Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May 2019)

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#676      
Saw he supposedly signed a letter of intent, but he and Miss St mutually parted ways...must be a back story there somewhere.


It's actually Ole Miss. My guess is once Ole Miss got a commit from Khadim Sy (who ironically is from Underwood's old Daytona Community College), they "Creaned" Howard.
 
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#677      
Would like to point out that in a recent interview, BU stressed the fact that recruiting is a year round job. “Always Be Recruiting “, is what he said, I believe. I’ll bet he’s got his eye on several possibilities we’re not aware of. Hope I’m right lol.
Hope he didn't have his eye
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Things have changed. Recruiting is now nationwide, not regional like it was 20 or 30 years ago. Kids have access to tons of information about the better D1 programs and coaches. They do not just see what is printed in the local paper and what is said in a few games broadcast each week. This information gives players a lot more opportunity to see how they might fit other teams rosters and scheme. Additionally, AAU ball makes the bball world a lot smaller for the elite prospects. They will have met and had the opportunity to develop relationships with coaches from across the country. This idea that we must recruit local players to be successful, or that we even have some real advantage in doing so, needs to die.

The ability of the coaching staff to prepare players for the next level, as well as promoting their brand, is the real attraction to most top flight players (not counting activities that would draw the attention of the FBI or NCAA). Location, winning, facilities, social life, etc., are factors but they come after that. Penny Hardaway can say he knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA, and trade off that. BU and staff have a more difficult time - though OA does bring some gravitas.

BYW I expect this team to do more than make the "tourney" next year.
Good point about the recruiting now. It has definitely changed. You can never tell where a kid will decide to go. Also, I've noticed the transfer market has become a lot hotter than it was in the past.
 
#678      
I have a question. Last year at this time, of our incoming recruiting class where did 99% of this board feel GB's contributions would be? I love Ayo but we had guards on our squad. GB ended up being as vital as any recruit in that class and most thought he was a project. I trust our staff and go illini.
 
#679      
I have a question. Last year at this time, of our incoming recruiting class where did 99% of this board feel GB's contributions would be? I love Ayo but we had guards on our squad. GB ended up being as vital as any recruit in that class and most thought he was a project. I trust our staff and go illini.

Trusting the staff is the easy part.

A diamond in the rough has to be out there and then IDed. Then that diamond in the rough has to get either no other offers (GB?) or reject any he gets.

GB's coaches tried to get him a look by Rutgers. Did not work out. IIRC, BU happened to be scouting someone else and found GB, offered, etc.

This year - so far - it looks like no GB out there. OR BU has not found one yet.
 
#680      
I have a question. Last year at this time, of our incoming recruiting class where did 99% of this board feel GB's contributions would be? I love Ayo but we had guards on our squad. GB ended up being as vital as any recruit in that class and most thought he was a project. I trust our staff and go illini.
Anyone who thought GB would have the season he had is smoking something. When you play the lack of big card, I agree with the vital part, and I generally do still trust this staff to get it done. But it is a thin argument that because this staff found GB everything is alright and pretend the staff is batting 100%. They also landed Mark Smith, Ebo, Matic, & Higgs which contributions for their careers are near zero.
 
#681      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Is Howard better than Kouma? From where I stand (er, sit), that's hardly clear.

Hopefully, Team Scrounge can pull a couple of rabbits out of their hat.
 
#682      
Trusting the staff is the easy part.

A diamond in the rough has to be out there and then IDed. Then that diamond in the rough has to get either no other offers (GB?) or reject any he gets..

Thinking back over the last 20 years I am having trouble of thinking of other "diamonds in the rough" at Illinois. Any names come to mind?
 
#685      

Deleted member 8896

D
Guest
ESPN reports Texas Tech has added grad transfer Chris Clarke 6-6 swingman from Virginia tech who was suspended and didn’t play last year.
 
#686      
ESPN reports Texas Tech has added grad transfer Chris Clarke 6-6 swingman from Virginia tech who was suspended and didn’t play last year.
Is there anyone they're NOT getting? Anyone know if Chris Clarke was on our radar? I see him listed as the #8 ranked transfer.
 
#687      

Deleted member 29907

D
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Is there anyone they're NOT getting? Anyone know if Chris Clarke was on our radar? I see him listed as the #8 ranked transfer.
Clarke is a good get for them - athletic and pushes the ball up the court - I don't recall him being mentioned here at all. Losing Buzz has really set Tech back a lot.
 
