Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (November-December 2016)

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#2,526      
thrillini
WhitesideBB said:
You can probably cut that assist number in half, Edwardsville is notorious for greatly inflating their rebound and assist numbers. At any rate, 21 points and 5 assists is still pretty darn good. I think he could definitely help the Illini in a few years.
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Head statistician used to do stats for the St. Louis Blues*, so hockey's 'secondary assist' lives on in Edwardsville.



*yeah, I made that up.
 
#2,527      
SescIllini
Mark Smith seems further ahead of the Nebraska via St. Joseph high school PG at the same stage. So many of us have lamented about losing him out to Nebraska, then my question is why not offer Smith? A big PG who can take it to the rack is very dangerous in the college game, it would of helped plenty against BYU. The openings were there in the zone, Tracy took advantage of them but sometimes couldn't finish.
 
#2,528      
nwebb1
Higher Ground said:
The annual Collinsville holiday tournament takes place next week from 12/28 - 12/30. This will be a great chance to see some of the metro east' talent showcased. East side , Edwardsville, Belleville East, Altoff among others. Many of our recruits and or targets current and past will be going head to head and should help clear the air regarding one Mr Smith.;)
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Any link to the game times or anything like that?
 
#2,533      
TownieMatt
SescIllini said:
Mark Smith seems further ahead of the Nebraska via St. Joseph high school PG at the same stage. So many of us have lamented about losing him out to Nebraska, then my question is why not offer Smith? A big PG who can take it to the rack is very dangerous in the college game, it would of helped plenty against BYU. The openings were there in the zone, Tracy took advantage of them but sometimes couldn't finish.
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I don't disagree with you about offering him, but we're in a very different situation now, compared with when we were recruiting Watson. At that time we were PG starved, but pursuing top 50 guys instead of very solid players in our backyard. Now we've got a very good young PG on the roster and another one (two if you include Da'Monte) signed for next season.

No one wants to hear this (instant gratification culture and all), but from the staff's point of view there's no reason to rush with Smith. It seems pretty clear that Smith plans to play out the season to attract as much attention as he can from college coaches. It's the smart play on his part, kids that wait tend to have great offers fall into their lap as teams frantically look to pick up last-minute pieces. Our staff has made it clear to him that we're interested. Now it's about seeing how he progresses during the HS season and watching the dominoes fall with other recruits.
 
#2,534      
taits06
BirdDog9048 said:
What makes you think that?
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It appears that Oregon currently leads in this one, but there is still plenty of time left in this recruitment. He loves the program, but wants to make sure he can play the 2-3 instead of the 3-4 because he wants to play basketball beyond college and knows this is the best route. He is worried that he might have to do what Malcolm has done with playing an undersized 4.
 
#2,535      
ILHoff
illini8507 said:
Mizzou. Edwardsville is in the STL media market. I live nearby and there are plenty of Mizzou fans all around me because the local college sports coverage on STL television is pretty much dominated by Mizzou (and SLU once every 10 years when they are relevant.)

The Illini get a token mention, but it's pretty much just to show the final score, and any highlights from local kids who may be on the team. We've had a good run with Malcom and Griffey before him of actually getting to see a few highlights on the news.
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We must run in different circles. Being from Belleville and living in both Edwardsville and O'Fallon I've never met one single Mizzou fan unless they went to school there. It's most definitely Illini country unless you have the bandwagon blue blood Duke, Kentucky, or UNC fans.
 
#2,536      
Dan
#Illini target @Mark_Smith_13 is here at the Scottrade Center reppin' the orange & blue. Very excited to see his first Illinois game.

