Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January 2019)

[Dbell1981]

Can anyone else imagine what Kofi will look like after Fletch gets a hold of him? He is already a monster. Fletch is gonna rip him up and add a few inches to his vertical. So excited for the future.

 

[Retro62]

Just caught up with all the comments...yes, this does make my morning nicer after the Bears. My hope is that our players see hope. If BU can just convince them that they are building toward something, and he and the staff will keep adding the pieces they need, we can retain all our young guys and build that solid core we need. I also hope it has a residual effect on their play this year...getting them exited about where the program is heading.

 

[Halloweenie]

This is important to remember. It's a long way to go until April 12th.

And longer yet until school starts in the fall but cautiously optimistic

 

[Chathamillini]

Welcome Kofi! So Antigua can’t recruit nor BU? Sometimes it takes awhile to establish relationships! Have to give BU a chance.

 

[HTime]

Can anyone else imagine what Kofi will look like after Fletch gets a hold of him? He is already a monster. Fletch is gonna rip him up and add a few inches to his vertical. So excited for the future.

Just curious, is Fletch able to communicate with recruits and put them on some sort of weight training regiment prior to the players being on campus? I would assume at the earliest when they actually sign LOI.

 

[Love the Illini]

Big get by Illini as it fills the biggest need for the team going forward. Now have to get both players names on the dotted line in the spring. Nice to see some positive buzz for the Illini for a change

 

[FightingForWeWillWin]

If you get bored today, read Uconn and Pitt fan forums. Feels good to be on the other side for once.

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/kofi-commits-to-illinois.138310/

 

[Efrem Winters fan]

One last thing: Say we land one more wing in this class whether it be Brown/Archie/Shannon/?

We will have a roster that includes

Kane 7”0
Cockburn 6”11
January 6”10
Georgi 6”9
Higgs 6”8
Jones 6”7
Nichols 6”6
Wing TBD 6”6ish
Griffin 6”5

last time we had a roster with 8+ guys over 6”6? 2007-08

Last time we had a roster with 11 guys 6”5+? 1989.

I see what you’re trying to do there...

 

[KrushCow31]

If you get bored today, read Uconn and Pitt fan forums. Feels good to be on the other side for once.

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/kofi-commits-to-illinois.138310/

Not being a jerk, but....

When you come for a visit, have the coaches coming to see you consistently and know you can step onto a roster and maybe be the best player on the team from day-1 at a program like UConn's and get a degree at a school like UConn and you don't commit when there's such an obvious want and need for you there - you're probably not coming to UConn.

Bruh. Illinois is ranked #13 for public schools and UConn is #22. Regardless of the point that Kofi is looking for the NBA not a degree I assume, UConn is not a better school academically than Illinois. Idk why all these schools assume UIUC is some trash degree. This seems to come up every time we lose a recruiting battle to an east coast school.

Also congrats everyone, we finally made it. Now WE'RE the dirty rotten money laundering trash bags who bought a recruit. Apparently. That's rich coming from fans of a school that just last year released an over 1000 pg report alleging recruiting violations by Ollie as the basis for not paying him the rest of his contract.

 

[I Bomb]

Can anyone else imagine what Kofi will look like after Fletch gets a hold of him? He is already a monster. Fletch is gonna rip him up and add a few inches to his vertical. So excited for the future.

Have never seen Cockburn play in person, only videos, but from what I see if he adds vertical he becomes frightening with just that. Big guy who's that strong with his hands, yet has such touch around the rim and give him more vert -

 

[Deleted member 746094]

Bruh. Illinois is ranked #13 for public schools and UConn is #22. Regardless of the point that Kofi is looking for the NBA not a degree I assume, UConn is not a better school academically than Illinois. Idk why all these schools assume UIUC is some trash degree. This seems to come up every time we lose a recruiting battle to an east coast school.

Also congrats everyone, we finally made it. Now WE'RE the dirty rotten money laundering trash bags who bought a recruit. Apparently. That's rich coming from fans of a school that just last year released an over 1000 pg report alleging recruiting violations by Ollie as the basis for not paying him the rest of his contract.

Your answer lies within the question...

I get it all the time from people from Chicago. “Why would you ever want to live in Peoria?”

My experience with colleagues from the NE is that they are even more superficial about their “prestige” compared to the flyover states.

 

[201154JC]

I must say that a month ago I would not have dared to dream of getting Kofi. The fact that our staff has added 5* star players in back to back years
tells me they can most definitely recruit. Tevian was also an unexpected get for me as was Antwan. It is very hard to watch our team lose over and over again, however,
the level of effort I see at the end of games leads me to believe that the athletes are buying in. I'm sure Kofi along with Antwan committing to our
program has the players excited about their own future. Let's not forget about how excited we were about Mr. January's commitment. Kofi, Antwan,
Georgi B and Samba, come on man, we good to go.

 

[KrushCow31]

I just think if we pay players to come here, we've historically done a VERY bad job of it, even in the last 2 years. So maybe he just likes the B1G over the AAC, likes his playing time opportunity and the pieces and players that would play with him, likes that Underwood is a no nonsense hard nose coach, and has a good relation with Antigua and his track record coaching bigs to the NBA.

Those are all valid and legit reasons a 4/5 star player would pick a 4-12 team.

 

[illiniCA]

If you get bored today, read Uconn and Pitt fan forums. Feels good to be on the other side for once.

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/kofi-commits-to-illinois.138310/

I glanced at this. I would say it is funny but it looks just like this board when we miss on a recruit.

 

[foby]

If you get bored today, read Uconn and Pitt fan forums. Feels good to be on the other side for once.