#688      
Anyone who thought GB would have the season he had is smoking something. When you play the lack of big card, I agree with the vital part, and I generally do still trust this staff to get it done. But it is a thin argument that because this staff found GB everything is alright and pretend the staff is batting 100%. They also landed Mark Smith, Ebo, Matic, & Higgs which contributions for their careers are near zero.
I didn't expect him to score over 30 in a game like he did I'll give you that. However, I was excited at the skill set I saw in him and expected him to start and out play Samba. I thought that was obvious. I dont recall seeing many big men at 6'10" 235 that were Illini that had his skill set as Illini Freshman. He hadn't been in this country long and was a loaded team. I will give BU props for trusting his gut and offering GB right away. He didnt care about rankings.
 
#689      

sacraig

The desert
I feel wear misusing "diamond in the rough" quite a bit here. Diamonds in the rough are still obviously diamonds; they just need to have their facets cut to make them valuable. Giorgi was an interesting chunk of rock that was found in a coal mine and turned out to have a diamond inside.
 
#690      
Here's one mock draft list of players they are predicting might go undrafted. Pretty extensive. It will be interesting to see where those undrafted players end up. Hopefully 1 or 2 in Champaign.:)

https://www.draftsite.com/nba/mock-draft/2019/undrafted/

Wow, not a single Kentucky player in the lottery. Given how many top-10 players they get year after year, that's surprising. Only 3 BIG players in each round.

I assume a lot of the undrafted will play somewhere professionally. Wonder how many will actually be available...
 
#691      
I feel wear misusing "diamond in the rough" quite a bit here. Diamonds in the rough are still obviously diamonds; they just need to have their facets cut to make them valuable. Giorgi was an interesting chunk of rock that was found in a coal mine and turned out to have a diamond inside.
I think that is what separates the good coaches from the great. The ability to spot those small things about a player, like Giorgi, that indicates their potential to be a great player. Not an easy thing to do, but I guess that's why there are so few great coaches.
 
#692      
Is Howard better than Kouma? From where I stand (er, sit), that's hardly clear.

Hopefully, Team Scrounge can pull a couple of rabbits out of their hat.
Perhaps not, but I wouldn't be surprised if the staff doesn't think Kouma is happening given the situation.
 
#693      
Trusting the staff is the easy part.

A diamond in the rough has to be out there and then IDed. .

I am kind of tired of beating the bushes at the last second for recruits. If that happens early in a coaching staff's tenure, I get it. But this seems like a constant thing with this staff. Running low on visits and scrounging to fill spots.
 
#695      
Well yeah, there's literally not a single coach in the nation that wouldn't say the same thing.

The problem is, as we've learned many times before, effort doesn't guarantee success. I don't doubt this staff's effort. But I seriously doubt their ability to close with talented recruits on a consistent basis.

+1

BU may not be a natural salesman, but it makes me wonder if he needs some coaching on how to come across with kids when he's selling his vision. The closing rate suggests we're not strong in some areas, and should be able to improve. Would love to see them get more of their targets. That's a lot of time and effort spent that doesn't really get you anything.
 
#696      

201154JC

Rockford, IL
+1

BU may not be a natural salesman, but it makes me wonder if he needs some coaching on how to come across with kids when he's selling his vision. The closing rate suggests we're not strong in some areas, and should be able to improve. Would love to see them get more of their targets. That's a lot of time and effort spent that doesn't really get you anything.
Well put and spot on. Coffee is for closers.
 
#697      

WiscIllini

Madison, WI
I think that is what separates the good coaches from the great. The ability to spot those small things about a player, like Giorgi, that indicates their potential to be a great player. Not an easy thing to do, but I guess that's why there are so few great coaches.

I think you are confusing "evaluator" and "coach".
 
#700      

sacraig

The desert
I think that is what separates the good coaches from the great. The ability to spot those small things about a player, like Giorgi, that indicates their potential to be a great player. Not an easy thing to do, but I guess that's why there are so few great coaches.

I'd agree but with the caveat that doing this one or two times is not indicative of anything. Making a pattern of doing it more often than the average coach is what you'd look for to say a particular coach knows what he's doing.
 
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