When it stops being the only possible reason one of the kids might choose U of I over Kansas or Duke or UNC or MSU or Kentucky. We need to have some on court success and I am convinced that is going to have to be done without the big name recruits. I know we are all Illinois fans but these kids don't care about going to the state school. They don't want to play in the CBI tournament. They want final fours. I won't blame Tilmon or Goodwin when they commit elsewhere. If Groce gets them I will gladly eat my words but he hasn't done anything to lend credence to the only sales pitch he can make, turning around Illinois basketball. He has had several years and the results speak for themselves. If you were the coach of MSU or Kansas or Kentucky or Duke how easy would it be to sell your school and negative recruit against Illinois?
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April-June 2016)
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When it stops being the only possible reason one of the kids might choose U of I over Kansas or Duke or UNC or MSU or Kentucky. We need to have some on court success and I am convinced that is going to have to be done without the big name recruits. I know we are all Illinois fans but these kids don't care about going to the state school. They don't want to play in the CBI tournament. They want final fours. I won't blame Tilmon or Goodwin when they commit elsewhere. If Groce gets them I will gladly eat my words but he hasn't done anything to lend credence to the only sales pitch he can make, turning around Illinois basketball. He has had several years and the results speak for themselves. If you were the coach of MSU or Kansas or Kentucky or Duke how easy would it be to sell your school and negative recruit against Illinois?
Maybe when we start compensating players like "blue bloods" because then we wont have to
Illinois just got a CB for Tilmon from a Duke Insider, not that it means much but interesting.
Until we get one or more superstars that other kids want to follow, competing with us is like fish in a barrel
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Alex Roux @aroux94 6h6 hours ago
A little background on Miller from the Peoria Journal-Star:http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20160604/reynolds-adam-miller-next-guard-up-at-manual …
Alex Roux @aroux94 6h6 hours ago
A little background on Miller from the Peoria Journal-Star:http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20160604/reynolds-adam-miller-next-guard-up-at-manual …
illynifan34
That's a winner!!
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Tilmon will not pick Illinois because he is afraid of the other players at Kansas.
Stansbury about to get buried. He picked up Mitchell Robinson today, top 15 player in the nation
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It's not that much of a concern at all. He sees who Kansas has sent to the league, and that has piqued his interest. His and his moms relationship with Groce is what is keeping Illinois in it.
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Yep. Everywhere he goes he leaves a trail of slime. He's more slimy than Calipari as far as I'm concerned
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And there we have the final form of nut punch that one could suffer. When a mid-major coach turns you down, goes to another school of similar (or lesser) pedigree and then poaches two kids in the same class from your backyard and over actual blue bloods to boot. If this happens I quit.
Just glancing on YouTube and found a Javon Pickett highlight video from 2 months ago. He's filled out a little and looks more explosive than I remember. I feel like he's underrated nationally - should probably be ranked in the top 150. Playing at a lower AAU level limits his exposure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--zHMO8pxbU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--zHMO8pxbU
I see that and think a RS would do him well, just looks raw and will need time to adjust to bigger, stronger, faster players.
I agree. Prime redshirt candidate. I think he could be a big contributor as an upperclassman. Great length, good motor, and some offensive tools. Glad he's on board.
Clearly that piques his interest. He has some legitimate NBA potential and that makes sense. But I don't think he's brimming with quite as much potential as say a Chiek Diallo who didn't get a ton of minutes off the bench at Kansas, but still passed the eye test well enough to be drafted early in the 2nd round. I think if Tilmon wants to be a future 1st round pick, he's going to need to show some production and I'm not so sure going up against that kind of competition is in his best interest. A knock on Tilmon has been his motor/consistency and a limited role could hinder that.
I see him as a really good 6th man as an uppergrad, he won't be the star but when you need a spark you put him in.
Going up against the best competition isn't in ones best interest? Never heard that one before. First time for everything
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If going up against that competition lands you on the bench then maybe it's not necessarily in his best interest, no. Tilmon could have every opportunity to show what he can do against big10 competition any given night.
Not disagreeing with that cause its true, but looking at it from a big man standpoint, why would a big man chose Illinois over Kansas?
IMO, Tilmon is probably a 2-3 year player anyways.
You didn't warn us that this was a Gymratinsider video.
better education for starters and riding the bench behind hired guns at KU gives NBA scouts less to work with than watching a player compete in the Big10 against NBA level competition
if I were a scout i would much prefer to see my prospects on the floor against high level competition consistently in game environment ..more complete body of work
Regardless of the hows and whys around this commitment, if this kid is successful and winds up as a 1-and-done, it's good for Illinois and all of the other non-blue bloods. It would be more supporting evidence in the "If you're a 5-star talent, it doesn't matter where you go." argument.
Im sure hoping Groce can answer that question better than I can...but I'd hope it's something along the lines of a player like Tilmon truly believing he has what it takes to be that guy despite a programs reputation. Who knows. Maybe he just wants to be an Illini. Wishful thinking.
Self didn't do anything to develop Cliff Alexander. While Cliff and Jeremiah are different players, both have one thing in common: their only path to the NBA is to be a 4 that can rebound, defend the post if necessary and stretch the floor with a decent outside shot and have the ability to put it on the floor when necessary. Neither will make it in the NBA living under the basket. Cliff didn't develop those skills at KU, and thus he got drafted in the 2nd round and is struggling thus far.
Hopefully, Groce is selling JT on developing him into a compete basketball player that can make millions playing professionally in the NBA. at 6'9", Tilmon is not a 5 in the NBA except in the occasional small line-up where he will be asked to defend the post. A skill he can develop at Illinois since we won't have many of those here his Freshman year.
I should add that Groce's offense could be a plus for Tilmon as he will be asked to pick and pop, roll, or catch and dribble -drive off the pick quite often. The exact skills he will need for the NBA.
Hopefully, Groce is selling JT on developing him into a compete basketball player that can make millions playing professionally in the NBA. at 6'9", Tilmon is not a 5 in the NBA except in the occasional small line-up where he will be asked to defend the post. A skill he can develop at Illinois since we won't have many of those here his Freshman year.
I should add that Groce's offense could be a plus for Tilmon as he will be asked to pick and pop, roll, or catch and dribble -drive off the pick quite often. The exact skills he will need for the NBA.
Actually Cliff didn't even get drafted. Further going with the point that getting stuck on the bench may not be the best for him. Cliff was expected to be a lottery pick going into his freshman year.
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