Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (February 2019)

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#551      

Deleted member 643761

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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.

LOL. Matthews actually supports my case. He signed up when Kentucky was loaded. They also had Jamal Murray in the same class. Instead of asking out of his LOI or moving on, he gave it a shot. Because when he signed with Kentucky he knew other top talent would be coming and he had confidence in his ability to be a contributor. After a year, he decided that he wanted to transfer.

No one, I mean no one, signs with Kentucky expecting that they're going to be given some sort of preferential position treatment by Cal.
 
#552      

Deleted member 649710

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Much, much lower than 50-50. I hope people are not disappointed. On the plus side, he does have NBA talent.
IIRC, January is now at his fourth school in four years, and at two of them there were periods of time when he was not playing for reasons other than injury. #redflags
 
#554      
IIRC, January is now at his fourth school in four years, and at two of them there were periods of time when he was not playing for reasons other than injury. #redflags

The one that I can't figure out is Homestead HS in Wisconsin. How the heck does a kid from L.A. end up there??:)
 
#555      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
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.

If Cal leaves, all bets are off. Anything could happen at that point.
 
#556      
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.
I don’t think the uncertainty is a problem....KW is a one and done no matter which school he goes to. There also is not much uncertainty with Illinois next year Ayo will declare for the draft but will be back for his sophomore season at Illinois. Trent Ayo KW Giorgi Kofi...that’s a helluva line up.
 
#557      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
I don’t think the uncertainty is a problem....KW is a one and done no matter which school he goes to. There also is not much uncertainty with Illinois next year Ayo will declare for the draft but will be back for his sophomore season at Illinois. Trent Ayo KW Giorgi Kofi...that’s a helluva line up.


I agree, but is it enough to pull him away from Cal’s slimy grasp?
 
#560      

sacraig

The desert
Curie (29-1) defeats MPHS 65-60 in CPS Championship game. Curie is lead by Kansas State recruit, DeJuan Gordon.

giphy.gif
 
#561      

sacraig

The desert
Why would Cal leave? He make more than all but 3 NBA coaches. He has a ton of stability at UK. Why risk that and maybe fail in the NBA?

If he left for, say, Los Angeles, then he will still get a raise. What he makes now compared to most NBA coaches is meaningless if he still gets more (and he would).

Also, I don't think you can discount the potential effect of the corruption investigation into the heart of NCAA basketball. We all know that there is a lot of shady stuff going on behind the scenes and (most likely) every major program. Cal knows this probably better than anyone. If he sees the corruption investigation as a potential threat to business as usual, then it might also make the NBA look like greener pastures in the future, even if it doesn't look that way based on the status quo. This is conjecture, of course.
 
#563      
Why would Cal leave? He make more than all but 3 NBA coaches. He has a ton of stability at UK. Why risk that and maybe fail in the NBA?


Ego. Coaching LeBron and possibly AD in LaLa Land with celebrities court side and celebrities seems like a perfect way to go out for Cal
 
#566      
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.

I have been hearing some legitimate rumblings that Cal may not even be at UK next year...

If that holds true that changes everything.
 
#567      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
Any player good enough to go pro will get his minutes.

LOL. Matthews actually supports my case. He signed up when Kentucky was loaded. They also had Jamal Murray in the same class. Instead of asking out of his LOI or moving on, he gave it a shot. Because when he signed with Kentucky he knew other top talent would be coming and he had confidence in his ability to be a contributor. After a year, he decided that he wanted to transfer.

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

Matthews is likely going to get drafted after this year or next year, so he qualifies your statement. He also only got 10 mins/game as a freshman and averaged 1.7 pts/game. He didn't "get his minutes."

I'm not saying Matthews and Whitney are at the same level. Whitney is the 7th best recruit in the country right now and will be a 1AD. Matthews was a top 10 recruit as a sophomore/junior, but fell off a little his senior year. My point is that just because you're NBA-quality, doesn't mean you automatically get tick at UK. Whitney has to take all of this into consideration.
 
#569      

sacraig

The desert
"Any player good enough to go pro will get his minutes."

Matthews is likely going to get drafted after this year or next year, so he qualifies your statement. He also only got 10 mins/game as a freshman and averaged 1.7 pts/game. He didn't "get his minutes."

I'm not saying Matthews and Whitney are at the same level. Whitney is the 7th best recruit in the country right now and will be a 1AD. Matthews was a top 10 recruit as a sophomore/junior, but fell off a little his senior year. My point is that just because you're NBA-quality, doesn't mean you automatically get tick at UK. Whitney has to take all of this into consideration.

Further, even if a guy like Whitney was the top player in his class, he still may not want to have someone right next to him on the team that is nearly as good in the same class. I get that great players generally want to play with great players, but they also sometimes have egos and want to stand out a little more than that. Maybe, if you are the number 7 player with a little bit of an ego, then having the number 20 player who also plays your position in the same class might feel like it diminishes your contribution or stature on the team. That might be an important concept for some recruits.

I am not saying this describes Whitney. I don't know the guy and have no insight into his psyche. What I do know is that everybody assesses their own self-worth differently, and acting like all top recruits fit neatly into the same little box is clearly wrong.
 
#570      

ILL in IA

Iowa City
Since I know the Bulls have no chance to get Anthony Davis, I really hope he ends up with the Lakers. LeBron and AD and a Luke Walton canning would be the perfect storm to lure Cal out to LA.

KW needs to just hold off on signing that LOI. Keep all the options on the table for as long as possible.
 
#571      
There is a reason why KW didn't sign when if you were 100% committed, there would be no reason why you wouldn't sign. That means he is leaving himself outs. Whether it's for competition (which I agree with previous poster that you know you're playing with the best and can't be afraid of that at UK) or if he knew about Cal possibility of going to the NBA, he was trying to remain flexible in some way. Either way, I'm hoping that the staff has kept the lines of communication open with him and if there ever is an opportunity, they are well poised to take advantage. Ayo could be a huge sell after seeing the NBA attention he is getting. 1-2-3 punch and scouts galore! Salivating at the dream
 
#573      
For whom?

And, most importantly, how does it impact us? Speculations accepted.

Thanks.

[If Cal is not at UK next year] Likely will see Whitney de-commit.

As well as many other current players and recruits become available depending on coach they hire.

UK is a top 5 job no question, and there candidate list would be huge but trying to build a relationship with this class and sell them would be difficult depending on the coach.

Whitney knows what he is getting at Illinois.
 
#574      

Deleted member 643761

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Further, even if a guy like Whitney was the top player in his class, he still may not want to have someone right next to him on the team that is nearly as good in the same class. I get that great players generally want to play with great players, but they also sometimes have egos and want to stand out a little more than that. Maybe, if you are the number 7 player with a little bit of an ego, then having the number 20 player who also plays your position in the same class might feel like it diminishes your contribution or stature on the team. That might be an important concept for some recruits.

I am not saying this describes Whitney. I don't know the guy and have no insight into his psyche. What I do know is that everybody assesses their own self-worth differently, and acting like all top recruits fit neatly into the same little box is clearly wrong.
Actually we do have some insight into his psyche. He committed to play for a school where he had the toughest time getting minutes.
 
#575      

sacraig

The desert
Actually we do have some insight into his psyche. He committed to play for a school where he had the toughest time getting minutes.

I disagree that this tells us a whole lot. Most prospects jump at the chance to play for UK if Cal really goes and tries to get them, it seems. We would learn a lot more about his psyche if UK successfully recruits over (or slightly under) him and his resulting decision. Again, I don't have any special insight here, but I just don't think it's very telling that a top prospect wants to play at a top program absent any special circumstances.
 
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