Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (March 2017)

[Megamind]

If you’re not jumping up and down or pumping your fist into the air, there is something wrong with you. This is bigger news than you think.

Completely agree!! Not only are we getting the big man we have all been waiting for, but this could have been a PR nightmare for the Illini and Underwood. Why has the recruiting thread turned into the coaching thread?

 

[DrCS01]

BU has consistently stated that he doesn't care about star ratings, but looks for players who will succeed in his offense. This could very well mean that we're not going to be getting a ton of 4-5* players in the future. UWisc comes to mind, they may not get the most highly-rated recruits, but the program is doing well.

It obviously doesn't hurt having top recruits, but based on BU's statements, just gotta wait and see.

 

[PNWIllini]

What makes you so sure they don't?

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Just my now out-of-state opinion, but you never see Izzo or Self or Brey or Gard or others being raked over the coals by Chicago Media for being "unable to recruit Chicago."

This narrative always seems to be reserved to be used on Illinois.

 

[Deleted member 3875]

Just my now out-of-state opinion, but you never see Izzo or Self or Brey or Gard or others being raked over the coals by Chicago Media for being "unable to recruit Chicago."

This narrative always seems to be reserved to be used on Illinois.

Pretty simple. They hate us.

 

[IlliniDent]

Pretty simple. They hate us.

Or they win enough to attract recruits while we are currently at a low and to expect them to send us players is crazy...

 

[CARPET]

Good News all around.

The Dominoes are lined up to keep this class

Very impressed that Coach Walker is working so hard keeping this potential Top 10 class together.

Locked down Jeremiah- On to Damonte Monday for a visit- Pickett looks solid- Trent is on Board.

This is the Perfect Storm for Illinois Basketball.

 

[Deleted member 236589]

Yes, Trent has been totally FANTASTIC, but just two years ago, we had a similar ALL ILLINI loyal recruit from Plainfield, IL.

And.....What are you getting at?

 

[CARPET]

Is Tilmon staying official?

I am going to go easy on your question THAT HAS BEEN ASKED 300,000 times - YES

 

[Deleted member 236589]

I think it's a mistake to go hat in hand to Chicago. How many players do you need every year? We can get those from elsewhere. St. Louis/Metro East, Florida, wherever... You don't need the numbers like you do for football. You don't need as much depth, offense/defense/special teams/etc. Do well enough and they will come to you.

And Blue Bloods? What? We are Orange and Blue. That's what we bleed. We don't want to be as good as. We want to be better. Isn't that why we brought Underwood to town? You're not going to be able to beg players to come to UI. When you came as a student, did anyone beg you to come? If the team is good as our academics, we have no worries about getting the best recruits. :thumb:

That was a good feel good speech, but back to reality now. While we don't need to kiss the rings of the CPL, the fact is that Chicago and the surrounding suburbs is what makes the UI job attractive. If you don't plan on doing what you have to do to tap into the pipeline, don't take the job. We need to be able to sustain SOME success within the CPL and not lose kids out of the Catholic League and Suburbs. We have a geographic advantage and we haven't taken advantage of it for years. No more rah rah speeches on how we can live without Chicago and the Chicagoland area. For sustained success, Underwood needs to build a bridge and get the pipeline flowing south.

 

[Chris Yates]

I am going to go easy on your question THAT HAS BEEN ASKED 300,000 times - YES

But what did Jeremiah Tilmon have for lunch today?! Huh? Huh? Huh?

 

[CARPET]

But what did Jeremiah Tilmon have for lunch today?! Huh? Huh? Huh?

I suspect that is on a need to know basis- Funny

 

[CARPET]

https://twitter.com/Frank_Cusumano/status/845710895716204544

Been waiting for this all day!!

POTD

 

[coryfor3]

Yes, Trent has been totally FANTASTIC, but just two years ago, we had a similar ALL ILLINI loyal recruit from Plainfield, IL.

No idea what the point here is. I'm excited to see both Frazier and AJ in the next couple years.

 

[coryfor3]

http://www.uicflames.com/coaches.aspx?rc=660&path=mbball

Ron "chin" Coleman is already employed by UIC if BU wants to go down this path. Chicago insider who helped Irvin's build their AAU program and a successful former coach in CPL??


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Saw him hanging at the state tourney championship game last weekend.

