Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January 2019)

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#501      
Great questions. I think Fletch has done amazing things as far as nutrition and strength. Our players have made fantastic gains in shaping their bodies through Fletch’s program. I’m definitely no expert when it comes to athletic training but I have wondered if we sacrifice basketball athleticism for these gains somehow. Interesting to consider IMHO
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And that's why little chocolate donuts have been on my training table since I was a kid.

 
#502      

Deleted member 29907

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Illinois and UConn are both great basketball schools with great fans and represent awesome opportunities for a kid like Kofi and we all look like petty children acting otherwise.
Their board is complaining the arena is only half full for games... so perhaps they are more fair weather?
 
#505      
UCONN is a player for another top big and already landed 1-2 high ranking bigs. Hoping Kofi comes, just concerned about the dynamics of Bball today. More options such as overseas and DNBA. I'm cautiously optimistic, still want Antwan January to make it to campus and for the team to stay together.
 
#506      

illiniCA

DC Area
Illinois and UConn are both great basketball schools with great fans and represent awesome opportunities for a kid like Kofi and we all look like petty children acting otherwise.

Yup.

Honestly UCONN needs to bolt for the Big East or ACC so they can play against other basketball schools. UCONN should be playing teams like Villanova, Duke etc. not USF and UCF.
 
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#507      

Deleted member 29907

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I remember similar questions coming up when Rod Cardinal was the BBALL trainer. People were concerned that the weight lifting and bulking up of the players was sacrificing their athletic ability. I suppose it is a trade-off between strength and cardiac conditioning. In an ideal world, you would want both, but time only allows for so much training. I'm sure that Fletch is aware of these trade-offs and is doing what he thinks the players need most. Hopefully this jibes with what BU's offense and defense require of the players (which seems to me to lean towards the conditioning side).
Fletch made a comment in a video early in the pre-season that he was altering the workout (from last year) to better match BU's scheme. I was a bit concerned when I heard that because I would have thought last year would have been the time to alter as BU's method/scheme was no secret....
 
#508      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
I think Kofi's long, detailed explanation for committing (to a 4-11 team) says a great deal about the level of commitment. I don't feel like this one turns around.
Fantastic job by the staff. This should all but silence the questions of their recruiting time and effort. :hailtotheorange:
 
#509      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
I'll never understand why people on that connecticut board (and this one) think that Underwood was or is on the hot seat.

Thinking a coach who has been as awful as Underwood thus far is on the hot seat is actually a compliment to our program. The sad truth is that the facts on the ground are worse than they realize.

Just because we may have a plausible path out of the abyss does not mean it's okay that Illinois Basketball is 4-11.
 
#511      

Deleted member 645583

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Please, let us keep in mind that the beloved Illini are rated the #11 greatest college basketball program in modern times. UCon #16.

I hate to bash, but someone on UConn Bonehead forum trashed Illinois. I lived very close to Storrs, CT in the 70s for several years: it ain't the garden spot of New England, that's for sure, and - news flash - bad winters occur in the east. Got my fanny back to Illinoise in a hurry! Respect the Cons b--ball program, though. But New England: snooty for no reason.
 
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#512      
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.

If the players can't see hope with Kofi on the way, they have to be blind.
 
#513      
Illinois and UConn are both great basketball schools with great fans and represent awesome opportunities for a kid like Kofi and we all look like petty children acting otherwise.
Very similar programs in terms of basketball status today. I'd have to admit that their recent history (last 50 years) is better than ours in terms of tournament results, and they've produced some GREAT players over time. Academically I think he made the "smarter" choice, but that's only if he takes advantage of the opportunity. Basketball wise, as an alum of the beloved I'm overjoyed he chose the O&B and if he has the impact we all hope for the program he'll do well for the program and for himself. He likely could have done as well elsewhere - I'm happy he chose us!
 
#515      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Please, let us keep in mind that the beloved Illini are rated the #11 greatest college basketball program in modern times. UCon #16.

Interesting use of "modern times".

UConn is weird. On the one hand, they've won 4 national titles since 1999, most of any team in the nation, and have sent an absolute raft of iconic players to the NBA during that period. On the other hand they're kind of this drab nowhere rural school who plays a lot of their games way off campus and now in a meaningless conference that's rarely on TV, and even with Ollie's national title (how was that only 5 years ago?) they kind of look like a one-coach program who hasn't been good in forever.

