Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April-June 2016)

[OWWDig]

Apparently a lot missed this team play last year. Rebound better and this team wins more games. Will Moore bring more wins to this team than a rebounder and big man? Not even close to that at all.

Apparently a lot missed this team play last year, but I'm tired of seeing the Illini play 4 on 5 because teams do not have to cover our PGs that cannot shoot or drive the lane with regularity.

No doubt, we need bigs, but don't underestimate the effect that making the other team actually cover 5 guys can have on rebounding and winning.

 

[coltjames03]

Apparently a lot missed this team play last year, but I'm tired of seeing the Illini play 4 on 5 because teams do not have to cover our PGs that cannot shoot or drive the lane with regularity.

No doubt, we need bigs, but don't underestimate the effect that making the other team actually cover 5 guys can have on rebounding and winning.

Have you seen Lucas play? Seriously it's not hard to see that they will have to cover 5 guys with Lucas as well. It's not really that hard to comprehend.

 

[frozenrope9190]

Whether Nebraska performed well as a team is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Watson would've been a HUGE upgrade from Lewis and Tate last year. We have desperately needed steady point guard play and not going after the Watson's of the world has been a dagger to the program.

It's not like Groce was satisfied with Lewis and Tate or that's what he sought out. He went after the big fish (Evans, Brunson) and nearly landed one of them. I don't knock Groce for going after bigger fish than Watson. If we would have 'settled' for Watson, there would have been blowback as well. Would it have made enough of a difference to make the dance and avoid last year's train wreck? Not sure.

Obviously Groce understood his predicament and picked up TJL this year and didn't wait for a bigger fish like Moore. But Watson was last year. Over and done. And it's OK. This isn't going to be a constant dagger to the program that we didn't go after him.

 

[ILLtilIdie]

Have you seen Lucas play? Seriously it's not hard to see that they will have to cover 5 guys with Lucas as well. It's not really that hard to comprehend.

^^^ This guy gets it. TJL is not going to come in and save our team (neither would adding Moore I should add), but he should be good enough to be better than what we had at the position last year. That alone (not including anything TA can give us at this point) should be pretty noticeable next year.

 

[OWWDig]

Have you seen Lucas play? Seriously it's not hard to see that they will have to cover 5 guys with Lucas as well. It's not really that hard to comprehend.

So you're counting on a freshman coming off a major injury to play 40 minutes and lead this team to where we want it to be next March?

And don't give me no - Tate or Abrams coming off 2 major injuries.

Groce's system needs PGs and our cupboard is pretty bare. It's really not that hard to comprehend.

 

[ILLtilIdie]

So you're counting on a freshman coming off a major injury to play 40 minutes and lead this team to where we want it to be next March?

And don't give me no - Tate or Abrams coming off 2 major injuries.

Groce's system needs PGs and our cupboard is pretty bare. It's really not that hard to comprehend.

Tate did double his career 3 point totals last year so there is some hope

 

[coltjames03]

So you're counting on a freshman coming off a major injury to play 40 minutes and lead this team to where we want it to be next March?

And don't give me no - Tate or Abrams coming off 2 major injuries.

Groce's system needs PGs and our cupboard is pretty bare. It's really not that hard to comprehend.

So your counting on a freshman coming from a major hype machine who shot his team out of games as well and in games. Didn't make his team better. Moore isn't a must have and is nowhere near it. Moore is good but he isn't as great as he is being said to be. He is nowhere near talented as Brunson and if Goodwin played in Chicago he would of been Mr Basketball.

 

[coltjames03]

^^^ This guy gets it. TJL is not going to come in and save our team (neither would adding Moore I should add), but he should be good enough to be better than what we had at the position last year. That alone (not including anything TA can give us at this point) should be pretty noticeable next year.

Oh come on now everybody wants the Hype train like Lovett was and so on and so forth. I don't even think Moore is as good as Lucas is all around. I don't even believe Moore is a better shooter than Licas but when you shoot a ton then I guess your ppg looks good

 

[Newman]

Oh come on now everybody wants the Hype train like Lovett was and so on and so forth. I don't even think Moore is as good as Lucas is all around. I don't even believe Moore is a better shooter than Lucas but when you shoot a ton then I guess your ppg looks good

This criticism was probably fair during his junior year, when he was getting used to playing off the ball with Lovett, but Moore has proved that he's a really good player. He does makes others around him better, and he is a better shooter. I think your criticism is a little outdated.

