Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (July-August 2016)

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#1,376      

UofIChE06

U
Pittsburgh
UofIChE06
Mojoman said:
Augie was #78 RSCI.
We would kill to bring in another big at that level to go with Tilmon.
And yeah- he was a stud.
But it kind of confirms my point- you are better off with as many Top 100 guys as you can get.
Some really take off. Many play to their ranking, and some bomb out.

As you go down the list, more just do not make any real impact.
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Like I said before.. if they reel in Goodwin, which most think will happen, UI will be able to put out 4 players that are Top 50 caliber players in Leron, Tilmon, Goodwin, and JCL. So I don't really get the argument about a bunch of 150 plus players. If you expect a full roster of Top 50 talent you are sadly mistaken. UI is not UK where they have 8-10 Top 25 players and likely never will be. They can and will win many many games with those 4 players for 2 years.

Damonte will be fine, Frazier if he comes will be fine, Lucas will be as well. Finke clearly is already playing well above his rank. DJ, AJ, and Pickett look to be projects but the team has room for that as most do. You won't have a team of 13 Top 50 players. So you take flyers on guys that help with connections, have potential that may or may not come to fruition, or do one thing really well that can be useful. I would be willing to bet that throughout their career Damonte, Lucas, and Frazier combined at PG provide more than most B1G teams get out of their lead guards. Will they be Trey Burke? Probably not but with the other 4 positions being Top 50 caliber players do they really need to be? Probably not.
 
#1,377      

Tevo

Tevo
Wilmette, IL
Tevo
Mojoman said:
I had thought DaMonte was being seen as a PG at the college level when he verbaled, but not sure now what will happen.
If he was being seen as a PG- why go after Frazier in the 2017 class?
We will have three on board already then.

If he is projected as primarily a wing/2G- not sure how he breaks into the lineup very early.
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Seems to me that it would be easier to have a high school point/lead guard play off the ball than it would be to have a high school wing start to be a primary ball handler and distributor. If you can find guys who play the point, but who can also shoot and/or drive, why would you NOT take them?

Da'Monte seems to have the handles and ability to pass, and he can score off the bounce. Frazier seems to have the handles and ability to get to the rim with ease, and he seems to be able to shoot pretty well, too. Te'Jon sounds like he falls into the same bucket.

Aside from the issue of possibly not having enough bigs, I see no reason to worry about having lots of point guards on the roster, as long as they can all show some versatility and both distribute and score.
 
#1,378      

89illinigrad

89illinigrad
Chicago
89illinigrad
Mojoman said:
Augie was #78 RSCI.
We would kill to bring in another big at that level to go with Tilmon.
And yeah- he was a stud.
But it kind of confirms my point- you are better off with as many Top 100 guys as you can get.
Some really take off. Many play to their ranking, and some bomb out.

As you go down the list, more just do not make any real impact.
Click to expand...

While I agree with you that you want to load up your roster with as many talented players as you can get, its often easier said than done.

Unless you are one of the blue bloods, who hauls in top three to five 25 recruits every year, you're lucky if you can field a starting 5 of top 100 recruits, let alone a 13 man roster.

Our 2005 team had just two top 50 starters (Dee and Deron) to go along with a couple lower top 100 recruits, Augie (78) and Powell (62). Head was not ranked in the top 100, but is an example of a player who developed into a All BIG player.

This year's team will have a similar makeup, with two top 50 starters, Black (46) and JCL (37), to go along with lower top 100's Abrams (69) and Hill (70), and a unranked guy (Thorne), who has exceeded expectations (at least prior to his injury).

Next year, we could conceivably replace Hill with either DJW (78) or hopefully Goodwin (top 50), Abrams will be replaced by either TJL or Frazier (who could end up top 100), while Thorne will be replaced with Tilmon (23), thereby giving us an even higher ranked starting 5, albeit much less experienced.

Long story short, I think that Groce is doing a good job recruiting and I think better days are still ahead of us.
 
#1,380      

bigruss22

B
bigruss22
UofIChE06 said:
Then why did he? It's not like no other high level AAU teams would take him.
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MIF has a really good reputation for churning out top players, I understand why a kid would be attracted to playing with them rather than a team with a better scheme/coaching fit.

Oh, and I bet the Irvins tell kids lies all the time to get them signed up on their team (and to be fair this happens all over the place in AAU, but we all know the Irvins). It was a mistake for him to play for MIF, but he's a kid and I'm hoping he uses it as a learning experience.

