Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (February 2019)

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#527      
BU and staff have multiple bigs in the fire. This is one of the reasons there was a coaching change. Too many times we got involved with Jucos that didn't pan out or hs pgs/centers that decided to play elsewhere.
 
#528      

jmilt7

Waukegan
Indy Illini Fan said:
Damari Monsanto Final 2 of Illinois and East Tennessee State.

He is taking an OV to ETSU March 1st-3rd.



A little more on Monsanto from "Writing Illini" by Rees Woodcock. I know many, if not most, don't much care for this writer so I will glean a few items from the article that I think were most important so you don't have to actually read the article.

"Monsanto is a 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard from Western High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 316 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 55 shooting guard in the nation. He is also the No. 20 player in the state of Florida as well."

"Monsanto has a decent amount of scholarship offers and some are from big programs. Some of the teams to have an interest in him, besides for Illinois, include Kansas State and Memphis. So, there is definitely something there as far as talent goes."

"He has the ability to be aggressive to the rim as well.

Monsanto had a good summer in 2018 playing for Team Breakdown of the Under Armour AAU league. He finished the summer averaging 13.9 points per game, and his best game was a 21-point performance. He also shot 37.4-percent from the field, which isn’t great, but was 39-percent from three-point land, which is a good number. He also pulled down 4.6 rebounds per game as well."

Actually, there isn't much more left of the article than what I just posted.
 
#529      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Much, much lower than 50-50. I hope people are not disappointed. On the plus side, he does have NBA talent.

That last sentence (of mine) was pure levity. I sincerely hope January qualifies, as there's a good chance he'll be an impact player.
 
#530      
A little more on Monsanto from "Writing Illini" by Rees Woodcock. I know many, if not most, don't much care for this writer so I will glean a few items from the article that I think were most important so you don't have to actually read the article.

"Monsanto is a 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard from Western High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 316 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 55 shooting guard in the nation. He is also the No. 20 player in the state of Florida as well."

"Monsanto has a decent amount of scholarship offers and some are from big programs. Some of the teams to have an interest in him, besides for Illinois, include Kansas State and Memphis. So, there is definitely something there as far as talent goes."

"He has the ability to be aggressive to the rim as well.

Monsanto had a good summer in 2018 playing for Team Breakdown of the Under Armour AAU league. He finished the summer averaging 13.9 points per game, and his best game was a 21-point performance. He also shot 37.4-percent from the field, which isn’t great, but was 39-percent from three-point land, which is a good number. He also pulled down 4.6 rebounds per game as well."

Actually, there isn't much more left of the article than what I just posted.

Really think he is a fall back plan, and not a bad one either.
 
#534      
I thought the news coming out after his OV is that they were much more optimistic that he would make it.

I have no information either way, but the two are not mutually exclusive. It is entirely possible that they are more confident about getting him in post OV, while still not expecting him to be admitted.
 
#535      
Can someone explain what is going on with Antwan January? What does "qualify" mean? Academically? I don't know very much about him.
 
#536      
I like January's game, I feel he can be a counter to athletic 6-8 to 6-10 bigs. Felt he was a good get after losing on EJ Liddel. But I'm not sure we will see him in an Illini uniform.
 
#537      
Forget qualifying...I'm more worried about why he isn't playing basketball right now. We haven't heard anything about games or stats in a long time.
 
#538      
Whitney update:

I have heard that we should hear a Keion Brooks decision sooner rather than later, likely by the end of the month.

Brooks visited UK for the Tennessee game and cancelled his MSU visit. Have heard it will come down to UK, IU, or UNC and not many people know who it will be.

This could definitely have an effect on Whitney if he chooses UK and we will just have to wait and see how this plays out.
 
#539      
Whitney update:

I have heard that we should hear a Keion Brooks decision sooner rather than later, likely by the end of the month.

Brooks visited UK for the Tennessee game and cancelled his MSU visit. Have heard it will come down to UK, IU, or UNC and not many people know who it will be.

This could definitely have an effect on Whitney if he chooses UK and we will just have to wait and see how this plays out.


Last 3 CB's today all went UK way.
 
