Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (July-August 2017)

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#2,551      

Calvin

C
Calvin
james81 said:
Here's an interesting analysis, using stats from Kansas from 2003 to 2016. The stats show how many future NBA players were on the Kansas roster for each season, and how far KU advanced in the NCAA tournament. They average 5.2 NBA players per season.

They end up advancing to: 1 National Title, 1 National Runner-up, 4 Elite Eights, 2 Sweet 16s, 3 Rounds of 32, and 2 First Round losses.

Kansas basketball roster loaded with future NBA players

2003-04: 4 NBA players, Elite Eight.

2004-05: 6 NBA players, First-round loss.

2005-06: 5 NBA players, First-round loss.

2006-07: 7 NBA players, Elite Eight.

2007-08: 7 NBA players, National title.

2008-09: 6 NBA players, Sweet 16.

2009-10: 8 NBA players, Round of 32.

2010-11: 6 NBA players, Elite Eight

2011-12: 3 NBA players, National runner-up.

2012-13: 2 NBA players, Sweet 16.

2013-14: 5 NBA players, Round of 32.

2014-15: 6 NBA players, Round of 32.

2015-16: 6 NBA players, Elite Eight.

A few conclusions: (1) Most players, even at KU, don't make it to the NBA. (2) Even with great players, it's hard to get past the Sweet 16.
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Thanks, this is a fun post to see.

I've always maintained that you only need a couple NBA level players to win a NC, although occasionally there's a juggernaut team (NC in 2005) that has more future pros, and really makes it tough on the rest of the field.

Off topic, but one of my all time favorite games, and this is strange to say as an Illini fan, was Wiscy taking down an absolutely loaded, and I mean LOADED, Kentucky in the national semi-final. Those weren't just future pros, those guys were going pro that year.

Couldn't resist looking it up. Kentucky had the #1 pick and 3 more lottery picks, in addition to a couple second rounders. FOUR lottery picks! (note that the loaded North Carolina team we played also had four lottery picks. Depressing --most years we wouldn't run into that.)

The converse holds, of course, that you can have a ton of talent and not make a deep run in the tournament, as your post above shows.
 
#2,553      

james81

J
North Carolina
james81
Obelix said:
2014 was better, WRT to high profile visits. Brunson, Jawun Evans, Jalen Coleman, Elijah Thomas, DJ Williams, Aaron Jordan, Carlton Bragg (in-home), etc. Overall, higher profile visits in 2014 but we failed to close on critical recruits.
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BU could whiff on this class. While we are considered a slight leader for Ayo, he could easily sign elsewhere. Most "experts" see us as the underdog on the wings we are after (THT, Henry & Nolley). That leaves 5 bigs (Castleton, Conditt, Sow, Hayes, Penn-Johnson). Most of us probably assume we'll get at least one of those guys, probably Conditt. By himself Conditt is not much of a recruiting class. If we don't get Ayo or a wing, I expect BU to go for two bigs. He might anyway, which wouldn't surprise me.
 
#2,554      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
james81 said:
If we don't get Ayo or a wing, I expect BU to go for two bigs. He might anyway, which wouldn't surprise me.
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BU said in the podcast that was posted yesterday he's always gonna recruit guard heavy. I wonder if he'd take a plan b guard over a second big, unless that big is De Sousa
 
#2,555      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
Nunn vs M Smith, definitely take M Smith. Nunn at the high school level played in spurts and showed flashes of being top 100. He did play with a talented group including a top 3 national player. M Smith senior year you didn't have to wait for moments, it was constant. Comparing great Illinois HS PG over the last 20 years, M Smith is in that group. K Nunn is not in the group of top Illinois HS SG over the last 20 years IMO.

But Nunn was a good player for us and will be pulling for him at Oakland. Hoping he learns from his experiences and matures into a better person.
 
#2,556      

Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence
Johnny Lawrence
james81 said:
BU could whiff on this class. While we are considered a slight leader for Ayo, he could easily sign elsewhere. Most "experts" see us as the underdog on the wings we are after (THT, Henry & Nolley). That leaves 5 bigs (Castleton, Conditt, Sow, Hayes, Penn-Johnson). Most of us probably assume we'll get at least one of those guys, probably Conditt. By himself Conditt is not much of a recruiting class. If we don't get Ayo or a wing, I expect BU to go for two bigs. He might anyway, which wouldn't surprise me.
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So we might get some of the guys we're after and we might not get some of the guys we're after? Nominated for insider status! :thumb:
 
#2,557      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
james81 said:
BU could whiff on this class. While we are considered a slight leader for Ayo, he could easily sign elsewhere. Most "experts" see us as the underdog on the wings we are after (THT, Henry & Nolley). That leaves 5 bigs (Castleton, Conditt, Sow, Hayes, Penn-Johnson). Most of us probably assume we'll get at least one of those guys, probably Conditt. By himself Conditt is not much of a recruiting class. If we don't get Ayo or a wing, I expect BU to go for two bigs. He might anyway, which wouldn't surprise me.
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We can end up as runner-up on all our current recruits. But BU and staff showed in a short window they could recruit some very good players.

