Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2018)

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#376      
Good grief, maybe the dude likes trees? Maybe he drove over to the Oregon coast? Maybe he likes ducks? Maybe the Eugene campus blew him away?

I couldn't wait to GTFO of Central Illinois when I was 19.

If I would have had a full scholly to a cool campus in another state I would not be a UI alum. I would have been out like the fat kid in dodgeball.


(but I still love you :illinois::illinois::illinois:)

I second this emotion.
 
#377      
And how do you know that they didn't?

"[Illinois] do the same thing that Oregon do ... kinda similarities the way they run the ball ... the way they make their bigs run ... that is something I love to do ... I love to take off and run."

"The difference [with Purdue] is that they don't run as much ..."
 
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#378      
Oregon has been on the radar for awhile now. My family member told me a month ago that it will come down to Oregon and Purdue. I was hoping he might have a change of heart and stay close to home, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. The kid wants to play in the nba and if he thinks Oregon’s coaching staff can prepare him for that, well I can’t blame him. One more thing. Our staff put in tons of effort recruiting him. They had a visible presence at a lot of games this past season. I believe in this staff. Okoro just wants to go to another school. He’s a good kid. I’ll be rooting for him wherever he goes



If he goes to Oregon, he will be Okoro who?
If he goes to Purdue, he will be effing Okoro?
If he goes to Illinois, he will be overrated Okoro!


I vote for Oregon, but will only root for him at Illinois.
 
#379      
1) How do you know they didn’t make this clear?
2) How much importance did Okoro place on style of play?
3) How do you know the respective pitches from both schools and which aspects he liked from each?

(1) Because he said Illinois and Oregon run the same system.
(2) Seems like it was the deciding factor.
(3) Because he has described them in depth in several interviews.
 
#380      

EJ33

San Francisco
I will bet Coldagelli's beach house that Okoro is not drafted in two years (that's what he expects) and that he contributes very little next year. Look at what Tilmon did and he was much more prepared for college. Of course I would love to have either of them.

I will also bet Coldagelli's beach house that we do not get Liddell.

Underwood is going to have to build this program on scouting, player development, and getting "his" guys to execute his system really, really well.
 
#381      
I will bet Coldagelli's beach house that Okoro is not drafted in two years (that's what he expects) and that he contributes very little next year. Look at what Tilmon did and he was much more prepared for college. Of course I would love to have either of them.

I will also bet Coldagelli's beach house that we do not get Liddell.

Underwood is going to have to build this program on scouting, player development, and getting "his" guys to execute his system really, really well.
 
#382      

Tevo

Wilmette, IL
Underwood is going to have to build this program on scouting, player development, and getting "his" guys to execute his system really, really well.

Seems like there's a word for doing all of those things... hmm, what is it again?
 
#384      
Okoro has tons of work to do on the offensive side of the ball. I don’t think he will get drafted in two years as well
 
#385      
Actually, Zagoria tweeted last Thursday that Calloo has an OV scheduled to Illinois this week. Weeks not over, right?

Calloo has an issue. Notice he is not at Oak Hill anymore. He went from Huntington to Oak Hill back to Huntington -- and the last move was not by choice.
 
#386      

CAHALL15

Central Illinois
(1) Because he said Illinois and Oregon run the same system.
(2) Seems like it was the deciding factor.
(3) Because he has described them in depth in several interviews.

“Seems” is the key word, my friend. You’re guessing just like many of us are. Regarding the final point, sure he gave interviews and said what he liked about various schools, but what true level of importance did he place on various aspects? How many times has a player said they want playing time which we can readily offer and then they go elsewhere? As it has been mentioned today, some say they want a great education, but then they choose schools with lower rated programs of study.
 
#387      
“Seems” is the key word, my friend. You’re guessing just like many of us are. Regarding the final point, sure he gave interviews and said what he liked about various schools, but what true level of importance did he place on various aspects? How many times has a player said they want playing time which we can readily offer and then they go elsewhere? As it has been mentioned today, some say they want a great education, but then they choose schools with lower rated programs of study.

