Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2017)

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#2,326      

EJ33

E
San Francisco
EJ33
combes said:
The issue with DJ is that coaches and fans have been projecting how good he might be since he was a sophomore in high school. Heck, Robert Smith benched him all the time even when he was a senior and signed with Illinois. Then at Illinois, he has show very short flashes but it goes away quickly. Upping a player's motor is not that easy, and so far, high school and college coaches have not been able to accomplish it with DJ.

If he stays on the team, I would have very low expectations and be pleasantly surprised if he contributed positive minutes.
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Agreed.

I would go a step further and say that you cannot teach motor. Kids either have it or they don't. I would recruit the high motor / less skill guy every
time over the low motor / more skill guy. See Kendall Gill and Luther Head for examples of athletic motored-up guys that improved dramatically over their careers. I cannot think of a single low motor guy that over-achieved.

As you say there is no mystery about DJ. Everybody has talked about his lack of initiative and consistency - i.e., low motor.
 
#2,329      

Bubba Eder

B
Northeast Missouri
Bubba Eder
IlliniTargetAcquired said:
Thank you. It's exciting hearing they are going after some big names, even if we're late to the game.
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Didn't our last staff go after the big names also, just saying? JG wasn't afraid to go after anyone, not understanding how you feel this is any different, seems to me to be our norm for the past few years.
 
#2,331      

IlliniTargetAcquired

I
IlliniTargetAcquired
Bubba Eder said:
Didn't our last staff go after the big names also, just saying? JG wasn't afraid to go after anyone, not understanding how you feel this is any different, seems to me to be our norm for the past few years.
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It's different because we have a great coach to back up the recruiting prowess of the staff he put together. Coach O is in a different league than any assistant we've had in recent years in terms of recruiting. I'm not counting my chickens now, but I think the class will fill out nicely, even without a huge splash. And I don't have any doubts that the program from top to bottom is being run by competent people now that will return to the program to sustaining success.
 
#2,333      

Bubba Eder

B
Northeast Missouri
Bubba Eder
IlliniTargetAcquired said:
It's different because we have a great coach to back up the recruiting prowess of the staff he put together. Coach O is in a different league than any assistant we've had in recent years in terms of recruiting. I'm not counting my chickens now, but I think the class will fill out nicely, even without a huge splash. And I don't have any doubts that the program from top to bottom is being run by competent people now that will return to the program to sustaining success.
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I agree+1000, I'm hoping to see different/positive results from this staff.
 
#2,337      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
mattcoldagelli said:
It's an encouraging early example of "don't waste time on kids that aren't into you."
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You're absolutely right, but dude: how are you and S&C making it through your days lately?! You're tag-teaming the super-grounded, slightly pessemistic realist acts 24/7, you must have a super hot girlfriend/wife or an awesome bar that you hit up when you're not posting here! :D
 
#2,340      

Illini B-Ball Fan

Illini B-Ball Fan
Illini B-Ball Fan
TownieMatt said:
It might look the same, but a good coach knows if the cause is laziness or a lack of confidence. A good coach also knows that there's a big difference in the way you go about fixing those two issues.
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Would assume Groce and Aaron had several discussions over the last 2 years about his progress (or lack of it) and how to improve as a player. Yet, it would not be surprising that Groce had a discussion-stopping-point and left the accountability and responsibility aspects up to Aaron how to work through those challenges, whatever they were. Hopefully, Aaron can turn the corner with BU's and the new staff's assistance and become an integral part of the team's success this coming fall.
 
#2,341      

CAHALL15

C
Central Illinois
CAHALL15
HR217 said:
I'd like to see us snag Kenny Wooten.
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His athleticism is certainly at an elite level, but we'd be the 3rd school he committed to and in the past, he said he wanted to stay closer to home.
 
#2,344      

STLIlliniMike

S
STLIlliniMike
Bubba Eder said:
Didn't our last staff go after the big names also, just saying? JG wasn't afraid to go after anyone, not understanding how you feel this is any different, seems to me to be our norm for the past few years.
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Completely agree. I'm no longer impressed to hear we're going after the highly touted recruits. We did that consistently the last 5 years under Groce. I'll be impressed when we actually land some of them.
 
#2,345      

Redbirds33333

R
Chicago, IL
Redbirds33333
Just saw on twitter MSU reaching out to an unsigned top 40 SG. Coincidence?

David Singleton
 
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#2,346      

Illini4life75

I
Illini4life75
Everyone in here does know that Jordan and Williams r a top 75 recruit. Both 4 star.in this new offense,both have potential to get 10 12 points a game.all of u r counting them out already. Are whole starting line up can consist of 4 star guys.not to shabby if I may say so myself.
 
#2,350      

Illiniwek06

Illiniwek06
N of I-80
Illiniwek06
Illini4life75 said:
Everyone in here does know that Jordan and Williams r a top 75 recruit. Both 4 star.in this new offense,both have potential to get 10 12 points a game.all of u r counting them out already. Are whole starting line up can consist of 4 star guys.not to shabby if I may say so myself.
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Except they weren't. DJW 78 composite rank; AJ 117.

http://247sports.com/Player/DJ-Williams-23595?Institution=10187

http://247sports.com/Player/Aaron-Jordan-31582?Institution=10548
 
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