Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2019)

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#151      
Kofi is up against the #4 player in the class and he is neutralizing Isaiah Stewart!
 
#152      
A preseason with Fletch and Antigua and Kofi will be a monster!
Methinks that is the hope of us all...but hope and a buck will only get you a cup of coffee. Kofi has much to learn and change....but he does have some skills with which to start. Illini are better off with than without.
 
#153      
Methinks that is the hope of us all...but hope and a buck will only get you a cup of coffee. Kofi has much to learn and change....but he does have some skills with which to start. Illini are better off with than without.
Well watching him, you see the only thing holding him back is conditioning and a good motor, he can do the hard stuff already!
 
#155      
Kofi just missed a bunny that would have put Oak Hill up with 10 seconds left. Good catch on a tough pass though.
 
#156      

Deleted member 643761

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Methinks that is the hope of us all...but hope and a buck will only get you a cup of coffee. Kofi has much to learn and change....but he does have some skills with which to start. Illini are better off with than without.
Where can you get a cup of coffee for a buck?
 
#157      
kofi outside of 12-15 feet next year offensively and defensively is where he needs to stay. He’s great and physical inside, is comfortable backing guys down 10+ feet from the rim, and has a little touch on his midrange jumper and hook shots. His size alone makes him a good rim protector and seems to have a good understanding in timing his jumps. I think his conditioning could use work, but it never shook out to me watching live that he was any slower or less in shape as La Lumiers bigmen. (Stewart is more of a 4, and is certainly more mobile and athletic) but Kofi seems in fine shape as a traditional 5. I think being as rationale as I can be, I can see Kofi starting and playing 25-30 a night. I think Oturu was a good expectation for him, but they are different style players and when we play teams without much size, Kofi has the potential to take over games on both ends of the floor. Obviously having a scoring threat in Giorgi who is efficient around the rim, and is comfortable handling the ball, helps. I think they will compliment eachother very well, but if anyone needs to get faster, slim down, and work on ballhandling more it’s Giorgi. He’s going to be a cutter, and play the pinch-post next year. If Kofi stays within his role as a banger, it’ll be important for Giorgi to be more comfortable guarding 4’s and playing on the perimeter more often. If this is the route we take, Underwood will have to adjust defensively. I don’t see Kofi overplaying off the ball well on the perimeter. His agility isn’t terrific, but his ability to block shots from behind and recover at the rim will be a big plus for us when he does get beat.

I think the ability to find a groove and mesh at the 4/5 next year is important. Both will have to work on passing out of double teams, and feed eachother. That 2 man game could be very difficult to guard. On top of the duo of Ayo and Trent, who are both capable and proven to be able to takeover games on their own, we have a lot of threats. If Tev, Damonte and Griffin can provide solid minutes at the 2/3/4, there’s no reason to believe we can’t be competitive and have a realistic shot at a tourney birth. But without seeing the full schedule, and seeing the transfers and NBA decisions going around the country and in the conference, I think we can surprise a lot of people.
 
#158      
Kofi is up against the #4 player in the class and he is neutralizing Isaiah Stewart!

Love the fact that Kofi is with us, we will do well with him. That said, neutralizing the #4 player who ended with a rather impressive double double is a stretch i believe.
 
#159      
It really amazes me how quickly this board starts to downplay the ability of 5-star recruits we have actually managed to land. Okay, okay, fine, he has moved back into 4-star range, but he is still a top-50 recruit, and somehow he isn't very good in some of our minds.

Amazing.

Need I remind everyone that Giorgi is an exception, not the rule. Kofi is a much surer thing than Giorgi ever was, even if he will need a little adjustment to the college game. Shoot, other than one-and-done types, who doesn't need some adjustment as a freshman?
My only fear with Kofi is his fit in our systems at both ends. He's obviously talented, but the fit with Giorgi in our offense isn't perfect, and I hope he's not asked to play in passing lanes on the perimeter at the defensive end.
 
#160      

SycIllini

Sycamore, Illinois
I know it's too easy to attach significance to these moments in hindsight, but doesn't it seem as though everything has gone downhill from that point? If that shot counts we are Big 10 champs again, for the 5th time in 6 years, with a somewhat similar situation in 2003 keeping it from being 6 in 6. Kind of crazy how far this program has fallen

Was thinking the same thing. That seemed to be the beginning of the end for our basketball relevance. I recall that some writer had us penciled in as a 1 seed before that game happened. Can’t remember the exact wording but, essentially calling it an award for multi year consistency.
 
#162      

sacraig

The desert
My only fear with Kofi is his fit in our systems at both ends. He's obviously talented, but the fit with Giorgi in our offense isn't perfect, and I hope he's not asked to play in passing lanes on the perimeter at the defensive end.

Gee, I sure hope our basketball program employs someone whose job it is to figure out how to recruit players and integrate them into our system.

I wonder who that might be...
 
#163      
Love the fact that Kofi is with us, we will do well with him. That said, neutralizing the #4 player who ended with a rather impressive double double is a stretch i believe.
Well if you watched the game you could see that while Kofi was guarding Stewart, he wasn't getting off practically at all. When Kofi had to go to the bench is when Stewart went to work. Although Stewart is a great rebounder! It was an equal battle when matched up; again Stewart is the #4 ranked player in the class, Kofi is ranked 48th.
 