 

[Combo]

Don't apologize. Like you, until I see it out of the mouth of the head coach, anybody on the coaching staff or the Tilmon family......They're just reports of how a meeting went. A meeting that nobody outside of the people I just mentioned were at.

So, I understand why you asked. You're looking for a firm confirmation from somebody of authority.

Agreed. I'll wait til it comes from Tilmon's mouth before I celebrate. Then onto DM Williams and Javon Pickett. Frazier sounds good to go (odd, as has been written, considering he's much farther away than the others).

 

[CARPET]

No idea what the point here is. I'm excited to see both Frazier and AJ in the next couple years.

Aaron Jordan is a very good player.

His commitment to the game along with his family commitment to Illinois is special. There is no knock around with this kid and I would bet Jordan strives under this new Coach

 

[GeauxIllini]

I don't think that's what I said. OK, I guess it was. But tell me, what if don't kiss the ring and they don't come? Is the team going to die if we don't have any Chicago area recruits? I'll answer that. The answer is no.

Don't we have a fantastic 2017 class coming in? Where are they coming from? East St Louis, Belleville, Peoria, and West Palm Beach. For the first two, you drive south on I-57, not north. Peoria isn't exactly Chicago. And West Palm Beach, I dunno, where do you fly out of?

Oh, and Mr. Basketball, he's from, oh, Edwardsville. Another trip south on I-57. Maybe they can carpool.

Downstate doesn't suck so bad. As a metro east product, let me say, you're welcome.

I-57 doesn't go through STL..... I-55 on the other hand goes straight through.


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[FiveStar]

Pretty simple. They hate us.

Screw Chicago (and whoever's butt needs kissing). It's not the center of the universe anymore. A good coach is going to show us that.

I don't think that's what I said. OK, I guess it was. But tell me, what if don't kiss the ring and they don't come? Is the team going to die if we don't have any Chicago area recruits? I'll answer that. The answer is no.

Don't we have a fantastic 2017 class coming in? Where are they coming from? East St Louis, Belleville, Peoria, and West Palm Beach. For the first two, you drive south on I-57, not north. Peoria isn't exactly Chicago. And West Palm Beach, I dunno, where do you fly out of?

Oh, and Mr. Basketball, he's from, oh, Edwardsville. Another trip south on I-57. Maybe they can carpool.

Downstate doesn't suck so bad. As a metro east product, let me say, you're welcome.

Man. It was terrible thing when Irvin said we should bring in the right guy who coaches/parents/athletes can trust. It was just awful when he said we need a guy who build relationships with recruits and get in with families. I'm so glad we're all up in arms about this, those are definitely things we don't want.

 

[illinifan87]

Man. It was terrible thing when Irvin said we should bring in the right guy who coaches/parents/athletes can trust. It was just awful when he said we need a guy who build relationships with recruits and get in with families. I'm so glad we're all up in arms about this, those are definitely things we don't want.

Meh, it's still irritating that Irvin is the 'power broker' in Chicago and all the politics that go along with recruiting there.

Chicago operates differently than any other major city with basketball recruiting. And Illinois is held to a different standard by them, except Robert Smith. He's good people.

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[Deleted member 236589]

I don't think that's what I said. OK, I guess it was. But tell me, what if don't kiss the ring and they don't come? Is the team going to die if we don't have any Chicago area recruits? I'll answer that. The answer is no.

Don't we have a fantastic 2017 class coming in? Where are they coming from? East St Louis, Belleville, Peoria, and West Palm Beach. For the first two, you drive south on I-57, not north. Peoria isn't exactly Chicago. And West Palm Beach, I dunno, where do you fly out of?

Oh, and Mr. Basketball, he's from, oh, Edwardsville. Another trip south on I-57. Maybe they can carpool.

Downstate doesn't suck so bad. As a metro east product, let me say, you're welcome.

Over the last four years, less 2017, you name me ten top tier D1 recruits from areas south of I-80. I'll put a list together over the same four years for Chicago and it's suburbs and we'll compare notes.....More importantly teams. Heck, go back 8 years. Two full recruiting cycles. The talent comparison, the talent volume and the frequency of elite level prospects isn't even close.

Point is, the areas you speak of in Illinois ebbs and flows with talent. We did REAL well when it peaked, Frank, Sergio, Marcus, Cook, McBride, Randle, etc....But there's been a long stretch where it's been dry, which stands to reason.....Law of large numbers.

You might go one year where you don't have high D1 talent in Chicago or it's surrounding areas, but that's followed up with 8 straight years of enough talent to fill two rosters. There's 8M people in the area. How can you not cater to it?

Don't isolate 2017 and treat this as the norm. This is a can't miss opportunity for a program that recruits Chicago like garbage and hasn't been in the tournament for five years.

 

[Obelix]

I think it's a mistake to go hat in hand to Chicago. How many players do you need every year? We can get those from elsewhere. St. Louis/Metro East, Florida, wherever... You don't need the numbers like you do for football. You don't need as much depth, offense/defense/special teams/etc. Do well enough and they will come to you.

And Blue Bloods? What? We are Orange and Blue. That's what we bleed. We don't want to be as good as. We want to be better. Isn't that why we brought Underwood to town? You're not going to be able to beg players to come to UI. When you came as a student, did anyone beg you to come? If the team is good as our academics, we have no worries about getting the best recruits. :thumb:

I love all this tough talk (i.e., we do not need Chicago etc.) but having a very successful program is highly dependent on talent. And it is not just Chicago, some of these coaches are either directly or have indirect associations, connections, relationships with some of the best AAU programs in Illinois. These AAU programs do not only recruit/attract "Chicago" players.

I understand the overall euphoria on having a new coach, and I share much of it. But truth is that we have not accomplished anything on the court yet. Once we consistently compete for B1G titles, have deep runs in NCAA etc. and we do it without Chicago or the powerful AAU programs, then we can revisit this discussion. But better do it first and do it consistently.

 

[FiveStar]

Meh, it's still irritating that Irvin is the 'power broker' in Chicago and all the politics that go along with recruiting there.

Chicago operates differently than any other major city with basketball recruiting. And Illinois is held to a different standard by them, except Robert Smith. He's good people.

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He's the "power broker" because he has hands on the majority of the talent. Robert Smith has talent, but the Irvins take some of those kids in the summer.

All recruiting is based on relationships, whether you're in Chicago or Chebanse. We can fight it, or embrace it.

 

[FiveStar]

this highly touted incoming class that everyone is having palpitations over (and I'm not complaining) is all from downstate

You keep hammering home this point, so I'll commend you for sticking to your guns. But when was the last time you were able to say that?

 

[sacraig]

Over the last four years, less 2017, you name me ten top tier D1 recruits from areas south of I-80. I'll put a list together over the same four years for Chicago and it's suburbs and we'll compare notes.....More importantly teams. Heck, go back 8 years. Two full recruiting cycles. The talent comparison, the talent volume and the frequency of elite level prospects isn't even close.

Point is, the areas you speak of in Illinois ebbs and flows with talent. We did REAL well when it peaked, Frank, Sergio, Marcus, Cook, McBride, Randle, etc....But there's been a long stretch where it's been dry, which stands to reason.....Law of large numbers.

You might go one year where you don't have high D1 talent in Chicago or it's surrounding areas, but that's followed up with 8 straight years of enough talent to fill two rosters. There's 8M people in the area. How can you not cater to it?

Don't isolate 2017 and treat this as the norm. This is a can't miss opportunity for a program that recruits Chicago like garbage and hasn't been in the tournament for five years.

This is only sort of a fair assessment. You'd have to normalize each of those numbers by the population in each region for a true comparison, in which case I bet it's closer to even than you'd expect. Still, players playing against top competition more often tends to produce better players, so Chicago would still probably come out ahead there, and there will still be a larger overall number of top players coming out of Chicagoland, so it doesn't make sense to ignore the region.

 

[Deleted member 236589]

You keep hammering home this point, so I'll commend you for sticking to your guns. But when was the last time you were able to say that?

That's exactly right. What was Griffin, McClain, Williams and Cook? 1997 and 1998? You're talking 20 years ago is when we could claim the depth of the talent pool was enough to get us close to where we needed to be.

At that, Griffin , Williams and Cook were All American's. When is that ever going to happen again?? This class is nothing remotely close to that, but we're trying to see how Central Illinois can be the lifeline of our program, Chicago Free, from here on out?

No. Recruiting is a nasty game, but it is part of the game. Just as well snuggle up and deal with it if we want to compete year in and year out.