I don't know how to otherwise interpret: "The difference is that Oregon is a team that runs a lot ..." as it not being a deciding factor.

And, my overall point, is that I don't believe that Oregon IS a team that runs a lot.
I cannot believe Altman has somehow convinced him of that.
I've watched Dana Altman teams for 15+ years and I certainly would not describe them as teams that run a lot ...
 
#388      

ChazzReinhold

Mom! The Meatloaf!
(1) Because he said Illinois and Oregon run the same system.
(2) Seems like it was the deciding factor.
(3) Because he has described them in depth in several interviews.

“Seems” is the key word, my friend. You’re guessing just like many of us are. Regarding the final point, sure he gave interviews and said what he liked about various schools, but what true level of importance did he place on various aspects? How many times has a player said they want playing time which we can readily offer and then they go elsewhere? As it has been mentioned today, some say they want a great education, but then they choose schools with lower rated programs of study.

And the often cited importance of Duke's architecture program for Corey Maggette.
 
#389      
I think what he meant was that the rigorous nature of the academic program in CS/Engineering is prohibitive for players in the rev sports.

Given the comment was about test scores, I didn't read it that way.

Jack Ingram is actually a great example of this.

Seems like he's a better example that it can be done.

In any case, I can agree with your interpretation that some majors are both generally harder, and require more commitment outside of class time.
 
#390      

haasi

New York
We have a reasonably good 2018 class. Too bad no Okoro. Sucks big time losing top 50 recruits from downstate, especially at position of need. This just endorses Underwood's approach of recruiting nationally and beyond. Can't be limited to the local guys when there's no guarantee they'll come. We saw it with KBD and we saw it again now. Recruits don't care a ton about location or state loyalty, so we can't either. Use it as a selling point where it works, but focus recruiting on the best players who are most likely to come regardless of their location.


Missing on Okoro means two things for immediate roster and recruiting: (1) we should really add a playable fifth year big if possible. We will be THIN next year - soph Ebo, frosh Kane, frosh Giorgi... yikes. Some potential, but those are three projects with a combined single year of experience. (2) This makes it all the more important that we get a really good big or two in 2019 - someone who can contribute immediately and/or has a very high ceiling, not another 2-3* project. In the meantime, we'll have to see if the staff can develop Ebo, Kane, and Giorgi.
 
#392      

EJ33

San Francisco
Given the comment was about test scores, I didn't read it that way.



Seems like he's a better example that it can be done.

In any case, I can agree with your interpretation that some majors are both generally harder, and require more commitment outside of class time.

I think a guy that can move to a new country, get a 32 on his ACT, and be a top 50 basketball player is capable of getting an engineering degree - as difficult as it may be. Okoro is a very impressive guy.
 
#393      
Hard for me to understand his choice when he will not start off the bat at Oregon and would 100% start from day one here....and the school is 1 hour away but all kinds of voices and people attempt to steer these kids to certain schools most of the time for their own interest. Best of luck to him if it is Oregon but he will regret it IMO.
 
#394      

EJ33

San Francisco
Ask Cuonzo. His quick fix looks rather not fixed this year.

Yep. Cuonzo has a history of quick recruiting wins and declining performance thereafter. We didn't hire Underwood for quick recruiting wins. We hired him because he looks like a program builder. I think he is, but we'll see.

Regarding Okoro, maybe Underwood's in your face coaching style is / was another factor. Getting yelled at all the time while you're losing is not a real attractive sales pitch.
 
#395      
I think people like Jack Ingram and Ryan McDonald (football) are the exceptions that prove the rule. There is a reason those guys always get brought up in discussions about athletes and challenging majors - because they are so rare.

Particularly majors that require a lot of lab time are super difficult for athletes, because of the time commitment. There is no way to do those labs when you are traveling and a tutor is not going to help you with them.

I played Division 1 tennis in college and we had a guy on our team who was a Chemistry major. His schedule was insane. He had his own key to the science building and did the labs late at night/very early morning, then slept for a little bit before going to classes in the late morning/early afternoon and then went to practice or meets. Then he studied in the evening and did the whole thing over again.

