Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May 2019)

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#401      
Maybe would' of been better to have taken the treadmill off the Court when Holyfield made his official?
 
#402      
Clearly. On one hand I feel bad for them. On the other hand it's very discouraging that we haven't been able to lock down guys. I thought with Holyfield we were basically a lock for the tourney. Without him, it seems likely we will be riding the bubble all season. Can still make it, sure, but the margin got thinner.
True but we could of use his veteran leadership for a team look to make the tournament. Nobody on the roster ever played in it it going to be very hard but not impossible
 
#403      
I'm not sounding any alarms or going off the deep end here, but looking at 2020? We have a LOT of huge holes to fill. Once again we are spending too much staff time trying to fill the existing class. It's like deja vu all over again.
Sure I would have loved to have TJ but it is not deja vu all over again. We a 7ft large quality physical rebounding 5 in Kofi and a skilled, physical 4/5 in GB. I hope we can certainly add a physical 3/4 still. I hope Tev can develop physically and play on the perimeter too. I hope Samba can play if needed at a B10 level on offense and from the FT line. That's what concerns me. I dont expect Samba to play much unless he really improves.
I hope we can find the physical 3/4 that can rebound in the B10. Then GB can play the 5 when Kofi needs a breather. I would probably rather play small with Tev and with Samba. I hope Tev puts on some muscle if we dont find that recruit.
 
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#404      
It’s more than that. We weren’t synonymous with success in the Groce years either and our OVs seemed to have a consistently positive impact.

You can rationalize it any way you want, but a kid who has already played for Underwood taking a pass isn’t a great sign.

Nor is 1 for the last 13 OV's a great sign.
 
#405      
I don’t understand the implication that this is a “miss” which can be laid at the feet of Underwood. Underwood didn’t “miss” with him at SFA, did he ? Absent Underwood, does Holyfield even give Illinois a look ?

It seems clear to me from his announcement that the deciding factor in his decision was recent on-the-court success. Given what he walked into, Underwood has very little or nothing do with our lack of success in that regard. And as for the young man, who is, after all, looking for NCAA exposure and his future after this upcoming season, I wish him well and hope he has made what turns out to be the right choice for him. That is, after all, the most important thing.

And as for Illinois, Illinois just has to start winning, that’s all. Look at Texas Tech.
 
#406      
Samba and Tev need to step up next year - hoping Tev can channel MSG performance much more often.
I'm going to stay positive. How much have we gotten from a transfer lately? He didn't even play last year. My hope is it will give guys on the team playing time. TJ and SK will need to step up. We will need some minutes at the 4. Maybe this will get Kouma to sign.
 
#408      

illini80

Forgottonia
Sure I would have loved to have TJ but it is not deja vu all over again. We a 7ft large quality physical rebounding 5 in Kofi and a skilled, physical 4/5 in GB. I hope we can certainly add a physical 3/4 still. I hope Tev can develop physically and play on the perimeter too. I hope Samba can play if needed at a B10 level on offense and from the FT line. That's what concerns me. I dont expect Samba to play much unless he really improves.
I hope we can find the physical 3/4 that can rebound in the B10. Then GB can play the 5 when Kofi needs a breather. I would probably rather play small with Tev and with Samba. I hope Tev puts on some muscle if we dont find that recruit.
I meant deja vu in that rather than having the ability to concentrate on next years recruits we are still scrambling to fill this years roster.
 
#409      

Deleted member 643761

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I don’t understand the implication that this is a “miss” which can be laid at the feet of Underwood. Underwood didn’t “miss” with him at SFA, did he ? Absent Underwood, does Holyfield even give Illinois a look ?

It seems clear to me from his announcement that the deciding factor in his decision was recent on-the-court success. Given what he walked into, Underwood has very little or nothing do with our lack of success in that regard. And as for the young man, who is, after all, looking for NCAA exposure and his future after this upcoming season, I wish him well and hope he has made what turns out to be the right choice for him. That is, after all, the most important thing.

And as for Illinois, Illinois just has to start winning, that’s all. Look at Texas Tech.
When a coach doesn't get a guy he's recruiting it's a miss.

Rationalize it all you want but there's no getting around that fact.
 
#412      

Deleted member 569417

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And as for Illinois, Illinois just has to start winning, that’s all. Look at Texas Tech.
So, to be clear, we can't expect Illinois to close on a grad transfer, that missed all of last year with an injury, and played for Underwood previously because we aren't winning, yet the 11-21 last year, the 1 NCAA tourney appearance in 8 years Georgia Bulldogs can sign the #3 player in the nation. Memphis hasn't made a tourney in 5 years, gets the #1 overall player. Washington with 1 tourney in 8 years gets a top 10 player.