#164      
Gee, I sure hope our basketball program employs someone whose job it is to figure out how to recruit players and integrate them into our system.

I wonder who that might be...
I'm glad you have 100% faith, but I haven't seen enough yet to get there. I would love to be in your position a year from now.
 
#165      
Kofi definitely fits our system-unless he doesn’t sign. Then, no way.
 
#166      
I'm not too worried about Kofi's conditioning. He's got two things going for him.
1. Fletch
2. The rest of the team seems to have really embraced conditioning. Hard to believe it won't rub off on him once he's surrounded by them.
 
#167      
Methinks that is the hope of us all...but hope and a buck will only get you a cup of coffee. Kofi has much to learn and change....but he does have some skills with which to start. Illini are better off with than without.
I'm with you on this one, freshman bigs and you don't know what you will get. Tilmon averaged ~ 19 mpg/ 9 ppg/ 4 rpg 2 yrs ago; as a freshman Meyers Leonard averaged 8 mpg/2 ppg/1 rpg, both fairly highly ranked bigs, then Giorgi puts up 26 mpg/12.5 ppg/5.2 rpg...I would sign up for Tilmon's numbers for Kofi in a heartbeat.

I agree.

As I see it we were short at least 2 big men last year, a clear sign of that was how much 5 Kipper ended up playing at the 5 and that we were never really able to play a traditional 4, but mostly played 2 guards in AJ & DW at a stretch- stretch 4. Spitballing Giorgi may be good for 30 mpg next year, Kofi 20, still means you need to fill 30 minutes or more at 4/5 - maybe Tevian improves/bulks up and can fill a few minutes, maybe Kipper finds himself for a senior season, maybe Griffin can fill in a bit, but I really want another big option for some of those minutes...is it January, Kane, or a transfer?

Kofi is a great get, but even with a reasonable freshman year we will still need some help at big, IMO

Then let's talk about the hole we had at wing, that's where I hope Griffin/Williams/Jones step up.
 
#168      

Flight#33

Flight#33
My goodness, we land a stud big man and some on this board still can't figure out how to be happy. I dont know what Kofi will look like or play like in an Illinois uniform, all I know is I am really looking forward to seeing it. Lighten up folks help is on the way.
 
#169      

Tacomallini

Washington State
I look him up every year or so and unbelievably, he's still playing pro ball...now in China:
https://aseanbasketballleague.com/player/cory-bradford/
Reminds me of another great 3 point shooter, Cory Bradford who had 85 and 96 made three pointers in his Feshman and Sophomore years and made a 3 pointer in every game both seasons. His record 88 consecutive games with a made 3 ended his junior year. Would love to find another guy like him. As you say, pretty lofty goal to hit 40%. I’m not sure if Griffin can get there but I do think he can be very good and his shooting form is quite sound.
 
#170      
I'm with you on this one, freshman bigs and you don't know what you will get. Tilmon averaged ~ 19 mpg/ 9 ppg/ 4 rpg 2 yrs ago; as a freshman Meyers Leonard averaged 8 mpg/2 ppg/1 rpg, both fairly highly ranked bigs, then Giorgi puts up 26 mpg/12.5 ppg/5.2 rpg...I would sign up for Tilmon's numbers for Kofi in a heartbeat.

I agree.

As I see it we were short at least 2 big men last year, a clear sign of that was how much 5 Kipper ended up playing at the 5 and that we were never really able to play a traditional 4, but mostly played 2 guards in AJ & DW at a stretch- stretch 4. Spitballing Giorgi may be good for 30 mpg next year, Kofi 20, still means you need to fill 30 minutes or more at 4/5 - maybe Tevian improves/bulks up and can fill a few minutes, maybe Kipper finds himself for a senior season, maybe Griffin can fill in a bit, but I really want another big option for some of those minutes...is it January, Kane, or a transfer?

Kofi is a great get, but even with a reasonable freshman year we will still need some help at big, IMO

Then let's talk about the hole we had at wing, that's where I hope Griffin/Williams/Jones step up.

Kofi is a much better rebounder than Tilmon. For once in this boards history i think we are underrating one of our recruits.
 
#172      
Kofi is a much better rebounder than Tilmon. For once in this boards history i think we are underrating one of our recruits.


Not sure we are underrating him based on Kofi's latest RSCI.

#19-Dee Brown
#20-Brian Cook
#21-Frank Williams
#24- Jereme Richmond
#28-Kofi Cockburn
#28-Dick McBride
#29-Miles Leonard
#48-Deron Williams
 
#173      

Deleted member 8632

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Not sure we are underrating him based on Kofi's latest RSCI.

#19-Dee Brown
#20-Brian Cook
#21-Frank Williams
#24- Jereme Richmond
#28-Kofi Cockburn
#28-Dick McBride
#29-Miles Leonard
#48-Deron Williams

Kofi Cockburn and Dick McBride both rated 28th.......weird.
 
#174      
Outside of the blue bloods any team in the country would want a body like Kofi to bang inside, how nice would it be to have him for 4 years with him continuing to get better
 
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