 

[OWWDig]

So your counting on a freshman coming from a major hype machine who shot his team out of games as well and in games. Didn't make his team better. Moore isn't a must have and is nowhere near it. Moore is good but he isn't as great as he is being said to be. He is nowhere near talented as Brunson and if Goodwin played in Chicago he would of been Mr Basketball.

Holy grammar...

No, I get the situation, but like I said: I'm tired of watching a team with NO PG options/depth. I'm not saying he's a Brunson - and I watched Jalen up close. I'm saying we need to get better at PG. I'm a fan of Lucas and I want him to succeed, but we need both bigs and PGs.

 

[Deleted member 554798]

Checks Illinois Loyalty to see there are four new pages since this morning. Quickly learns the same people are talking about the same things. Excitement of something new evaporates quickly! Ugh

 

[coltjames03]

This criticism was probably fair during his junior year, when he was getting used to playing off the ball with Lovett, but Moore has proved that he's a really good player. He does makes others around him better, and he is a better shooter. I think your criticism is a little outdated.

I think to many are falling for the hype. Nowhere did I say he wasn't I said I don't believe he is better all around than Lucas. People look at rankings and I don't care what voters think because no way was he better than Goodwin.

 

[Greensboro]

This is bit of a tallest midget contest...we were bottom of the B1G ten level bad at both pg & big last year. CM would help, I expect he would most likely be starter in 2017. We badly need all of our bigs back + find another one to give us some depth for bad things & ideally a head start to fill need for a big in 2017. We really need to improve at both positions and have a lot of risks at both.

 

[coltjames03]

Holy grammar...

No, I get the situation, but like I said: I'm tired of watching a team with NO PG options/depth. I'm not saying he's a Brunson - and I watched Jalen up close. I'm saying we need to get better at PG. I'm a fan of Lucas and I want him to succeed, but we need both bigs and PGs.

I hate trying to do this all from my phone but grammar is what it is. I can't argue that we don't need to get better at PG but we have the offense for the most part. Sure Moore would be nice but I think as a freshman Lucas will be just as good as a freshman Moore. Until everything is figured out with Black and Thorne what would be more important. With only one scholarship at this time you are risking on losing out on all possible bigs.

 

[IlliniOX08]

Ding-ding-ding.

As others have noted, no need to drum up interest in Moore. Just SOP for the Irvins. It won't surprise me if Groce joins the derby, but if it's anything more than kabuki-mode, I'll be surprised.

There will be interest in Moore. There already is. But, is that interest from the same wells that the Irvins like to draw from? Right now it's unclear what the level of that interest will be and if that interest will include the $$ game.

As you mentioned.. SOP for the Irvins though. It's tiresome.

 

[combes]

If Moore really liked Pastner, isn't it pretty likely he goes to Georgia Tech?

Irvin uses the opportunity to hype his program a bit more.

 

[Illinijose]

I'm going to trust the staff on their decision with Moore, they know the personalities involved (Moore, TJL, Irvins). They also know who else is close to committing.

One of the posters who I trust with information had mentioned that Moore was not happy with his Memphis decision about two months ago and there was regret that he didn't commit to Illinois. The first part has proven true, not sure about the second part.

Would not blame Groce for not pursuing, as Moore and TJL play the same position but have a similar body style. I think TJL is more of the facilitator and can provide offense as well. I prefer a big than go after Moore. The Irvin's also think that Illinois is the flagship on the planet Bull$h!7, I'm tired of being involved in their games.

 

[coltjames03]

If Moore really liked Pastner, isn't it pretty likely he goes to Georgia Tech?

Irvin uses the opportunity to hype his program a bit more.

That's another thing that makes me less interested in Moore. Irvin is a hype machine and really isn't that great of a coach. I don't trust the Irvin's and not sure if it's even worth it. Don't even know if he will play this legit or have some handlers involved. The day the Irvin's are done will be a good day in Chicago

 

[Greensboro]

I can't argue that we don't need to get better at PG but we have the offense for the most part. Sure Moore would be nice but I think as a freshman Lucas will be just as good as a freshman Moore. Until everything is figured out with Black and Thorne what would be more important. With only one scholarship at this time you are risking on losing out on all possible bigs.