It's a tragedy of the conference expansion madness really. In the Big East playing those awesome conference tournament MSG games on prime time ESPN against Syracuse and Georgetown and Villanova they were a totally iconic institution. But now they've been ripped from their context and are just sort of floating through space, all in the name of their stupid, garbage football program nobody cares about, and the dozen other ones that can't stop their addiction to pretending they're a coach away from being Oklahoma.

Having said all of that, I think Dan Hurley will have them in the conversation again given time. That was a good hire.
 
#516      
If the players can't see hope with Kofi on the way, they have to be blind.
I mean, the same could've been said with Ayo right? Our recruiting didn't exactly tick up after that. On court, the team has even been worse.

I guess it's easier to sell potential with all the youth, especially with a top 40 C and PG, but you really gotta read the stars to be sure this things gonna pan out. I think getting Kofi will ease a lot of recruits worries about having little to no inside help on next years team, but I don't think it's going to sway any very much, sans those directly connected to him like Brown.
 
#517      

Deleted member 29907

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Negative UCONN fans said our arena is half empty for games.
Yep. We're down as a program, no doubt, but it just takes a few in bball to move the needle mightily. They are butt hurt over there and I know we get that way too - but 15 pages of $$$s being the reason is a tad much. Kids choose schools for many reasons. Sometimes its recent success, sometimes its just a gut feel / comfort / relationships. What is sad is that their fanbase (and others) can act like we are a third world program - so we need to fix that soon.
 
#518      
Academically, he's getting a Speech Comm degree and it doesn't matter if it is from Illinois, Connecticut, or LSU. The number of P5 level basketball players who actually care about the academic rankings while making their choice is incredibly small. Anyone citing them as a reason for one school or another is likely grasping at straws.
Seriously, the most rigorous academic major I see for a scholarship basketball player at Illinois is Advertising.

They would get similar academic value at lower ranked schools.
 
#519      
"I mean, the same could've been said with Ayo right? Our recruiting didn't exactly tick up after that. On court, the team has even been worse."

That's because is slogan should have been "WhyNotMe+3" then we would have gotten the kids to come along. There is no 1 singular guy, outside of maybe Zion that will carry his team to the success that we need to achieve to get more high level recruits.

Ayo
Kofi
Frazier
Jones/Brown/Archie (???)
Giorgi (now that he has proven something)

Are all solids in which to build around/attract others with play...I think Griffin is a step away, Higgs who knows, January a maybe? Either way those 3 can only help, but do not contribute to others wanting to come here.
 
#520      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Academically, he's getting a Speech Comm degree and it doesn't matter if it is from Illinois, Connecticut, or LSU. The number of P5 level basketball players who actually care about the academic rankings while making their choice is incredibly small. Anyone citing them as a reason for one school or another is likely grasping at straws.
Seriously, the most rigorous academic major I see for a scholarship basketball player at Illinois is Advertising.

They would get similar academic value at lower ranked schools.

This is extremely true and I endorse it in full.

Having said that, a slightly less cynical and also true thing to say is that because these guys are taking pretty low-impact general studies-y majors that are pretty much the same prestige anywhere, the actual education value is much MUCH more dependent on the coaching staff's commitment to seeing that their players get to be real students than it is on a handful of spots in the US News Rankings.

Now, to go back to the cynicism, virtually all coaches could pretty much care less how substantively educated their players are, they differ much more in how low they're willing to go to keep them eligible. But it is definitely part of the sales process in recruiting. A coach who can convince Mom that he's going to make sure Junior hits the books has a competitive advantage in the "getting a good education" metric than the objectively better school that doesn't sell that as well. Bruce Weber lost that exact battle twenty five million times.
 
#521      

Deleted member 633632

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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?

Yes. Addison Patterson and he should be at the top of the list!
 
#522      
https://www.oakhillhoops.com/ncaadivisioniplayers

Doesn't look like we've gotten anyone directly from there, or have had any players from there finish with us. Alex Legion played there in high school but obviously he transferred to us, and then away from us hence is FIU listing on this page.

Also side note, holy moly that's a lot of D-1 talent to come through their program.
A fair amount of NBA talent, including five lottery picks as well:
https://www.oakhillhoops.com/nbadraftees
 
#525      
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?

Yeah, there's 5* wing Addison Patterson who may be reclassifying to 2019.
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...rson-impressed-by-two-potential-to-reclassify
 
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