Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (November-December 2016)

[illini8507]

Guys, aau coaches can tweet anything they want...

Start bashing the staff for this when they actually show up at one of this kids games...

 

[WestIllini]

Some folks on this board talk about a time when Rennie Clemons dunked on Shaq, as we all know, Shaq went on to have a decent career in the NBA

In all seriousness, thanks for the input...

No problem although I must admit, getting "dunked on" to players at smaller high schools in downstate IL usually means being somewhat near the basket while a player on the other team dunks, which may have been the case with Bruninga and my brother

 

[BillMo]

Is this kid the new Matt Chastain?

Did you see Hill in high school. Big difference between handling the ball at the high school level and the college level. And Hill played much tougher competition in high school, too.

Speaking of Chastain, he tore his ACL in the third game of the season for Loyola. Too bad. Really good kid.

Yes I did see Hill many times in High School,,again im not saying this kid should be an Illini , but he is able to do things we have players right now that cant, those are dribble and score

 

[illinoisfan11]

Yes I did see Hill many times in High School,,again im not saying this kid should be an Illini , but he is able to do things we have players right now that cant, those are dribble and score

There is, and I can't stress this enough, NO CHANCE he could do either of those things against the level of competition our guys face night in and night out. None.

 

[HC Illini]

Ethan Happ played the same level of competition Taylor does. I'd say we'd all welcome happ to the team.

 

[HC Illini]

Also, he has the genes and drama to become very big and very strong.

 

[IlliniRock]

Ethan Happ played the same level of competition Taylor does. I'd say we'd all welcome happ to the team.

True...sorta. Ethan had a hood pass and always played in and against Rock Island whenever he could. (played against Chasson Randle and friends a bunch even though he's younger) Also played for the QC Elite. (owned Finke in more than a few matchups with the Irish)
I could be wrong but I doubt this kid is going to the south end of Peoria to hone his skills.

 

[HC Illini]

True...sorta. Ethan had a hood pass and always played in and against Rock Island whenever he could. (played against Chasson Randle and friends a bunch even though he's younger) Also played for the QC Elite. (owned Finke in more than a few matchups with the Irish)
I could be wrong but I doubt this kid is going to the south end of Peoria to hone his skills.

I like this post. Didn't know that. The "hood pass" is important. I did the same thing in HS but didn't have a name for it. LOL.

 

[combes]

Remember how we dogged Egwu? Well we need somebody like him, a 6-10+ player that can move around and defend the middle. The Taylor B kid is likely pretty good, but we are not athletic enough to complete with top 25 teams. We need guys to help out with the defensive metrics (blocks, steals, rebounds).

Tilmon? And, of course, add one more big.

 

[Sportsfan400]

From Gavin Sullivan.

2017 F 6'8 @tbruninga32 will unofficially visit Illinois tonight for their game against NC State!
#IrishFam����

 

[IlliniInOK]

yawn. That's basically saying that the kid got a ticket to the game.

 

[Indiana Orange and Blue]

Honestly I think that this is a great class, even without anymore additions! Epperson would be a nice addition, but seems unlikely at this point. I think that Alonzo Verge even as a partial qualifier is worth taking, if the kid can get his off the court issues cleared up, he's got potential.

 

[IlliniRock]

I like this post. Didn't know that. The "hood pass" is important. I did the same thing in HS but didn't have a name for it. LOL.

Lol. Yeah...at least that's what the kids call it. But if you are huff it's a no go. Seriously though...smaller school kids need that to prepare for the next level. Going into the city and competing with the best helps develop your game. That would be the difference between Ethan and others. He was never scared.

 

[nwebb1]

Does anyone know anything about Mark Smith out of Edwardsville?

He looks like a pretty good athlete at PG and he is about 6'4. I only saw a couple box scores from his most recent tourney and it looked like he out dueled Goodwin at the Highland shootout.

 

[combes]

Does anyone know anything about Mark Smith out of Edwardsville?

He looks like a pretty good athlete at PG and he is about 6'4. I only saw a couple box scores from his most recent tourney and it looked like he out dueled Goodwin at the Highland shootout.

He planned to play baseball in college, but now has decided on basketball. In the videos I have seen, he has a quick first step and got into the lane several times for dunks. I did not see enough of his outside shot to know if that is a strength. Interesting prospect, for sure.

 

[nwebb1]

He planned to play baseball in college, but now has decided on basketball. In the videos I have seen, he has a quick first step and got into the lane several times for dunks. I did not see enough of his outside shot to know if that is a strength. Interesting prospect, for sure.

In the highlight videos I saw from last year his jumper looked like one of his strengths, but it was just a highlight obviously

 

[Illinijose]

Does anyone know anything about Mark Smith out of Edwardsville?

He looks like a pretty good athlete at PG and he is about 6'4. I only saw a couple box scores from his most recent tourney and it looked like he out dueled Goodwin at the Highland shootout.

He out dueled him because he is a true PG and Goodwin is not.

 

[rtbritt]

He out dueled him because he is a true PG and Goodwin is not.

And true PGs always outduel wings??

 

[TCTORNADO]

Did Bruninga commit?

 

[ILLINIFAN2]

Did Bruninga commit?

Sources are stipulating there was a "silent" verbal last night, he's a lock...

 

[nwebb1]

It looks like Depaul just offered Mark Smith from Edwardsville recently

 

[TCTORNADO]

Sources are stipulating there was a "silent" verbal last night, he's a lock...

Has he met the clearinghouse standards yet?..

 

[ILLINIFAN2]

Has he met the clearinghouse standards yet?..

Probably headed to Parkland for a year

 

[Illininer]

I've watched Mark Smith play twice this year, against Carbondale and Althoff. He's listed at 6'4, is built like a rock and is very quick. He plays point and can do whatever he wants to on the floor. He's a better athlete than Goodwin is, IMO. He can shoot definitely shoot the 3 and he's capable of going end-to-end with guys "bodying" him up and throwing down the "hammer" over top of them. He has a high B-ball IQ and is very unselfish. I'd say he's also every bit of the hustler that Goodwin is, but does it without the "flair". Supposedly, only put in a couple weeks of AAU, but based on his showings this year, I'd put him in the top 100. I was more impressed by Smith than Goodwin.

Some team is going to get a steal and I would gladly take him despite us having so many guards next year.

 

[TCTORNADO]

I've watched Mark Smith play twice this year, against Carbondale and Althoff. He's listed at 6'4, is built like a rock and is very quick. He plays point and can do whatever he wants to on the floor. He's a better athlete than Goodwin is, IMO. He can shoot definitely shoot the 3 and he's capable of going end-to-end with guys "bodying" him up and throwing down the "hammer" over top of them. He has a high B-ball IQ and is very unselfish. I'd say he's also every bit of the hustler that Goodwin is, but does it without the "flair". Supposedly, only put in a couple weeks of AAU, but based on his showings this year, I'd put him in the top 100. I was more impressed by Smith than Goodwin.

Some team is going to get a steal and I would gladly take him despite us having so many guards next year.

Do you think we could put together a package deal of Smith and Bruninga?