We technically don't have a scholarship today if Thorne is back.
http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=1196088&postcount=140

Thorne is a risk for waiver & recovery/re-injury risk but you need to recruit a 5th yr to replace him & hope that NCAA waiver decision is in time to make that call.

Groce should have some idea of how this turns out for Black/Tate/Nunn, from buzz it looks like they have laid the groundwork to some/all back. But if these scholarships are unfilled, it is on Groce, he gets paid a lot of money to make these decisions.

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

On the whole Charlie situation. If you are Groce and company you call Tejon and ask him if it is okay maybe sell the whole two point guard thing. If Tejon is okay then you recruit the heck out of Charlie.

They want a true PG in '17 and Charlie is Better than Gilyard. So go after him.

Unless there were specific guarantees made during the recruitment which I highly doubt (and hope there wasn't), Groce better not ask permission if he can do what he thinks is best for the program. The problem with complaining about how other, currently more successful programs conduct their legal if morally questionable practices (i.e. recruiting over) is that you paint yourself in a corner when the opportunity is presented to you.

If Groce feels that CM fits into what he's trying to do than he should share that with the team (and recruits) and go all out.

 

[Illinijose]

"Tilmon's injury was freakish. Kinda reminds me of Adam Wainwright's Achilles injury last season. Normal movement, yet went down surprisingly."

Freakish?? Tilmon had his arm pinned/held by a 6-9 player who pulled and turned. Dangerous play, could of caused elbow and/or muscle tear as well.

 

[CrazedUIFan]

I didn't read all of this thread regarding Moore, but I trust that the staff will do what's best for the team. I am just guessing here, but we may not have Tate and/or Nunn for next year so it's possible they would take a serious look at Moore and try to gauge where he is with Illinois. I've said this before, but we cannot rely on Abrams to be a huge contributor. I hope he can, but considering his situation, I am not jumping on that train.

 

[jrichisamazing]

So you're counting on a freshman coming off a major injury to play 40 minutes and lead this team to where we want it to be next March?

And don't give me no - Tate or Abrams coming off 2 major injuries.

Groce's system needs PGs and our cupboard is pretty bare. It's really not that hard to comprehend.

The cupboard is far from bare. Injuries are part of the game. There is no reason to think that Abrams and Lucas don't make full recoveries. We have Lucas and Abrams next year, then Lucas and Williams for the next 3.

I would take Moore in a heartbeat, but why would he come here when playing time will be tough? There is a reason most schools only have 2 PG's. PG recruits want the reigns from day 1.

 

[coltjames03]

We technically don't have a scholarship today if Thorne is back.
http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=1196088&postcount=140

Thorne is a risk for waiver & recovery/re-injury risk but you need to recruit a 5th yr to replace him & hope that NCAA waiver decision is in time to make that call.

Groce should have some idea of how this turns out for Black/Tate/Nunn, from buzz it looks like they have laid the groundwork to some/all back. But if these scholarships are unfilled, it is on Groce, he gets paid a lot of money to make these decisions.

Yeah I didn't pay much attention to that. My fault I forgot that Thorne wasn't on there at all. That's basically what I was saying cause if Thorne is back and lose nobody then we should be ok with Lucas coming. If we lose Thorne then not sure if taking Moore and not a Big is a good idea at all. Don't believe even if back Black can stay out of foul trouble. Don't believe Mav and Finke will be able to get the boards much better than this year or play defense inside. I agree it's on Groce but all I want to see is this team win again

 

[Greensboro]

If Moore really liked Pastner, isn't it pretty likely he goes to Georgia Tech?

Irvin uses the opportunity to hype his program a bit more.

Makes some sense if he really liked Pastner that much, but not sure how much he loves Pastner vs. getting late in the recruiting cycle and it was his last-best offer. It took him a long time to decide, then the issues popped up that delayed his decision and it seemed some schools got tired or couldn't afford to wait and started to drop off.