If he drops in rankings whatever, but if he uses it to find out more about himself as a person and player then I could care less.
 
#1,381      

Deleted member 10676

D
Guest
Deleted member 10676
UofIChE06 said:
Then why did he? It's not like no other high level AAU teams would take him.
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Because something was said on another board and people are accepting it as gospel. I've read several places how it's the Irvins and Booth who are to blame for DMW's play and his falling in the rankings and about his not being featured. People forget it was while on the Fire that he shot up the rankings last spring/summer. And he could very well leave if he hated it that much. As you said, he'd find a lot of other teams to join if he really wanted to leave.
 
#1,382      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
Second Evaluation Period: Top Performers

The Suwanee Sports Academy is always a place where Trent Frazier shines. The diminutive combo guard just always seems to put on a show there, and for the second year in a row it was Frazier who stole the show at the Best of the South event.

Playing with Florida Elite, Frazier proved to be one of the most explosive guards in the country. He is absolutely tremendous off of ball screens, and also is a very good outside shooter.

While his first instinct is to score, Frazier showed that he does have very good floor vision, and is more than capable of making others better. Still his ability to get to the rim and use his dynamic quickness off of ball screens makes him one of the most intriguing players in the class.

Recruiting: Illinois is the big leader for Frazier, though schools like Georgia, Clemson, Auburn, and Cincinnati are also in pursuit.

http://www.scout.com/college/basketball/recruiting/story/1687275-second-evaluation-period-top-performers
 
#1,384      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
#BOTS: TOP 17U PERFORMERS, PART I

Trent Frazier, SG, Florida Elite, 2017 (pictured above): No one was trending more at the 2016 Best of the South than the south Florida. He’s been a long time HoopSeen player and there was no better way to end his travel basketball career at Suwanee Sports Academy than helping his advance to the Final Four. Frazier was the most outstanding player at the event and brought a long line of coaches to each of his games. No one was better at attacking the rim than him. Frazier mixed things up with a steady, and oftentimes, clutch three-pointers. He averaged 20.6 points a game during the tournament. Illinois, the perennial favorite for his commitment, had a coach at every one of his games. - Justin Young

http://www.hoopseen.com/news/event/201607/bots-top-17u-performers-part-i?utm_content=buffer2d6f2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
 
#1,386      

GameOfThrows

G
GameOfThrows
icengineer said:
Well I guess the proper response is, in todays game there is one position for which you cannot have too many bodies, PG. Let the cream rise to the top, and those who find themselves lacking in PT can enter the transfer market. :noidea: A welcome position for Illini basketball to be in. ;)
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Assuming at least one of them can hit 3's at a decent clip, two point guards can play together on the same court at the same time. Point guards are point guards because they know how to play the game.

Taking a point guard every season isn't crazy or stupid, nor do any of them have to transfer.
 
#1,387      

Mojoman

Mojoman
Mojoman
UofIChE06 said:
Like I said before.. if they reel in Goodwin, which most think will happen, UI will be able to put out 4 players that are Top 50 caliber players in Leron, Tilmon, Goodwin, and JCL. So I don't really get the argument about a bunch of 150 plus players. If you expect a full roster of Top 50 talent you are sadly mistaken. UI is not UK where they have 8-10 Top 25 players and likely never will be. They can and will win many many games with those 4 players for 2 years.

Damonte will be fine, Frazier if he comes will be fine, Lucas will be as well. Finke clearly is already playing well above his rank. DJ, AJ, and Pickett look to be projects but the team has room for that as most do. You won't have a team of 13 Top 50 players. So you take flyers on guys that help with connections, have potential that may or may not come to fruition, or do one thing really well that can be useful. I would be willing to bet that throughout their career Damonte, Lucas, and Frazier combined at PG provide more than most B1G teams get out of their lead guards. Will they be Trey Burke? Probably not but with the other 4 positions being Top 50 caliber players do they really need to be? Probably not.
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Never said we should have a roster of 13 Top 50 players, but go ahead and fight imaginary arguments. :thumb:

Next year without some more help- we are likely a bubble team again but should have enough to get in the mix.
If they get Goodwin- we can revise that up to likely solidly inside the bubble.
 
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#1,388      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Mojoman said:
Never said we should have a roster of 13 Top 50 players, but go ahead and fight imaginary arguments. :thumb:

Next year without some more help- we are likely a bubble team again but should have enough to get in the mix.
If they get Goodwin- we can revise that up to likely solidly inside the bubble.
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That's a tough statement to make without seeing what kind of improvement the sophomores make. Plus we don't know how the 2 freshmen will look this year either. Finke, Black, DJW, AJ, JCL, TJL, and Kipper. It's possible that none of the '17 class needs to start right away.
 