BU will now have a well defined offense to show case and sell. It should lead to an increase in tempo, points, and possibly wins. So if our current recruits go elsewhere I'm convinced that seeing lllini play and hopefully win will improve his chances in the spring and next summer.

We can win with the current group of players, so I'm not sweating it.
 
#2,563      

Calvin

C
Calvin
TALKTOCHUCK said:
Who is a better get? Underwood getting Mark Smith or JFG getting Ken Nunn?
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Based on what we know today, I think I'd go with Smith. Nunn was a great get at the time, though. His toughness was needed pretty badly. I still have fond memories of how he wouldn't back down for a second against Newbill. Turns out some of that attitude needed to be left on the court. I would say Nunn had the better game overall at this point, but he was ultimately an under-sized SG that often settled for 3s, in an offense that looked confused half the time.

Smith has fantastic range, good PG instincts, great size, a coach that knows what he's doing, and a pretty high ceiling overall.
 
#2,564      

illinitiger

I
illinitiger
Calvin said:
Based on what we know today, I think I'd go with Smith. Nunn was a great get at the time, though. His toughness was needed pretty badly. I still have fond memories of how he wouldn't back down for a second against Newbill. Turns out some of that attitude needed to be left on the court. I would say Nunn had the better game overall at this point, but he was ultimately an under-sized SG that often settled for 3s, in an offense that looked confused half the time.

Smith has fantastic range, good PG instincts, great size, a coach that knows what he's doing, and a pretty high ceiling overall.
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Yeah....Hate to be redundant, but I think KN would have thrived under BU. Perfect combination of inside/outside game, toughness and D. I really think he's a near perfect prototype player for BUs system.

Big fan of KN and hope he does great things at Oakland this year.
 
#2,565      

Takeittothehoop

T
Takeittothehoop
I'm thinking this incoming group is a little underrated. KN made a mistake. he deserves a second chance. Good luck to him at Oakland U.
 
#2,566      

Deleted member 380722

D
Guest
Deleted member 380722
Wake Forest just got a 5-star forward. Ayo visiting in September.
 
#2,567      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
james81 said:
BU could whiff on this class. While we are considered a slight leader for Ayo, he could easily sign elsewhere. Most "experts" see us as the underdog on the wings we are after (THT, Henry & Nolley). That leaves 5 bigs (Castleton, Conditt, Sow, Hayes, Penn-Johnson). Most of us probably assume we'll get at least one of those guys, probably Conditt. By himself Conditt is not much of a recruiting class. If we don't get Ayo or a wing, I expect BU to go for two bigs. He might anyway, which wouldn't surprise me.
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I would rather we get more athletic wings/post players, as the follow up class' in 19-20 are supposed to be weaker in those areas.
 
#2,569      

james81

J
North Carolina
james81
PlayAZ said:
For anyone that thought I was "nuts" for the Griffin and THT long term upside and ranking post (cant find it now)...# 60 vs #108, just saying.

http://247sports.com/Season/2018-Basketball/CompositeRecruitRankings?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool

This stated, they both will have good collegiate careers...just wished we could have gotten Griffin though.
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No doubt Griffin has tremendous potential. The 247 ratings, though, are all over the place. They have Finke above THT, Nolley, and Castleton. I doubt if anyone on this site believes that.
 
#2,571      

Ubermensch

Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Ubermensch
Nunn was absolutely huge at the time. I'd probably put them about even for the importance to each new staff. I think Smith probably has a higher ceiling, but Kendrick was a monster get for Groce.
 
#2,572      

illiniguy24

illiniguy24
illiniguy24
Ubermensch said:
Nunn was absolutely huge at the time. I'd probably put them about even for the importance to each new staff. I think Smith probably has a higher ceiling, but Kendrick was a monster get for Groce.
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Agreed, I think Smith is the more rounded and better player. But Nunn was a huge get for Groce. Gave us faith that he could land the big fish, just as Smith has for BU.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#2,573      

Goldtop

Goldtop
Goldtop
Ubermensch said:
Nunn was absolutely huge at the time. I'd probably put them about even for the importance to each new staff. I think Smith probably has a higher ceiling, but Kendrick was a monster get for Groce.
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And now he is a monster for Oakland. I will be following him this year, and wish him the best. He was fun to watch play.
 
#2,574      

Dakota Orange

D
Dakota Orange
Goldtop said:
And now he is a monster for Oakland. I will be following him this year, and wish him the best. He was fun to watch play.
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Nunn and Oakland have some games on ESPN 3. They play MSU I think on Dec. 16. Back to recruiting where I know nothing. Cash, haven't heard from you in awhile ...
 
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