Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April-June 2016)

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#3,304      

GameOfThrows

G
GameOfThrows
FatGreg said:
If any highly ranked kid chooses Illinois right now, it will be largely due to one or more of the following factors: 1) he feels a deep bond and trust level with the staff and/or players, 2) he is an Illini fan, probably due to proximity or family/social connections, 3) he's from the area and wants his family to attend as many games as possible, 4) he has a trailblazer personality and wants to build something and leave a mark.

Playing time is mostly irrelevant when you're talking about top-50 kids; they believe they'll beat out anyone you put them up against. Generally speaking, these kids want guaranteed deep tournament runs, legit championship possibilities, maximum exposure, top facilities, big name coaches, and a fast track to the NBA. Virtually every top-50 kid thinks he's got lottery talent.

Our hope has to be that Tilmon and Goodwin genuinely feel a connection with Groce and the team, value playing in front of family and friends, and want to become local legends at the school they grew up cheering for. If those two commit, other top players are likely to follow. Goodwin is a natural leader and ferocious competitor and Tilmon is a possible lottery prospect: players like Scruggs and Terrence Lewis might look at those guys and say, "you know what, we can win a championship here." I think that Tilmon committing would increase the likelihood of Goodwin coming here. If Goodwin commits, I think he'll be the pied piper.
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On point. We can still be good without Tilmon and Goodwin, but we'll be national title contenders with them because of their talent and the fact that really good players will want to play with them. For me, Goodwin is the key. Like you say he is the pied piper. The young man is a champion. He is a winner. He is what our program needs more than anything right now. his mentality and competitiveness is what the Illini need, even more than a PG or C. (we need those too, but we need someone who pushes guys every moment of every practice and every scrimmage and every game)

Landing TIlmon would give us the opportunity to compete against the blue bloods and their endless supply of bigs.
 
#3,307      

FatGreg

F
FatGreg
GameOfThrows said:
Goodwin is the key. Like you say he is the pied piper. The young man is a champion. He is a winner. He is what our program needs more than anything right now. his mentality and competitiveness is what the Illini need, even more than a PG or C. (we need those too, but we need someone who pushes guys every moment of every practice and every scrimmage and every game)

Landing Tilmon would give us the opportunity to compete against the blue bloods and their endless supply of bigs.
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Yep. I know it's very unlikely that we end up with a class like this, but if we landed Goodwin, Terrence Lewis, Tilmon, and Theo John, we would win the hustle game against every team in America. Da'Monte and Tilmon both have inconsistent motors at this point, but they're so physically gifted. Goodwin, Lewis, and John are just dogs. Pickett seems like a high-motor player as well. If we ended up with Eastern instead of Lewis, that would be fun to watch, too: both Goodwin and Nojel are elite passers from the wing.

Regarding Tim Finke, I think there's still a good chance we land him, but it's contingent on making the dance this year, showing objective progress both in terms of the product on the court and culture off it, and landing a top-25 recruiting class in 2017. While the Finkes love UIUC, they're sending Tim to a school that will prepare him for an NBA future. I think they're hoping that Illinois proves it can be that place, but they're understandably not sold.
 
#3,308      

eMitch

eMitch
Quincy, IL
eMitch
FatGreg said:
One slight advantage Illinois may have in Nobal Days' recruitment is that his brother Kaj will be a freshman this year at UI-Springfield. Kaj will be a college senior when Nobal is a freshman (or, if Kaj redshirts, a junior). Probably doesn't help much, but you never know. Heck, maybe Kaj will redshirt this year and eventually grad transfer to UIUC.
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Maybe Kaj gets our next scholarship offer. Kind of like how Notre Dame got DJax. :)
 
#3,312      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
GameOfThrows said:
We can still be good without Tilmon and Goodwin, but we'll be national title contenders with them because of their talent and the fact that really good players will want to play with them.
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We have a long way to go to dream about becoming national title contenders, even with Goodwin and Tilmon. I'd start with consistently making the NCAA tournament for 2-3 consecutive years, something that is not a given IMO even with both joining the Illini. I have always claimed that Goodwin/Tilmon are keys to this recruiting class, but that does not imply NC contenders. Tilmon, for example, is a big that we desperately need but he is still overrated at this point IMO.
 
#3,321      

Larry Rose

Larry Rose
Larry Rose
bigruss22 said:
I see him as a really good 6th man as an uppergrad, he won't be the star but when you need a spark you put him in.
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Making predictions about how good the kid is going to be in 4 years when i'm guessing you've never seen him play in person.
 
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