(does smith have an offer from Illinois?) Not at this point.

https://twitter.com/DPiperScout

C0POo0hUsAEraWB.jpg
 
#2,539      
Deleted member 10676
#2,541      
illini8507
ILHoff said:
We must run in different circles. Being from Belleville and living in both Edwardsville and O'Fallon I've never met one single Mizzou fan unless they went to school there. It's most definitely Illini country unless you have the bandwagon blue blood Duke, Kentucky, or UNC fans.
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Interesting. I'm from the Highland area, and there are lots of Mizzou fans around here
 
#2,542      
Paigncake
illini8507 said:
Interesting. I'm from the Highland area, and there are lots of Mizzou fans around here
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Interesting. I have a lot of friends around Highland, Troy, Edwardsville, Belleville, Swansea, Ofallon etc. and I have rarely ran into Missouri fans but i suppose there has to be some somewhere out there.. Like a pack of wolves.
 
#2,544      
sacraig
ChiefIllini said:
Its hard to believe someone from Edwardsville wouldn't grow up an Illini fan. What other P5/6 schools would he root for?
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There are a fair number of Mizzou fans, even on the east side of the river. It's still a largely Illini area though, and Edwardsville's fight song is to the tune of Illinois Loyalty, so we've got that going for us!
 
#2,545      
Illininer
The only time you see Mizzou fans in the Metro East is when they are winning. They had a few good years in basketball and about a 10 year stretch in football, which brought a lot of them out of the woodwork. Also didn't help that Illinois was mediocre to bad, so Mizzou got double the attention on the STL news. Now both their sports are bad, so it's very rare to see Mizzou gear out and about. It really is a bandwagon school though. About the only time they could sell out their arena, even when they were good, was when Kansas came to town. Otherwise their place is half empty.

If Illinois becomes competitive in football and what they should be in basketball again, the metro east will be all about Illinois even moreso.
 
#2,548      
Hooping34
WhitesideBB said:
You can probably cut that assist number in half, Edwardsville is notorious for greatly inflating their rebound and assist numbers. At any rate, 21 points and 5 assists is still pretty darn good. I think he could definitely help the Illini in a few years.
Click to expand...

I don't know about any inflated numbers for rebounds & assists. If Smith drives in the lane & drops it off to Epenesa & he does take a dribble that counts as an assist. If Smith goes up & grabs the ball off a missed shot that counts as a rebound... If Smith shoots & misses & gets his own rebound that counts as a rebound... I'm so tired of hearing about Edwardsville inflating Smiths assists numbers... Go to a game & watch him pass the ball unselfishly to his teammates...
 
#2,549      
Hooping34
TownieMatt said:
I don't disagree with you about offering him, but we're in a very different situation now, compared with when we were recruiting Watson. At that time we were PG starved, but pursuing top 50 guys instead of very solid players in our backyard. Now we've got a very good young PG on the roster and another one (two if you include Da'Monte) signed for next season.

No one wants to hear this (instant gratification culture and all), but from the staff's point of view there's no reason to rush with Smith. It seems pretty clear that Smith plans to play out the season to attract as much attention as he can from college coaches. It's the smart play on his part, kids that wait tend to have great offers fall into their lap as teams frantically look to pick up last-minute pieces. Our staff has made it clear to him that we're interested. Now it's about seeing how he progresses during the HS season and watching the dominoes fall with other recruits.
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You could be correct about the staff being interested in Smith but the part about not "rushing" with Smith is the Illini staffs call but one would have to consider their are (7) other high Major schools talking to Smith as well... You are right no rush but if others offer Smith may take interest & who knows...
 
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#2,550      
Paigncake
Hooping34 said:
You could be correct about the staff being interested in Smith but the part about not "rushing" with Smith is the Illini staffs call but one would have to consider their are (7) other high Major schools talking to Smith as well... You are right no rush but if others offer Smith may take interest & who knows...
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I think if it was up to Illinois fans the large majority would have offered.

It's a no brainer to me. He'd be taking the scholarship formerly reserved for Goodwin and I like his game at the next level a heck of a lot more than Goodwins.

Sometimes it's the whole "too good to be true" thing with guys breaking out I think... Little too much hangup on previous rankings etc.
 
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