Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (September 2018)
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Good post, but a few clarifications. There are hundreds of AAU team across the US, but what many posters/fans consider AAU (with all the negative connotations) is the top-50 or top-75 showcase shoe sponsored programs. Many of "other" AAU programs focus on development of skills, thus it is important to find the correct program fit.
Once kids get into the recruiting zone (really some sophomores and beyond) and are candidates for Div. I scholarship, they have to play for one of the showcase programs. Given current recruiting dynamics, it is difficult for coaches to attend ALL AAU events, so they prefer the high end showcase events where they can see multiple (high) ranked players at the same time. Unfortunately, this is something that is difficult to change.
Some highly ranked players do focus on development of their skills, often working out with a skills coach, or even practicing regularly with "other" AAU teams in parallel to playing for a showcase AAU team. But quite a few do fall into the trap that you mention of just playing on showcase AAU teams that, by default, spend less time on skills development. They do some development, but the focus of those programs is to assemble competitive teams that can participate on the higher end tournaments (e.g., Peach Jam, etc.) often with players from multiple states/locations who rarely practice together.
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If that is the reason for TS's mechanics, there is a good chance of improvement imo. He has an NBA frame--if he becomes a highly skilled shooter I would say he makes it to the NBA.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
1:29 is pretty good. The Illini have needed some players with a chip on their shoulder for a few years now...hope we see some more swag and cockiness on the court this year. One of the UI recruit highlight videos had me pretty excited this past year, but can't remember the player. Does Higgs beat down his dunks like the rim owes him money?
That last line...seems like some unabashed pandering to a high school kid but maybe that's just me.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
I really hope Ayo and Shannon are tight, and their MIF connection helps Shannon have a really good weekend, leading the other 2 recruits to have a good time this weekend, leading to 3 verbals which help UI get that national championship 2-3 years down the road.
sacraig
- The desert
sacraig
- The desert
Serious question: Is this allowed under recruiting rules?
Shannon is all but done imo. EJ is one we have to hope for. He will help with others we are after.
And if you want to know why kids do this, consider that Terrence Shannon dominated for his entire high school season at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, not exactly a "hidden" place, and had no D1 offers to show for it. He goes to a couple of tournaments with the Mac Irvin Fire and a plethora of major conference schools are all over him.
The AAU hype machine works.
Full disclosure--Legally I don't know. And I guess with the NCAA speculation about what makes sense and doesn't should be thrown out the window but...
Why not? Are kids not supposed to want good players on their teams? All Ayo was asking for was showing love to those guys, whatever you wanna interpret that as.
I don't think players talking about recruits is against any rules. I can't imagine it is. How do 300+ teams deal with 10+ kids each not saying a word about recruits on twitter.
Heck, I'd even say if Ayo wanted to buy them all lunch it would be in accordance. Why should the NCAA dictate what a player says or does with a recruit, as long as it's kosher. Maybe that caveat is why those things aren't legal (again, I'm just speculating), but it seems too authoritarian, even for the NCAA.
The Dave
- CA
Showing love? I think it's technically allowed, but the NCAA frowns upon it.
Now if you're Louisville, well, they take it too far
sacraig
- The desert
Right, but I thought the names of unsigned recruits weren't allowed to be mentioned by the teams publicly. I mean, there are all sorts of esoteric rules like that and I won't even pretend to understand them.
Technically he only mentioned their twitter handles not names.
FIFY
I think the staff can say they are recruiting a player by name, but nothing else.
Kids looks pretty jacked...I hope whomever designed OA shirt is NOT in charge of uniform redesigns!!
Interesting question, a tough one. Social media NCAA rules are wishy-washy on the subject but I found the following document from Stanford regarding NCAA violations on social media.
https://stanford_ftp.sidearmsports.com/Compliance/SocialMediaTipsheet.pdf
According to this document, it may be a minor violation but not explicitly.
- A current student-athlete may communicate with prospects via social media as long as the communication is not at the direction of a coach/staff member and is not related to the prospect’s recruitment."
- We cannot communicate publicly with any prospects or their relatives (e.g., posts to prospect’s Twitter page or Facebook wall, Facebook “Likes”, Twitter “Favorites”, public chat rooms, re-tweeting a prospect’s tweet, or posting any other message to a prospect that is accessible to other users).
I'm assuming the "We" in the second bullet point refers to the coaches/staff, and not players. Otherwise, those two points seem pretty contradictory. Secondly, that underlined portion is probably the most important. Technically, Ayo can just say that he's friends with those guys and wants his followers to show them love. He didn't say "show them love so that they come to Illinois."
Very gray area, but that is where recruiting lives.
t7nich
- Central IL
Ayo changed his shot before he got to Champaign. It looks much better. How effective is it these days, that I can't say.
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