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/kofi-commits-to-illinois.138310/

"All this means is a late signing when they can Underwood." - Delusion is not exclusive to this board.

 

[ugottabjoshinme]

LOL at the Fire Hurley posts on there.

That board reads a lot like this one TBH.

 

[PlayAZ]

Just caught up with all the comments...yes, this does make my morning nicer after the Bears. My hope is that our players see hope. If BU can just convince them that they are building toward something, and he and the staff will keep adding the pieces they need, we can retain all our young guys and build that solid core we need. I also hope it has a residual effect on their play this year...getting them exited about where the program is heading.

Assuming we get Kofi and January to the campus, with current players and dare I say at least 1 more high rated wing, we will be set for the next 2-5 years. Miller should be the next big name guard to come to town, Frazier will be gone, Ayo will be finishing, Miller will run the show with the current young guns and recruits coming in. In the span of one recruit and one promise to recruit more, our fortunes have turned for the next 2-5 years dramatically.

Lets see what BU can do with it now?

 

[HoopCity]

I just think if we pay players to come here, we've historically done a VERY bad job of it, even in the last 2 years. So maybe he just likes the B1G over the AAC, likes his playing time opportunity and the pieces and players that would play with him, likes that Underwood is a no nonsense hard nose coach, and has a good relation with Antigua and his track record coaching bigs to the NBA.

Those are all valid and legit reasons a 4/5 star player would pick a 4-12 team.

It is nice to have coaches / recruiters that have built relationships with handlers / coaches around the country and have sent the media heads in Chicago spinning! I am hoping it all falls into place as suspected and a redshirt year for Kane would help him and the ILLINI enormously.

 

[TheGMan]

I'm sure this has been discussed already, but I'd rather not search for it. What kind of player are we hopefully getting in Kofi? Obviously he is a big physical presence, but is he a defensive guy? Raw talent? Athletic freak? Things like that.

 

[HoopCity]

Assuming we get Kofi and January to the campus, with current players and dare I say at least 1 more high rated wing, we will be set for the next 2-5 years. Miller should be the next big name guard to come to town, Frazier will be gone, Ayo will be finishing, Miller will run the show with the current young guns and recruits coming in. In the span of one recruit and one promise to recruit more, our fortunes have turned for the next 2-5 years dramatically.

Lets see what BU can do with it now?

Won't Adam Miller play one year with Frazier and 2 with Ayo if Ayo stays 4 years?

 

[ivwilsoniv]

Really, really want to flip Kahlil. Anyone have any type of *bold* prediction on whether that is even possible after this Kofi commitment?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1081633596807499776

 

[soupy17]

From the Rivals article on his commitment:

A near 7-footer with a physically developed frame, Cockburn is the definition of a paint presence that will leave a major mark from 15-foot and in immediately next year.

A major contributor for the famed Oak Hill Academy program this winter, Cockburn first left a giant dent on the Nike EYBL circuit last summer. He posted per-game averages of 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds, all while providing for a difficult time for his opposition in scoring around the basket, an asset that will be used next season, enabling Illinois’ guards to get after things on the defensive end in funneling the ball towards a rim protector that is Cockburn.

Quote from his AAU coach on Zagsblog:

“Kofi is an extremely skilled modern big,” Borman said. “He holds every offensive tool. He can finish around the rim consistently. He shoots it at a high clip in the mid-range and beyond. He is excellent at the free throw line. He rebounds on both sides of the floor. The thing I love most about him is that he is a terrific passer. He allows you to run your offense through him because he has incredible vision and is naturally unselfish.


“He’s a great young man with a huge personality. He’s a true teammate and just a great young man.”

 

[sacraig]

Really, really want to flip Kahlil. Anyone have any type of *bold* prediction on whether that is even possible after this Kofi commitment?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1081633596807499776

I apparently don't understand any part of that tweet.

 

[TownieMatt]

One of the positives from this season schematically has been how BU has been able to use Giorgi in the offense, getting him post touches in good positions to score. That makes me excited for Kofi (and makes me wonder if that was a selling point by the staff.

However, this offense is still predicated on wings that can take the ball to the hoop. That's where the staff's focus should be to close out '19 (and all indications are that they're doing that). I've still got hope that Tevian can become that player with some skill development and experience, but I think we still need to sign two athletic wings in this class.

Here's a breakdown of options in '19 (as I understand them):

• Christian Brown - Teammate of Kofi at Oak Hill. Very athletic and aggressive around the basket. Would be a good rebounder as well. Needs to work on his outside game. Would be a similar type to Tevian, but probably an upgrade.
• TSJr - Another quality athlete and competitor, but this recruitment is a head-scratcher. There was buzz that we were going to get a commitment, but that seems to have come and gone. Feels like we may have moved on.
• Tristan Enaruna - Long and skilled, but to my knowledge is less explosive than the two guys mentioned above.
• Kaden Archie - Transfer from TCU. A lot of smoke that he's headed our way, but he publicly announced that he isn't locked in to any one school. Explosive wing out of HS, but it obviously didn't work out at TCU. Didn't get much tick on a good team, 1-11 from three. Another kid that probably needs a year or two of skill development to be an impact B1G player.
• JUCO - I know there has been speculation about JUCO wings, but I'm not up-to-date on that.

Another other realistic options on the board?

 

[Dbell1981]

Have never seen Cockburn play in person, only videos, but from what I see if he adds vertical he becomes frightening with just that. Big guy who's that strong with his hands, yet has such touch around the rim and give him more vert -

Videos only. He seems to have some pop in his step already for being so big. 2-3 more inches off the ground would be huge for him.