Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (February 2020)

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#151      
If you want some full games of Hawkins type in Prolific Prep basketball.He plays in the shadow of Jalen Greene and Nimari Burnett so it's kinda hard to see how good he can be.Sweet stroke from 3 though.
 
#152      
We have three very good players coming in for 2020-21 season. Yes, they will be freshmen, but freshmen who have played against and with other good players. If there are better pt guards than Curbelo I would like to see them. Miller is a very good 2 guard, and most everyone on the board knows this. But I believe one that will be surprized will be Hawkins. We do not have a player like him on the team. Six foot ten who can shoot from the outside. With the other two guys sitting out this team will be deep. BU will be able to go with different player combinations depending on who he is playing against. Curbelo is amazing.
 
#153      
Curbello closest comparison is Bibby, many laughed when I made it 3 months ago. Similiar size and game, both were pass first guards who could make midrange, 3 pointers, and in the lane floater.

Said it many times, I think the closest is Brevin Knight from Stanford.
 
#154      

BMoreIllini

Baltimore, MD
During the LuHi/Sierra Canyon game last night they put up a infographic about LuHi's (Curbelo's HS) coach, John Buck, that said that he was a walk-on at Wake Forest. Guess who was a junior walk-on for Wake Forest during that 91-73 beat down at Assembly Hall... Glad he doesn't have a grudge against Illinois.
 
#155      
During the LuHi/Sierra Canyon game last night they put up a infographic about LuHi's (Curbelo's HS) coach, John Buck, that said that he was a walk-on at Wake Forest. Guess who was a junior walk-on for Wake Forest during that 91-73 beat down at Assembly Hall... Glad he doesn't have a grudge against Illinois.
91-73.

Hard to believe, but it actually wasn't that close.
 
#156      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
During the LuHi/Sierra Canyon game last night they put up a infographic about LuHi's (Curbelo's HS) coach, John Buck, that said that he was a walk-on at Wake Forest. Guess who was a junior walk-on for Wake Forest during that 91-73 beat down at Assembly Hall... Glad he doesn't have a grudge against Illinois.

That was a very, very impressive home court atmosphere. Have to believe that made an impression.
 
#157      
Curbello closest comparison is Bibby, many laughed when I made it 3 months ago. Similiar size and game, both were pass first guards who could make midrange, 3 pointers, and in the lane floater.

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Not this Mike Bibby though, right?
 
#158      

haasi

New York
During the LuHi/Sierra Canyon game last night they put up a infographic about LuHi's (Curbelo's HS) coach, John Buck, that said that he was a walk-on at Wake Forest. Guess who was a junior walk-on for Wake Forest during that 91-73 beat down at Assembly Hall... Glad he doesn't have a grudge against Illinois.
He was on Werner podcast a while back to talk about Curbelo and spoke about the 2004 wake game. Great clip. His interview starts at the 20 minute mark. https://jeremywernershow.podbean.com/e/110110-hour-2-derek-piper-john-buck/

Werner didn’t even know about that connection - buck just volunteered the story at the end of the interview about Curbelo. That bit is at 29 minute mark. Said the game was an “experience he couldn’t forget” and every shot Illini put up “get ready for the deafening roar”
 
#162      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
The hall that evening was incredible for the first 30 minutes then it started to get noticeably quieter. Jay Bilas says on the broadcast "Illinois has been so good, they have taken their own crowd out of the ball game".

Yeah, no such thing as a 2+ hour crescendo.
 
#163      
The HS basketball recruiting services are flawed and they clearly favor players who are committed to blue bloods.
This is a stale argument. His ranking has nothing to do with Blue Bloods, Curbelo is at his peak ranking. History Link
By comparison:
DJ Steward was already at his peak of 26 when he committed to Duke
Jeremy Roach was at his peak the day he committed to Duke, has dropped 5 since then

You can argue Duke recruits by rankings, but I'm not seeing where committing to Duke got them above Curbelo.
 
#166      

MTMinded

Fatigued
I hear Purdue is already in on Craft. Have to get in front of Painter and keep him in state.
 
#167      

Bailey

Los Angeles
Haven't seen much other than small clips. Just from descriptions, more athletic Jalen Brunson?
Brunson was a lights out deep ball shooter at the same stage.

Since we're talking about that era though...maybe a better comp is Jawun Evans? JE was maybe the best on ball defender in the class, but pace, vision, toughness etc seem comparable.
 
#168      

ILL in IA

Iowa City
Brunson was a lights out deep ball shooter at the same stage.

Since we're talking about that era though...maybe a better comp is Jawun Evans? JE was maybe the best on ball defender in the class, but pace, vision, toughness etc seem comparable.
Congrats. You have mentioned the name that always makes me think, damn, what if....
 
#171      

haasi

New York
Brunson was a lights out deep ball shooter at the same stage.

Since we're talking about that era though...maybe a better comp is Jawun Evans? JE was maybe the best on ball defender in the class, but pace, vision, toughness etc seem comparable.

If we’re thinking about comps to former almost Illini PGs, I think he’s a (*gags*) rich man’s Quentin Snider. Similar build, similar type game (up and down court, control pace, create and dish, shoot 3s, runners, and layups). But I think higher upside. Curbelo looks supremely talented with an elite feel for the game. Setting aside our strong and justified ill feelings toward snider, he was a very effective PG on an excellent team. And I think Curbelo can be a similar type player but better.

now that I’ve said that- some more outlandish comparisons:

Curbelo’s coach said in a Zags blog video that Curbelo has basketball instincts that you just can’t teach and in terms of that he said Curbelo reminded him of Chris Paul, whom he played with at Wake. coach wasn’t comparing him to Chris Paul in general, just making a loose association in terms of b-ball IQ and ability to see things others can’t.

If I had to come up with an outrageous upside comparison, I’d go Steve Nash. Of course, Steve Nash is one of the greatest PGs of all time, and Curbelo is a HS senior. But hey I can hope this message ages well.
 
#172      
If I had to come up with an outrageous upside comparison, I’d go Steve Nash. Of course, Steve Nash is one of the greatest PGs of all time, and Curbelo is a HS senior. But hey I can hope this message ages well.

Sure hope it does! I like the Nash comp from a style of play comparison, but the shooting will need to massively improve (if Nash were around in this era, he'd be a 30+ ppg scorer). I have faith that Curbelo's shot can improve -- the release looks really nice, he just kicks his feet out, which seems like an easier fix particularly when combined with the upcoming Fletch transformation.
 
#173      

haasi

New York
If I had to come up with an outrageous upside comparison, I’d go Steve Nash. Of course, Steve Nash is one of the greatest PGs of all time, and Curbelo is a HS senior. But hey I can hope this message ages well.
apparently I’m not the only one to make this pretty ridiculous comparison. Signing day article with a quote from Underwood:


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --
It’s easy to see what Brad Underwood thinks he signed today when Andre Curbelo put pen to paper to finalize his recruitment to Illinois.

“I think he is, without question, the best passing guard in the country,” the Illini third-year head coach said Wednesday in his media conference. “It’s unfair because he’s a high school kid but I’ve compared him to Steve Nash.”

https://www.si.com/college/illinois/basketball/illinois-signee-andre-curbelo-underwood-nov-13-2019
 
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