necessarily because of talent, but because he's new. This is a tough system to learn, and by the end of the year it was evident that Lucas was comfortable in it. But we don't need Feliz to play out of his mind. He is an important get because it allows Frazier and Ayo to play together as much as possible.
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Feliz is better because he can shoot and hit a free throw.
 
#1,308      

IlliniinIowa

I
IlliniinIowa
jrichisamazing said:
So Lucas isn't good because of his offers, but Feliz will be better even though he had zero offers?

Lucas was playing at a pretty high level after the suspension. Elite defense and playing aggressive offensively, while also taking care of the ball. The last half of the year Frazier and Lucas were playing together because Lucas was too good to keep off the court.

I'm not sure Feliz will be better. Not necessarily because of talent, but because he's new. This is a tough system to learn, and by the end of the year it was evident that Lucas was comfortable in it. But we don't need Feliz to play out of his mind. He is an important get because it allows Frazier and Ayo to play together as much as possible.
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Feliz did not have zero offers....
 
#1,310      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Elgin7680 said:
Feliz is better because he can shoot and hit a free throw.
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That doesn't matter much if he can't play pressure defense without fouling or can't play as fast as BU wants without throwing the ball all over the place. The whole team really struggled with both of those things for over half the season.
 
#1,311      

alexander58

A
alexander58
combes said:
We needed an upgrade. Lucas was a decent back up. That was it. We needed a starting point guard. Look which teams are pursuing Lucas now. That is a clue to his talent level.
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I'm sure Lucas' poor outside shooting is putting teams off. He played well defensively and had a good feel for the game. He can help somebody.
 
#1,312      

illiniguy24

illiniguy24
illiniguy24
combes said:
We needed an upgrade. Lucas was a decent back up. That was it. We needed a starting point guard. Look which teams are pursuing Lucas now. That is a clue to his talent level.
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Who is pursuing him?


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#1,314      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Might sound crazy, but Tejon is just as good if not slightly better than Zavier Simpson IMO. Groce was recruiting both simultaneously, for those that didn't know. Simpson committed to Michigan and a week later Lucas committed to Illinois. IIRC, the board was pretty split on who they liked more. But given our lack of a PG at the time, we were excited to get either. If you're a PG without a good outside shot then you need talent around you. Lucas would be fun to watch on that Michigan team.
 
#1,316      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
jrichisamazing said:
Groce was recruiting both simultaneously, for those that didn't know. Simpson committed to Michigan and a week later Lucas committed to Illinois. IIRC, the board was pretty split on who they liked more. But given our lack of a PG at the time, we were excited to get either.
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I really do not remember it this way. I remember that we were all over Simpson, were "sure" to land him, and then they made an unannounced trip to Ann Arbor and committed there, and that's when Lucas entered the frame.
 
#1,318      

haasi

haasi
New York
haasi
Second and Chalmers said:
I really do not remember it this way. I remember that we were all over Simpson, were "sure" to land him, and then they made an unannounced trip to Ann Arbor and committed there, and that's when Lucas entered the frame.
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Agree. We were mainly relieved to get a credible PG after about 20 straight misses, but Simpson (then XS) was definitely higher on our list and higher rated (4 stars not 3). Among the other PGs we wanted in that class before Lucas committed: Alterique Gilbert, Charlie Moore, Bryce Aiken....

I think Lucas played right to his ranking and our expectations, maybe a little better. He was a really solid piece, sorry to see him go.




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#1,319      

Captain Bubbles

Captain Bubbles
Fairfield, IL
Captain Bubbles
jrichisamazing said:
I'm not sure Feliz will be better. Not necessarily because of talent, but because he's new. This is a tough system to learn, and by the end of the year it was evident that Lucas was comfortable in it. But we don't need Feliz to play out of his mind. He is an important get because it allows Frazier and Ayo to play together as much as possible.
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I think Feliz is going to surprise some people with his basketball IQ and skills.
 
#1,323      

schnaurt

schnaurt
Phoenix, AZ
schnaurt
Obelix said:
A little more depressed if you consider that Martin has been in the tournament 2 out of the last 3 years. :D
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I am not sure what was more impressive. His loss to Hawaii with two top 5-10 recruits or his loss to Florida State with two 5 stars and Tilmon. Both of those losses were complete roll overs as well. The most impressive thing might be the way he let the Porter family completely run his team in the two most important games of their year. Both impressive losses.

I mean, he is just all around impressive. :thumb:
 
#1,325      

haasi

haasi
New York
haasi
NeaforThree said:
Compared to the year Trent had this year, do you see Ayo coming close in his first year? I feel like he can, as a product of playing with Frazier mostly .
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I wouldn’t be surprised. But Trent had a very very good year and is a great shooter and extremely quick. Not sure Ayo’s skill set will transfer as immediately, but he’s very talented so we’ll see. If I had to guess Ayo is all frosh team and has a good season for a freshman with some games where he dominates and others where he’s not so effective and his stats come in a little below Trent’s last year. He will be an excellent piece.


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