#540      

illini80

Forgottonia
Can someone explain what is going on with Antwan January? What does "qualify" mean? Academically? I don't know very much about him.
He has bounced around a number of different schools. IIRC he hasn’t had much of a home life. Due to all the movement, last I heard he wasn’t eligible to play for his current high school team and was just working out on his own. That’s been a while now. The staff believes they can get him qualified. Most think it’s a bit of long shot, but worth taking.
 
#541      
He has bounced around a number of different schools. IIRC he hasn’t had much of a home life. Due to all the movement, last I heard he wasn’t eligible to play for his current high school team and was just working out on his own. That’s been a while now. The staff believes they can get him qualified. Most think it’s a bit of long shot, but worth taking.


80, this is a good synopsis. This is not a UI admissions issue as many have tried to make it. It is clearly an NCAA issue and has been since they denied him after his "senior" year. Many have been admitted but not clearly to play. There will be many appeals, potentially going all the way into fall. Think of these cases: Q. Watkins, J.Lyle, M. LoVett, and most recently, Samba Kane (eventually cleared). Boy I hope we can pull this off, because Antwan has a great upside.
 
#542      
Did we ever officially go after Marcus Liberty’s nephew Javon Freeman? He’s having a stellar freshman season for Valparaiso in the Valley.
 
#543      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
Whitney update:

I have heard that we should hear a Keion Brooks decision sooner rather than later, likely by the end of the month.

Brooks visited UK for the Tennessee game and cancelled his MSU visit. Have heard it will come down to UK, IU, or UNC and not many people know who it will be.

This could definitely have an effect on Whitney if he chooses UK and we will just have to wait and see how this plays out.

Unfortunately, I still don’t see KW coming here even IF everything breaks our way and KW feels slighted with Brooks still being recruited.

But hey, I’d love to be wrong.
 
#545      
I would not be shocked to hear the staff or (a) staff has informed Antwan to work on qualifying and grades in order to actually play somewhere next year instead of trying to play this year....study to get in, then worry about getting back to the game.


Doubtful
 
#546      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
Can I ask why?

If it comes to pass that KW does get pissed at Cal for recruiting Brooks, he will have a decision to make.

He will either leave his dream school (from what we’ve heard) with a favorable national championship chance for a school with a close friend (if he doesn’t go pro), a little momentum, but much more uncertainty.

OR

He will realize that losing his chance to play at UK because Cal did what Cal does is not something he wants to fall on his sword over.

When the decision time comes, I just don’t see him giving up his chance at UK or walking into Cal’s office and saying “I’m out.”

Again, I’d LOVE to be wrong.
 
#547      

Deleted member 643761

D
Guest
If it comes to pass that KW does get pissed at Cal for recruiting Brooks, he will have a decision to make.

He will either leave his dream school (from what we’ve heard) with a favorable national championship chance for a school with a close friend (if he doesn’t go pro), a little momentum, but much more uncertainty.

OR

He will realize that losing his chance to play at UK because Cal did what Cal does is not something he wants to fall on his sword over.

When the decision time comes, I just don’t see him giving up his chance at UK or walking into Cal’s office and saying “I’m out.”

Again, I’d LOVE to be wrong.
Guys who sign with kentucky know that Cal is going to bring in other top recruits. That's part of the reason they go there.

Any player good enough to go pro will get his minutes.
 
#548      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
Guys who sign with kentucky know that Cal is going to bring in other top recruits. That's part of the reason they go there.

Any player good enough to go pro will get his minutes.
Not necessarily. See: Charles Matthews

@Hoppy2105: "He will either leave his dream school (from what we’ve heard) with a favorable national championship chance for a school with a close friend (if he doesn’t go pro), a little momentum, but much more uncertainty."

I just don't know if this is his mindset if he's trying to be one-and-done. If he sees a few guys stay at UK after this year and sees another group of guys come in with whom he's going to have to compete for a spot, as much as he believes in his skills, why not seriously consider going somewhere that he's guaranteed a lot of minutes and visibility to showcase his skills for NBA scouts. Trust me, I get the other side of the argument, but I just think he would seriously consider saying "I'm out," especially if Calipari bolts for the NBA.
 
#549      
Don't forget Whitney has his hair done by Ayo's Mom when he's home. :)
 
#550      
Curie (29-1) defeats MPHS 65-60 in CPS Championship game. Curie is lead by Kansas State recruit, DeJuan Gordon.
 
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