Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (August 2018)

[sacraig]

Wait 'til the preseason predictions thread

Hopefully everyone adheres to the new orange text for orange glasses rule.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Bontemps wasn't on the '78-'79 team. He was as freshman on the '79-'80 team. You had Judson, who was a shooting guard and Perry Range, freshman combo guard, and I am thinking Larry Lubin was the backup PG.

I stand corrected, thank you. Lanter >>> Lubin. Lubin was a very solid citizen and good squad player, but he wasn't B10 caliber. Team pretty much imploded when Lanter went down.

 

[combes]

Our starting PG, Steve Lanter, went down with a season ending knee injury. While Lanter wasn't all-conference good, he was good. Perhaps more importantly, there was quite a gulf between Lanter and his backups (Bontemps primarily, IIRC). That team was VG, but wasn't able to overcome the loss of Lanter. The B10 was stacked back then.

Bontemps wasn’t on that team. He came the next year with Quinn Richardson.

After Lanter went down, we were left primarily with Rob Judson (third leading scorer but a two guard). Mark Smith moved from the small forward to the two. Neil Bresnahan and Eddie Johnson were the forwards and Derek Holcomb at center. Bench was decent up front with James Griffin and Levi Cobb but woeful in the backcourt. Senior Larry Lubin was not good enough. Freshman Perry Range was developing but another two guard. Cletus Hubbard was a freshman who did not turn out and left the team.

Lack of ballhandling and quickness in the backcourt did this team in once it’s only true ballhandler went down.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

This is great offseason Loyalty

 

[Second and Chalmers]

I say it's silly to talk about something as rash and destructive as firing our new head coach and it's a better use of our time to focus on fixing the problems, which for the purposes of this thread means bolstering our future in the frontcourt positions.

 

[jrod1286]

Wow, this has turned into a pity party thread.

 

[sacraig]

Wow, this has turned into a pity party thread.

This entire message board has been one big pity party for the approximately 2010, with a notable break from self-pity in 2012-2013.

 

[IlliniinIowa]

Wow, this has turned into a pity party thread.

Sad sad stuff.....

 

[The Dave]

Illini fans reaction if EJ had listed us as the first official:
"Oh man, nobody ever commits on the first official. I think if we were last that would really say something. It's always best to be able to get the final word in."

Illini fans reaction when EJ listed us as the last official:
"Oh man, nobody ever makes it to the last official. I think if we were first that would really say something. It's always best to be able to get the first word in."

My opinion is more pragmatic...IF he makes it to all the OV's then it's good we're last. However, it is worrisome being last because someone could just blow him away and convince him to cancel the remaining OV's and commit. It's a gamble either way. It's best to be last on the schedule....assuming the whole schedule plays out.

 

[The Dave]

My criticism of BU's performance can be tied to late game strategies, his perception going into the season that we were "good with what we have" and "you guys are a lot more concerned with size than I am" then to see the team get hammered on the boards with an inability to defend the paint. That wasn't bad luck, that was a coach in over his head not knowing what it takes to compete in the big ten. Maybe his strategies and recruiting approach worked at SF Austin, but they aren't working in the Big Ten. Hopefully he'll adjust, good coaches do - but the jury is still out. Whitman is obviously not going to fire him, given his contract and admission of a hiring mistake. But it would be foolish to think Whitman is not questioning whether he made the right hire or not at this point.

I would guess he HAS to say "we're good with we have" since it's literally all he has and he can't change it. I chalk that up to coachspeak rather than a misunderstanding of the situation.

On to topics not related to the quoted post...

I will admit that I've ALWAYS (not in this board...with friend in real life...yes, I have friends, don't be so surprised) said that barring signs of gross incompetence or other factors (abusing players, for example) every coach should be given 4 years to prove themselves. It takes time to get your own recruits in, teach your system, and grow in to it.

Of course it's fun to analyze/debate how things are going as we progress through those 4 years, but given we are 1 year in I'm not sure we have enough CONCRETE evidence to go on here Maybe it's better to state that as we have a very small sample size to analyze...