Teams that aren't "winning" sign significant players each and every year. This constant refrain that we "Just need to win" is silly.
 
#414      
Its disappointing and a big miss. You hoped the prior relationship would have carried the day. Need some breakthroughs by Jones and Nichols at SF. Need a body at PF that can hold up defensively off the bench.
 
#415      
A lot of talk about two or three players on the existing roster to make take major steps forward. in the offseason. When was the last time this has happened?
 
#416      
It’s more than that. We weren’t synonymous with success in the Groce years either and our OVs seemed to have a consistently positive impact.

You can rationalize it any way you want, but a kid who has already played for Underwood taking a pass isn’t a great sign.

I would probably disagree here. I think that a kid chose Underwood because they were a team with momentum that he believed he would impact. The same is true for Texas Tech. I think that he would be better off in a system that highlights his skills and with fewer people to compete with, but I think this decision is the same with Texas Tech as it was for SFA
 
#417      

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A lot of talk about two or three players on the existing roster to make take major steps forward. in the offseason. When was the last time this has happened?
Hill and Nunn made a significant jump between FR and SO year. Beyond that not a lot of examples in recent history.
 
#418      
It’s more than that. We weren’t synonymous with success in the Groce years either and our OVs seemed to have a consistently positive impact.

You can rationalize it any way you want, but a kid who has already played for Underwood taking a pass isn’t a great sign.
100% agree. That's a scary place to be.
 
#419      
It’s more than that. We weren’t synonymous with success in the Groce years either and our OVs seemed to have a consistently positive impact.

You can rationalize it any way you want, but a kid who has already played for Underwood taking a pass isn’t a great sign.

I can live with a kid who had played for BU before taking a pass; different time, different circumstance.

But a kid who had played for BU taking an OV and then passing, that's rough.
 
#421      

Deleted member 643761

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So, to be clear, we can't expect Illinois to close on a grad transfer, that missed all of last year with an injury, and played for Underwood previously because we aren't winning, yet the 11-21 last year, the 1 NCAA tourney appearance in 8 years Georgia Bulldogs can sign the #3 player in the nation. Memphis hasn't made a tourney in 5 years, gets the #1 overall player. Washington with 1 tourney in 8 years gets a top 10 player.

Teams that aren't "winning" sign significant players each and every year. This constant refrain that we "Just need to win" is silly.
well, it's actually not silly. winning is part of the formula for good recruiting. for Underwood, my sense has been that it's a key element because I don't think he's a natural recruiter like some.

As to "expect"ing I'd say I basically agree with you that we can still reasonably expect success at a higher level than we've shown so far.

btw, a year ago lots of people were holding up Will Wade in the same way you're talking about Georgia. so be careful.
 
#422      
When a coach doesn't get a guy he's recruiting it's a miss.

Rationalize it all you want but there's no getting around that fact.
Our team will be different because we added recruits that are physical and can rebound in Kofi and we are looking for another to go with him and GB. We wont be outmuscled anything like last year due to the addition of Kofi. Recruiting involves more than just one guy. If we are reliant on not missing on one guy we are screwed. You miss a lot more than you dont.
 
#423      
So, to be clear, we can't expect Illinois to close on a grad transfer, that missed all of last year with an injury, and played for Underwood previously because we aren't winning, yet the 11-21 last year, the 1 NCAA tourney appearance in 8 years Georgia Bulldogs can sign the #3 player in the nation. Memphis hasn't made a tourney in 5 years, gets the #1 overall player. Washington with 1 tourney in 8 years gets a top 10 player.

Teams that aren't "winning" sign significant players each and every year. This constant refrain that we "Just need to win" is silly.


Underwood and Illinois have signed Ayo, Trent and Kofi and discovered Giorgi...Those 4 are significant and most teams would welcome any of them.
 
#424      
So, to be clear, we can't expect Illinois to close on a grad transfer, that missed all of last year with an injury, and played for Underwood previously because we aren't winning, yet the 11-21 last year, the 1 NCAA tourney appearance in 8 years Georgia Bulldogs can sign the #3 player in the nation. Memphis hasn't made a tourney in 5 years, gets the #1 overall player. Washington with 1 tourney in 8 years gets a top 10 player.

Teams that aren't "winning" sign significant players each and every year. This constant refrain that we "Just need to win" is silly.

Nothing was clear about your post, not to mention it was a run on sentence...
 
#425      

Deleted member 3875

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Recent history of Final Four vs No Dance? A no brainer for TJ.
 
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