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#1,389      

IllinistuckinGopherland

IllinistuckinGopherland
IllinistuckinGopherland
Not referring to any one post or poster... But I have to say, I love this board but it cracks me up how much people overestimate incoming freshmen.

It's AMAZING that we got Tilmon, but he's still a freshman big coming in. I hope he's awesome out of the gate, but he comes in very similar in ranking to Elijah Thomas last year. How did that work out for A&M?

I believe this team will go as far as JCL leads them next year, hopefully with Black, Finke, and DJW playing complementary roles (rebounding bulldog, stretch big who can shoot, and great D/athlete).

Contributions from the freshmen need to be the icing, not the cake.

With all that said, adding Goodwin and Frazier would absolutely feel like stability and continuity we haven't had since BP3/DJ were freshmen. And Groce will absolutely follow up with future classes better than his predecessor.
 
#1,390      

Illiniguy13

Illiniguy13
Illiniguy13
IllinistuckinGopherland said:
Not referring to any one post or poster... But I have to say, I love this board but it cracks me up how much people overestimate incoming freshmen.

It's AMAZING that we got Tilmon, but he's still a freshman big coming in. I hope he's awesome out of the gate, but he comes in very similar in ranking to Elijah Thomas last year. How did that work out for A&M?

I believe this team will go as far as JCL leads them next year, hopefully with Black, Finke, and DJW playing complementary roles (rebounding bulldog, stretch big who can shoot, and great D/athlete).

Contributions from the freshmen need to be the icing, not the cake.

With all that said, adding Goodwin and Frazier would absolutely feel like stability and continuity we haven't had since BP3/DJ were freshmen. And Groce will absolutely follow up with future classes better than his predecessor.
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This comparison has already been made, but he also comes in ranked similarly to Thomas Bryant. And like Bryant did this year, Tilmon is going to get all the minutes conditioning and fouls will allow. Yes, he's going to be a bit raw and he's going to make freshman mistakes. But the table is set. The big dog is gonna eat. It's a big deal.
 
#1,391      

illini8507

illini8507
illini8507
Soooo... now that Monday has pretty much come and gone, can we all agree that Roy and Harv don't know jack, and make a pledge not to pollute this board with their nonsense?

Kthx
 
#1,392      

schnaurt

schnaurt
Phoenix, AZ
schnaurt
illini8507 said:
Soooo... now that Monday has pretty much come and gone, can we all agree that Roy and Harv don't know jack, and make a pledge not to pollute this board with their nonsense?

Kthx
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Aye, they will find a nut one day but I don't want to hear about it.
 
#1,394      

PerennIaLL

P
PerennIaLL
Mojoman said:
Never said we should have a roster of 13 Top 50 players, but go ahead and fight imaginary arguments. :thumb:

Next year without some more help- we are likely a bubble team again but should have enough to get in the mix.
If they get Goodwin- we can revise that up to likely solidly inside the bubble.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I actually think we are a bubble team until proven otherwise. That is essentially where we have been for the last four years.

Posters expectations for freshmen are consistently over inflated and they act like other teams in the BIG just stand still and do not reload.
 
#1,395      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
I have lost track of how many guys have transferred to LaLu. Jordan Poole and Jarren Jackson are the latest. How can this team not win a national HS championship??
 
#1,397      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
My seat on the Paul Scruggs express train is getting hot. In fact I might want to just get off and transfer to the Trent Frazier train. They serve food on the Frazier train even if it is crow sandwiches.:)
 
#1,398      

t7nich

t7nich
Central IL
t7nich
TCTORNADO said:
My seat on the Paul Scruggs express train is getting hot. In fact I might want to just get off and transfer to the Trent Frazier train. They serve food on the Frazier train even if it is crow sandwiches.:)
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Welcome aboard. Destination: sunny West Palm Beach, FL. We'll be making a brief stop in Belleville, IL.
 
#1,399      

Big Al

B
Big Al
TCTORNADO said:
My seat on the Paul Scruggs express train is getting hot. In fact I might want to just get off and transfer to the Trent Frazier train. They serve food on the Frazier train even if it is crow sandwiches.:)
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Have you been offered a spot on board this train?
What other transportation offers have you recently received?

#TFS
 
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