We have some size now (assuming Kane and Higgs make it) so hopefully we see improvement from last year. If we don't or if (for example) we see massive turnover again next year then we start to have a pattern that we can legitimately begin complaining about. Until then I think we're all just pounding our chests about how much we think we know or think we can see.

 

[Selfcon4]

In response to 2nd & Chalmers regarding 1978-1979
Steve Lanter was the point guard. Illinois was undefeated and had just beat number one Michigan State with Magic on Thursday. They are playing a very good Ohio State team on Saturday and Lanter got hurt during that game. Knee injury I believe. If Illinois wins they would be number one that Monday. Illinois looses in double overtime had no backup point guard and Illinois goes on to loses most of their remaining games.

We lost becasue 5'9" Todd Penn blocked Eddie Johnson's break away dunk (Eddie was not paying attention and was being lackadaisical) out of nowhere that would have won the game for us. And we would have been #1 for a week.

 

[Deleted member 186590]

You must be a

Why don't you tell everyone who you root for, it definitely isn't the Illini

I think it's obvious it is the Illini, otherwise I wouldn't be passionate about it. Haven't you ever rooted for a team when you didn't think the head coach is right for the job? I'm a Cowboys fan too and I don't think Jason Garrett is a very good head coach. But, I'm a Cubs fan and do think Madden is a good manager and coach Q is a very good hockey coach.

Look, if this was back in the day, I would have been less negative when recruits were reading the board or Eric Gordon's dad was a poster, because I did think there was value in being positive to show the support in the fan base for the program - Nobody is ready this board now - it's obvious. This isn't the Brumby days when the Illiniboard was first getting going and we had one of the most active college hoops boards in the country.

I'm very excited to see Ayo and Frazier together - could be one of the best backcourts in the big ten. But it won't matter because we're going to get killed on the boards and in the paint because our coaching staff didn't seem to prioritize getting a big last year and they can't get a decent big man to come here this year. That is frustrating.

But, I'll stop now - Underwood is not going anywhere just like Jason Garrett is not. I just don't think Underwood has the right strategy for building the program.

 

[Joel Goodson]

coach Q is a very good hockey coach

Q's shelf life expired a couple of seasons ago.

 

[Deleted member 643761]

I think it's obvious it is the Illini, otherwise I wouldn't be passionate about it. Haven't you ever rooted for a team when you didn't think the head coach is right for the job? I'm a Cowboys fan too and I don't think Jason Garrett is a very good head coach. But, I'm a Cubs fan and do think Madden is a good manager and coach Q is a very good hockey coach.

Look, if this was back in the day, I would have been less negative when recruits were reading the board or Eric Gordon's dad was a poster, because I did think there was value in being positive to show the support in the fan base for the program - Nobody is ready this board now - it's obvious. This isn't the Brumby days when the Illiniboard was first getting going and we had one of the most active college hoops boards in the country.

I'm very excited to see Ayo and Frazier together - could be one of the best backcourts in the big ten. But it won't matter because we're going to get killed on the boards and in the paint because our coaching staff didn't seem to prioritize getting a big last year and they can't get a decent big man to come here this year. That is frustrating.

But, I'll stop now - Underwood is not going anywhere just like Jason Garrett is not. I just don't think Underwood has the right strategy for building the program.

How many officials would we have to use on bigs for you to think it was a priority?

 

[Rap73]

I think it's obvious it is the Illini, otherwise I wouldn't be passionate about it. Haven't you ever rooted for a team when you didn't think the head coach is right for the job? I'm a Cowboys fan too and I don't think Jason Garrett is a very good head coach. But, I'm a Cubs fan and do think Madden is a good manager and coach Q is a very good hockey coach.

Look, if this was back in the day, I would have been less negative when recruits were reading the board or Eric Gordon's dad was a poster, because I did think there was value in being positive to show the support in the fan base for the program - Nobody is ready this board now - it's obvious. This isn't the Brumby days when the Illiniboard was first getting going and we had one of the most active college hoops boards in the country.

I'm very excited to see Ayo and Frazier together - could be one of the best backcourts in the big ten. But it won't matter because we're going to get killed on the boards and in the paint because our coaching staff didn't seem to prioritize getting a big last year and they can't get a decent big man to come here this year. That is frustrating.

