Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-February 2018)

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#626      

Deleted member 654622

D
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Then you lose or go small and do a 40 minutes of hell plan. However, bringing in someone that is no good isn't going to help anything.

My biggest fear is all of this losing sends Liddell to Missouri. He's vitally important to the future of this program. Liddell and Okoro are guys that will change this program, not random tall guy #12 from BFE State.

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It completely saddens me but I no longer believe ILL will be a legit contender for EJ. When the "blue bloods" come calling, they will get more of a look along with Missouri because of his ties.
My hope is Okoro has some IL pride
 
#627      
How likely are we to get Tevian Jones? It would be really nice to add a wing with his kind of athleticism.
 
#629      

t7nich

Central IL
We offered. We have a shot, at least. He had said a few weeks ago that he wants to visit us. At this point, it seems like the competition is USC, Xavier, Cincinnati, Cal.
 
#632      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
https://twitter.com/AyoDos_11/status/955672817600749568

Ayo on the recruiting trail: 2018 FOUR STAR WING #4 TEVIAN JONES

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#633      

Peoria Illini

Peoria, IL
It completely saddens me but I no longer believe ILL will be a legit contender for EJ. When the "blue bloods" come calling, they will get more of a look along with Missouri because of his ties.
My hope is Okoro has some IL pride

I think EJ will end up here at Illinois. No inside info, etc. Just know he's supposed to be close to Mark Smith and Malcolm Hill. I think he'll want to team up with Okoro and Ayo and hopefully Adam Miller the year after that.

Might be wishful thinking... but hey, it's my wish... amiright?
 
#637      

Deleted member 654622

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I think EJ will end up here at Illinois. No inside info, etc. Just know he's supposed to be close to Mark Smith and Malcolm Hill. I think he'll want to team up with Okoro and Ayo and hopefully Adam Miller the year after that.

Might be wishful thinking... but hey, it's my wish... amiright?

I soooooo hope you are right
 
#638      

TownieMatt

CU Expat
Chicago
https://twitter.com/Sports_Aaron/status/955903302423797761

Bloomington junior forward Chris Payton has decommitted from Illinois State. #pjspreps

This is really intriguing. Payton is lonnnng wing. He isn't one of these HS PGs turned off-guard that we currently have an abundance of.

We offered last year, but I think it was more of a courtesy than anything else. I haven't seen him play this year, but from earlier in his HS career I remember my concern being about his quickness and outside shot. I personally love area kids getting a shot at Illinois, so if BU likes him, pull the trigger.
 
#639      

ILLINIFAN2

Des Moines, IA
Is he like 6'10" or something? No offense to this kid, but we aren't going to match the level of athleticism we saw out of the Spartans last night by poaching kids from the Redbirds. What am I missing here?

Nope, more like 6'7. We offered him over the summer if my memory serves me right.
 
#643      
Payton really more like 6’6” (this past summer).

I had lunch today with a former Illini player who has tons of coaching connections (HS and college). When I mentioned EJ, he laughed and I asked “No chance?” The reply was not for Illinois and probably not Mizzou. He said EJ will be a blue blood recruit before it’s done.
 
#644      
This is my worry--that the Illini staff is really struggling at recruiting and will start to take players well outside the top 100 to fill spots. That's not gonna get Illinois back into the Dance or anywhere close to relevancy.

They have GOT to land players like Whitney, Liddell, and Okoro to turn this thing around. Payton is another role player in the B1G. Nothing more. No offense to the kid. And Illinois already has plenty of those.

There's no evidence so far of this being the case.
 
#645      

Deleted member 654622

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Payton really more like 6’6” (this past summer).

I had lunch today with a former Illini player who has tons of coaching connections (HS and college). When I mentioned EJ, he laughed and I asked “No chance?” The reply was not for Illinois and probably not Mizzou. He said EJ will be a blue blood recruit before it’s done.

This is more along the lines of my perspective on the situation
The tweet/interview where EJ wanted to emphasis that is wasn't just Ill or Missouri to me was the indication he wants offers from the big boys
 
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#647      
This is my worry--that the Illini staff is really struggling at recruiting and will start to take players well outside the top 100 to fill spots. That's not gonna get Illinois back into the Dance or anywhere close to relevancy.

They have GOT to land players like Whitney, Liddell, and Okoro to turn this thing around.

I trust that Underwood knows more then anyone here what he needs to get things turned around. Many here look at rankings from 247/Rivals/ESPN and the stars associated with these rankings to determine how the staff is recruiting.

Well I'm sure we would all take where #7 West Virginia is at this year...Underwood is from the same coaching tree!

West Virginia recruiting rankings per 247
2014 - ranked 81 - 4 three star recruits
2015 - ranked 36 - 2 four star recruits and 1 three star recruit
2016 - ranked 67 - 3 three star recruits
2017 - ranked 64 - 4 three star recruits

This fan base would have ran a coach off for recruiting this poorly! I guess Huggs doesn't worry about stars as long as they fit his system.
 
#648      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
I trust that Underwood knows more then anyone here what he needs to get things turned around. Many here look at rankings from 247/Rivals/ESPN and the stars associated with these rankings to determine how the staff is recruiting.

Well I'm sure we would all take where #7 West Virginia is at this year...Underwood is from the same coaching tree!

West Virginia recruiting rankings per 247
2014 - ranked 81 - 4 three star recruits
2015 - ranked 36 - 2 four star recruits and 1 three star recruit
2016 - ranked 67 - 3 three star recruits
2017 - ranked 64 - 4 three star recruits

This fan base would have ran a coach off for recruiting this poorly! I guess Huggs doesn't worry about stars as long as they fit his system.

Excellent post. :thumb:
 
#649      
I trust that Underwood knows more then anyone here what he needs to get things turned around. Many here look at rankings from 247/Rivals/ESPN and the stars associated with these rankings to determine how the staff is recruiting.

Well I'm sure we would all take where #7 West Virginia is at this year...Underwood is from the same coaching tree!

West Virginia recruiting rankings per 247
2014 - ranked 81 - 4 three star recruits
2015 - ranked 36 - 2 four star recruits and 1 three star recruit
2016 - ranked 67 - 3 three star recruits
2017 - ranked 64 - 4 three star recruits

This fan base would have ran a coach off for recruiting this poorly! I guess Huggs doesn't worry about stars as long as they fit his system.


Understand where you're coming from, but need to get some big men soon or see some big developments this summer from the two frosh bigs to have the potential for a team that can win more games. I think we have potential to have one of the best backcourts in the country in a couple years, but need bigs to go with them.
 
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