Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (November-December 2018)

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#426      

Deleted member 173571

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Deleted member 173571
ChiefGritty said:
Four straight years in the second weekend. This is becoming an expired talking point.
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I stand corrected on them underperforming their seed. That said, Illinois is by far and away the more storied basketball program. Before Few, Gonzaga was a small obscure school that was known only because of its weird name because it had absolutely zero basketball accomplishments. I think the 29 (or so) and under crowd on here put way too much stock on the bad basketball played in the last 12 years. Illinois is one of the top 15 or so basketball schools in NCAA history. We will be back to prominence again with Underwood at the helm and it starts tomorrow and then a week from now against Gonzaga.
 
#427      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
thethrash said:
We will be back to prominence again with Underwood at the helm and it starts tomorrow and then a week from now against Gonzaga.
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I love the enthusiasm, but we're badly outclassed against Gonzaga and the real work of building this basketball program is about competing and executing to the best of our ability for 40 minutes in that game, and the two games immediately following, and all those that follow that.

It is neither snapping our fingers like a magic trick nor just blindly waiting and hoping forever. Coming back to prominence is day-by-day, game-by-game, practice-by-practice work.

You keep chopping wood as hard as you can for as long as you can, and if it ever comes time for Josh Whitman to call for another wood chopper, as he did when replacing Cubit and Groce, you just get right back to chopping. There are no miracles and no saviors in this business.
 
#428      

220Illini

2
220Illini
Chathamillini said:
Because they get great seeds nd play the lowest seeds in the tournament.
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No, its because they are a very good program that has been fantastic the last few years. In almost every second round they've probably played a top 5-6 team in a power conference and win a lot of those matchups. Just two years ago they were 37-1 NCAA Runner Ups. Our best season in our schools history we were 37-2 NCAA Runner Ups, only ours was 13 years ago.

Kids don't care about storied programs. They want to win now.
 
#429      

sacraig

sacraig
The desert
sacraig
ChiefGritty said:
It's a big mistake if we let these siren songs stop us from taking Plan B this week.
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I'm glad you aren't the coach. We have enough project bigs. Signing more when our top targets are still on the board and taking our calls would be criminal. If our destiny is more projects bigs, I'd rather sign them in the spring after we've exhausted our top targets after having made a (hopefully) stronger case to them by overachieving this season.
 
#430      

foby

foby
Bonnaroo Land
foby
Dear Sour Grapists, the Zags have a heckuva program, no doubt and no need to try to persuade others that they do not.

If we whiff on Timme, it's tough, but we move on.............and I really like the spring recruits we signed this year. When we have a season that is far better than most here expect, our spring recruits this year will be at an even higher level.
 
#432      

ejam21

E
ejam21
thethrash said:
Well that sucks. Now I really want Underwood and company to beat Gonzaga. In the past we have owned them. They get too much credit. They almost always under perform in the tournament.
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LOL what? they've been to the s16 as a double digit seed like 5 times.....were in the NC game 2 years ago, and have been in the s16 the past 4-5 years. They also have a better tourney winning % than we do (.600 vs57%), and more tourney wins in the last 3 years than we'v had in the last 15 (that includes our NC run).

We've onwed htem in the past for sure......but which team from our past is playing which team from their past? I think we CAN win, but winning 5/6 in the past isn't the reason why.

I think BU will right the ship and get us back in the thick of it by next year though. Let's get this win (or these wins if we can pull off the upset with Timme too HA)
 
#433      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
sacraig said:
I'm glad you aren't the coach. We have enough project bigs. Signing more when our top targets are still on the board and taking our calls would be criminal. If our destiny is more projects bigs, I'd rather sign them in the spring after we've exhausted our top targets after having made a (hopefully) stronger case to them by overachieving this season.
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We have three scholarships open, and a glaring positional need. You take the bird in the hand now, and you still have bullets left for what's in the bush. JMO.

Kofi Cockburn won't look elsewhere because he's worried about Chris Payton.
 
#434      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
ChiefGritty said:
We have three scholarships open, and a glaring positional need. You take the bird in the hand now, and you still have bullets left for what's in the bush. JMO.

Kofi Cockburn won't look elsewhere because he's worried about Chris Payton.
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Exactly. Also, attrition is real, and while I dont expect the same amount next year, it's obvious BU will have some guys leaving the program. Even if we sign two "projects" during the early signing period, I can guarantee we have at least 2 other scholarships to give out come spring, and I'd bet even more.
 
#437      

Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence
Johnny Lawrence
thethrash said:
Do you guys actually have some solid information on which you're basing Illinois has no chance to land Timme, or is it based mainly on Illinois striking out so many times?
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I think they are basing Illinois having no chance to land Timme on the solid information that Illinois has struck out so many times but I don't like to speak for others.
 
#442      

foby

foby
Bonnaroo Land
foby
220Illini said:
Fair play. I'll rephrase to say it is surprising with how fast this recruitment has gone from one post on these boards to where it is now. There is talk out there that this one might be wrapped up very soon.
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Gotcha. And yes this would be a whirlwind.
 
#443      

Kathy

K
Kathy
This year's team is so much better than last years, and if you can't see that then you're not much of a BB fan. Eternal optimism would not of described me prior to the hiring of Brad Underwood.
 
#445      

Actionjackson

Actionjackson
Actionjackson
Actionjackson said:
Is January the one who knows Tev? If so, that could be playing a big factor here
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Antwan January a 6-10, 240-pound Center Phoenix, AZ Hillcrest Academy told me: I really like Coach Chin, the playing time Illinois has to offer and they can get me ready for the NBA. Definitely, like their fans, plus my boy TJ (Tevian) goes there.
30 Oct 2018
https://twitter.com
 
#446      

lonelytylenol

L
lonelytylenol
thethrash said:
Before Few, Gonzaga was a small obscure school that was known only because of its weird name because it had absolutely zero basketball accomplishments.
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This shouldn't change your mind about the argument you're presenting, but literally the year before Few took over, they made the elite eight and gave the eventual champ all they could handle in the regional final. Their history is sparse prior to that.

Regardless, the "Before Few" argument would be more compelling if we were talking about 4 or 5 years of success, but 20 straight tournament appearances covers the entire lifespan of the players we're recruiting.

If under 29s put too much stock in recent mediocrity, might over 29s put too much stock in ancient history? When you think about all the arguments you'd make for why Illinois basketball should matter to a high school-er, would you make those same arguments in favor of St. John's?
 
#450      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
Our biggest need is the big position. A core of Giorgi, Samba, Higgs, and January could make us competitive with most of the BIG. It allows us to reach for the stars with Kofi, who even if you land this type of player they are looking to stay for 1-2 years. So you need the types I just mentioned above.

I feel like I'm a good talent evaluator(35 years of being hooked on NCAABB), just not sold on Timme as much as others. I think Kofi, Tswibe, Okofor are several deviations to the right of Timme. That being said Timme, like Giorgi are a good fit for BU's offense. My biggest whiff on talent evaluation was Julian Wright, and I saw him live. Seemed to lack many fundamentals especially shooting. He handled the ball well for a 6-8 player but his passes never seemed to have the right touch.
 
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