But, I'll stop now - Underwood is not going anywhere just like Jason Garrett is not. I just don't think Underwood has the right strategy for building the program.

As far down as the program has got, I would definitely give a coach more than one season to turn it around.

 

[Obelix]

I rarely hear anyone say the first, although I'm sure some have. I think many say that last, because, isn't it generally true?

Both statements are wrong, in fact you rarely hear either one.

Can you name a guy who committed to his fifth visited school?

Quite a few have done it, but if you are looking for an Illini connection, Elijah Thomas did commit to Texas A&M which was his last official (fifth) visit.

 

[Obelix]

From pretty good sources on the EJ Liddell recruitment, tOSU and Missouri are head to head and steadily ahead of the rest of the schools at this point.

 

[sacraig]

From pretty good sources on the EJ Liddell recruitment, tOSU and Missouri are head to head and steadily ahead of the rest of the schools at this point.

Between those two, that presents quite a conundrum. I don't want to play against him, which makes me inclined to root against OSU. On the other hand, I hate Mizzou, which makes me lean the other way. I guess I would probably root for OSU, grudgingly.

 

[Dbell1981]

From pretty good sources on the EJ Liddell recruitment, tOSU and Missouri are head to head and steadily ahead of the rest of the schools at this point.

Guess we should just hold on to that visit for a more likely recruit.

 

[Illinois13]

I think it's obvious it is the Illini, otherwise I wouldn't be passionate about it. Haven't you ever rooted for a team when you didn't think the head coach is right for the job? I'm a Cowboys fan too and I don't think Jason Garrett is a very good head coach. But, I'm a Cubs fan and do think Madden is a good manager and coach Q is a very good hockey coach.

Look, if this was back in the day, I would have been less negative when recruits were reading the board or Eric Gordon's dad was a poster, because I did think there was value in being positive to show the support in the fan base for the program - Nobody is ready this board now - it's obvious. This isn't the Brumby days when the Illiniboard was first getting going and we had one of the most active college hoops boards in the country.

I'm very excited to see Ayo and Frazier together - could be one of the best backcourts in the big ten. But it won't matter because we're going to get killed on the boards and in the paint because our coaching staff didn't seem to prioritize getting a big last year and they can't get a decent big man to come here this year. That is frustrating.

But, I'll stop now - Underwood is not going anywhere just like Jason Garrett is not. I just don't think Underwood has the right strategy for building the program.

Back up.

Think about what has changed since the IDWTI recruitment or anything in the past 10 years. We have Rivals and 247’s premium and free boards, Robert’s illiniboard, and several other affiliates. The recruits read twitter, reddit, facebook, discord, etc. So we push and pull info from the forums and social, and recruits catch-up and engage with it on the social end in this era.

Information sharing has evolved quite a bit.

 

[Hoppy2105]

Between those two, that presents quite a conundrum. I don't want to play against him, which makes me inclined to root against OSU. On the other hand, I hate Mizzou, which makes me lean the other way. I guess I would probably root for OSU, grudgingly.

I’d rather him go to Mizzou. I don’t want him to play for tOSU and we all know Cuonzo will most likely squander the talent he has.

 

[Obelix]

Guess we should just hold on to that visit for a more likely recruit.

I disagree. An OV always gives you a chance no matter who leads. And if Liddell is convinced for either tOSU or Mizzou after his visit there, he would likely commit before he visits Illinois, so the visit will never happen.

 

[Spoon House]

From pretty good sources on the EJ Liddell recruitment, tOSU and Missouri are head to head and steadily ahead of the rest of the schools at this point.

Not shocking news.

Rooting for tOSU on principle. Grudgingly.

 

[Berg88]

Guess we should just hold on to that visit for a more likely recruit.

I guess that's one of the good things about going last, if he makes it to us, we probably have a better chance than people are thinking currently.

 

[Deleted member 8213]

I’d rather him go to Mizzou. I don’t want him to play for tOSU and we all know Cuonzo will most likely squander the talent he has.

No. :tsk: