Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2017)

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#1,877      
With Wichita State's departure to the AAC, I feel SLU has a decent shot at replacing them in the Missouri Valley, making them a more enticing destination for local kids. I know the A10 is a higher rated conference, but there are not a lot of natural rivalries there for a Midwestern school. Just another log to throw on the recruiting fire.
 
#1,878      
My guess is that he told Pickett, the lowest rated offer kid, that he wanted to fill the roster out and would look at all options, Pickett should do the same. This is in light of Tilmon leaving, and Pickett feeling pressure that he would still be there and looked at differently now that his buddy decommitted?

I also think BU has his own style of player in mind and wants to land them as soon as possible with schollies open...

Frazier, Williams take up 2 4 remaining after that. I believe he thinks he can get Smith and Hardy...4 guards on roster all can play. 2 schollies left, kid from Kansas Boducchi? and another athletic big that OA pulls out of his you know what.

Would not be surprised to see 2018 almost ignored as it is reported to be the most underwhelming class in Illinois in some time. Ayo, (position of no need if above happens), Finke overrated wing, and THT undersized power/wing player? Hence the attention already on EJ Lidell the following year...he is a must get player.

Class balance would suffer for a couple of years, but the talent pool is simply no there next year. I hope OA and Walker and 3rd asst. look nationally and internationally for players as well. Expand the base to get the BEST players, not just the best in state/home players.

I don't think creaning a signed player from that area given everything going on and with the lack of bodies as is would have been very smart given the already negative PR from Tilmon and the fact that just a couple days before Pickett had reaffirmed his commitment to illinois (after Underwood met with him). I think Underwood is smarter than to tell the kid that. JMO.
 
#1,879      
. Ayo, (position of no need if above happens), Finke overrated wing, and THT undersized power/wing player?
You're just going to keep underestimating Talen, aren't you? If Henricksen thinks he's a baller, he's a baller so it's not just me who thinks he'll be a very good player at the next level. It is a bad class, doesn't mean everyone in it is a bad player. And you will always take an Ayo Dosunmu. A top 20 is never a player/position of no need and both of these kids are better than Hardy.
http://www.suntimeshighschoolsports.com/2017/04/10/henricksen-illinois-basketball-mailbag/
Ayo Dosunmu from Morgan Park is the No. 1 prospect in the current junior class. But I have always liked what Talen Horton-Tucker of Simeon brings to the table as a basketball player. He’s a flat-out baller who can dribble, pass and shoot while having a firm understanding of the game.
 
#1,880      
And that said...is there someone that BU would have rather than Tilmon? Was BU cool on Tilmon somehow, despite his numbers and talent, perhaps his lack of Frazier-like enthusiasm for Illinois? BU seems to have a pretty good eye for kids...or else he wouldn't have had the success he's had.

Yeah well.. always nice to think you dumped her and not the other way around, but in Tilmon's case someone with a fatter wallet stole our date.
 
#1,881      
I don't think creaning a signed player from that area given everything going on and with the lack of bodies as is would have been very smart given the already negative PR from Tilmon and the fact that just a couple days before Pickett had reaffirmed his commitment to illinois (after Underwood met with him). I think Underwood is smarter than to tell the kid that. JMO.

Which means he wasn't "creaned" - the sequence of events tells me that we were 1) open with him about how likely playing time was going to shake out and 2) said we would still be happy with him coming.

Once Tilmon was no longer coming, his comfort with what he heard on point 1 above probably shifted.
 
#1,882      
You're just going to keep underestimating Talen, aren't you? If Henricksen thinks he's a baller, he's a baller so it's not just me who thinks he'll be a very good player at the next level. It is a bad class, doesn't mean everyone in it is a bad player. And you will always take an Ayo Dosunmu. A top 20 is never a player/position of no need and both of these kids are better than Hardy.
http://www.suntimeshighschoolsports.com/2017/04/10/henricksen-illinois-basketball-mailbag/

I think THT is the classic example of a kid that people overlook because he doesn't fit the physical mold of a top prospect. He just doesn't look like what you see in the McDAA game. But the college game is full of guys that aren't 6'8'' and don't have 7'3'' wingspans.

Yeah THT isn't as tall as you'd like, or as bouncy, but he is such a skilled player. He's also a guy that is going to benefit hugely from college strength training. If I were BU and the staff, I would get in on this kid quick because I expect his stock to rise greatly this summer.

(Oh by the way: THT mentioned in his video with Scott Burgess that his coach - presumably Irvin - was meeting with Underwood this week.)
 
#1,883      
With Wichita State's departure to the AAC, I feel SLU has a decent shot at replacing them in the Missouri Valley, making them a more enticing destination for local kids. I know the A10 is a higher rated conference, but there are not a lot of natural rivalries there for a Midwestern school. Just another log to throw on the recruiting fire.