Very few athletes can keep up a schedule like that and be successful in their sport. My teammate's dad was a superintendent for a pretty large school district and used to attend his meets and stand the whole time in his three-piece suit. It wasn't hard to see where he got his discipline from. :)

Someone once summarized the choices an athlete in a rigorous major has to make as this: academics, sports, social life - pick two.
 
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#396      
Hard for me to understand his choice when he will not start off the bat at Oregon and would 100% start from day one here....and the school is 1 hour away but all kinds of voices and people attempt to steer these kids to certain schools most of the time for their own interest. Best of luck to him if it is Oregon but he will regret it IMO.

Michael Dunigan style
 
#397      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Good grief, maybe the dude likes trees? Maybe he drove over to the Oregon coast? Maybe he likes ducks? Maybe the Eugene campus blew him away?

I couldn't wait to GTFO of Central Illinois when I was 19.

If I would have had a full scholly to a cool campus in another state I would not be a UI alum. I would have been out like the fat kid in dodgeball.


(but I still love you :illinois::illinois::illinois:)

Too funny. +1 to all your points.
 
#398      
We have a reasonably good 2018 class. Too bad no Okoro. Sucks big time losing top 50 recruits from downstate, especially at position of need. This just endorses Underwood's approach of recruiting nationally and beyond. Can't be limited to the local guys when there's no guarantee they'll come. We saw it with KBD and we saw it again now. Recruits don't care a ton about location or state loyalty, so we can't either. Use it as a selling point where it works, but focus recruiting on the best players who are most likely to come regardless of their location.


Missing on Okoro means two things for immediate roster and recruiting: (1) we should really add a playable fifth year big if possible. We will be THIN next year - soph Ebo, frosh Kane, frosh Giorgi... yikes. Some potential, but those are three projects with a combined single year of experience. (2) This makes it all the more important that we get a really good big or two in 2019 - someone who can contribute immediately and/or has a very high ceiling, not another 2-3* project. In the meantime, we'll have to see if the staff can develop Ebo, Kane, and Giorgi.

When we win some games, the local/loyalty thing will hold more weight. Kids are betting their futures to some degree and its hard to blame them for picking a program that has a better recent track record.

This sucks big time considering there were a lot of positive vibes about this recruitment recently and the need for his position, etc. but it does not change my opinion one iota about this staff's ability to recruit.

I'm not sure how much the local thing plays with a kid like Okoro though anyways. As he's stated before, he's 6,000 miles from home right now.
 
#399      

Deleted member 236589

D
Guest
Hard for me to understand his choice when he will not start off the bat at Oregon and would 100% start from day one here....and the school is 1 hour away but all kinds of voices and people attempt to steer these kids to certain schools most of the time for their own interest. Best of luck to him if it is Oregon but he will regret it IMO.

Or maybe he wants to be in the NCAA Tournament his first year, playing for a conference championship, getting away from home and going to a beautiful campus....all on top of playing for one of the elite coaches in the college game.

On top of that, most of these kids were 5 years old when we were relevant. Oregon was in the Final Four two years ago.

Hopefully that could help you understand why.
 
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#400      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
Or maybe he wants to be in the NCAA Tournament his first year, playing for a conference championship, getting away from home and going to a beautiful campus....all on top of playing for one of the elite coaches in the college game.

On top of that, most of these kids were 5 years old when we were relevant. Oregon was in the Final Four two years ago.

Hopefully that could help you understand why.

Altman and the Ducks have been to the Sweet 16 (2013), the Elite 8 (2016), and the Final Four (2017) in the last 5 years. PLUS they have that elusive national championship banner (1939). :thumb:

Anyway, this one stings, especially due to the proximity and being in his final 3, but the rebuild will take time. Winning helps recruiting and vice versa. Thankfully, Underwood already has some good pieces in place (Frazier, Williams, Nichols, Ayo, Tevian) and with good coaching, the wins and the recruits will come.
 
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