Two of the schools the Valley is supposedly looking at, according to some Bradley friends of mine, are Valparaiso or Belmont. Possibly Belmont due to trying to grab some of the Nashville market.
 
#1,885      
Possibly Belmont due to trying to grab some of the Nashville market.

picard-facepalm.gif
 
#1,886      
This is kinda random, but I just listened to the latest "200 Level" (what I could get through). That show is just the incoherent, hypocritical ramblings of two uninformed Illini fans. They spent an entire hour rambling about how we should recruit like big boys, but bashing Mizzou for doing just that. Then saying we shouldn't blame Tilmon, but then calling him out for what he did.

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that can't stand that show?
 
#1,887      
Did Meyers Leonard make more contributions to illini than Mav/Ewgu? If the answer is no, then we do not have to be worried about Tilmon's decommit.

I am ok watching a former illini player making 3 pts and 3 rebounds avg per game for Nets in the future. But I look more for some bigs (maybe a high 3 star to mid 4 star) who is proud to be O&B and play 4 years and learn BU's system.

Coach C runs a better NBA prep program and has tie$ to pro agents. This is more suitable for Tilmon.

I think Meyers was proud to be an Illini and we should be proud that he is in the less than 1% that make NBA.

Anyway, I think you are going to be very disappointed with this staff. Coach O and Martin weren't hired because of their ability to find 4 year grinders

I think you will see a direct correlation between our lack of success and our lack of NBA players over last 10 or so years
 
#1,888      
This is kinda random, but I just listened to the latest "200 Level" (what I could get through). That show is just the incoherent, hypocritical ramblings of two uninformed Illini fans. They spent an entire hour rambling about how we should recruit like big boys, but bashing Mizzou for doing just that. Then saying we shouldn't blame Tilmon, but then calling him out for what he did.

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that can't stand that show?

I feel it's the frustration of the whole thing, which I can understand as a fan.
 
#1,889      
You are overestimating the extinction of big guys who aren't Garnett/Durant clones or freakish athletes. From the 2016 Draft

#11 Domantas Sabonis
#18 Henry Ellenson
#23 Ante Zizic
#30 Damian Jones
#37 Chimanu Onuaku
#40 Diamond Stone
#41 Stephen Zimmerman

All but Stone and Zizic have had their cups of coffee and are similar (not exact) to Tilmons skill set

While I agree Tilmon's NBA future is a bit overhyped here, and skill/ranking may not be quite on the level of some mentioned in this post, one thing about Tilmon that could absolutely translate at the next level is his mobility and ability to play in traffic and transition(great hands, moves very well up and down the court). He may not be an ultra explosive leaper for his size, but he's pretty damn mobile.
 
#1,890      
Loved the clips I saw of Kiir and would think he would be a great fit. Would like some opinions from people with greater expertise.
 
#1,891      
This is kinda random, but I just listened to the latest "200 Level" (what I could get through). That show is just the incoherent, hypocritical ramblings of two uninformed Illini fans. They spent an entire hour rambling about how we should recruit like big boys, but bashing Mizzou for doing just that. Then saying we shouldn't blame Tilmon, but then calling him out for what he did.

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that can't stand that show?

Who does that show? This is the first I've heard of it.
 
#1,892      
I hope our days of competing with the WKU types are over.
You'd think so, but they are the ones with the MCDAA big, not us.
Loved the clips I saw of Kiir and would think he would be a great fit. Would like some opinions from people with greater expertise.

Per his coach, we are not in it and they are leaning towards LSU. http://www.wandtv.com/story/35093401/could-mayan-kiir-slide-into-illini-recruiting-class

On the subject of Pickett, SLU seems like a good landing spot for him. He'd have a chance to play earlier and he'd play against inferior competition so getting stronger wouldn't be as much of a necessity.
 
#1,893      
Who does that show? This is the first I've heard of it.

It's linked on the front page here. It's Mike Carpenter and Steve Breitwieser, offshoot of the Tay and J Show.

It's frustrating because if Piper and Werner did a podcast that was actually informative it could be a really good listen (of course they'd also charge $ for it I'm sure). Those guys bring a lot of prospective that would be helpful in a podcast format. As opposed to the Tay and J Show which is more basic stuff for the masses, and the 200 Level which is just two guys rambling and contradicting themselves for an hour. (Sorry guys, I realize you probably read these boards, but it's true).
 
#1,894      
This is kinda random, but I just listened to the latest "200 Level" (what I could get through). That show is just the incoherent, hypocritical ramblings of two uninformed Illini fans. They spent an entire hour rambling about how we should recruit like big boys, but bashing Mizzou for doing just that. Then saying we shouldn't blame Tilmon, but then calling him out for what he did.

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that can't stand that show?

Sports radio is tough to do well. Talk radio of any kind, really.

Podcasts present a brighter future for that sort of media, because it's a pretty simple calculus: the fewer hours of content you have to produce, the more thought can go into them, and the better they'll be.
 
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