Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

[DonIllini]

OA and Chin and even Underwood are no strangers to the game. Gotta play the game all the way to the finish. Just like Calipari connection to WWW. To have a ally in the MIF will benefit us greatly. Let's face it some of the top players in the city and state play for them.

 

[Indy Illini Fan]

BU did the right thing here.

Simeon is likely not going to have or produce the type of talent that Morgan Park has, and will continue to get.

Morgan Park and the MIF more specifically hold the keys to a lot of recruitments that we need to win such as Miller, Whitney, Okoro, Liddell, Steward.

If burning the bridge with Simeon, means getting all the top guys from Morgan Park, and the MIF. Then sign me up.

This was a smart move for the future, and I am totally behind it.

 

[illinitiger]

I don't have to sugar coat it. We made a choice, just like he did. Just like Dosunmu did. Just like Conditt did. Just like Castleton did.
Just like Nolley did......TWICE.
Just like MSU did. Just like UM did. Just like KU, Duke, Kansas, etc....etc....etc. blah blah blah.

Kids and programs make choices.
Everybody is touched by his tears now? I get it, but it is what it is. It's a game. Everybody has to play. Everybody chooses how they want to play it. We want to play it in Chicago AAU/CPL. Ok. Play ball.
Choices. Consequences.

The O&B article spells it out pretty well.

skyldub, I understand your points. We pulled an offer to a kid on the day of his announcement.

some think it could be brilliant decision that establishes an enduring alliance.

some think it may haunt us in future recruiting of non MIF guys.

Most people agree that it sucks that we had to put THT through this.

Im a little pissed, but Ill get over it...mainly because I dont like to be controlled by others. Im also a little concerned that Ayo was seemingly more loyal to an AAU team than his Illini team. THT recruitment would have advanced our team success. MIF denied that opportunity and Ayo played a role.

 

[Bailey]

Simeon is likely not going to have or produce the type of talent that Morgan Park has, and will continue to get.

uhhh?

 

[Illini Beer 4 All]

Its all so shortsighted. Why would anyone join MIF after this?

Because they are by far the best aau team in Chicago?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[pruman91]

wonder if Mr. Irvin is ok with a THT commit to the beloved ?

 

[skyIdub]

BU did the right thing here.

Simeon is likely not going to have or produce the type of talent that Morgan Park has, and will continue to get.

Morgan Park and the MIF more specifically hold the keys to a lot of recruitments that we need to win such as Miller, Whitney, Okoro, Liddell.

If burning the bridge with Simeon, means getting all the top guys from Morgan Park, and the MIF. Then sign me up.

This was a smart move for the future, and I am totally behind it.

 

[oolongmonkey]

Yes, because Conditt's dad is such a huge influence on Chicago recruits.:huh:

Chin and AO know how to recruit and BU knows how to win. We'll be fine.

Exactly... It's not like Simeon and CPL have been pushing recruit towards our shores anyways.

 

[ForWhomTheBellTolls]

To be fair THT or his parents started all this by leaving MIF

If Duke's best player transfer out and join other programs I believe coach K will try his best to make the player's pro career miserable.

Didn't realize that MIF was like the mob and that it was a lifetime committment.

If you had a 16-year old kid . . . wait, never mind, perhaps its better if we don't consider that possibility.

 

[oolongmonkey]

BU did the right thing here.

Simeon is likely not going to have or produce the type of talent that Morgan Park has, and will continue to get.

Morgan Park and the MIF more specifically hold the keys to a lot of recruitments that we need to win such as Miller, Whitney, Okoro, Liddell, Steward.

If burning the bridge with Simeon, means getting all the top guys from Morgan Park, and the MIF. Then sign me up.

This was a smart move for the future, and I am totally behind it.

NOr does Simeon ever psuh their top talent towards use. We get Simeon's table scraps.

It was not too long along that this beloved Simeon sent Derek Rose on a visit to Illinois one day before he committed to Memphis just for the sake of using our program as a pawn to have Memphis increase their bid.

 

[skyIdub]

skyldub, I understand your points. We pulled an offer to a kid on the day of his announcement. s

ome think it could be brilliant decision that establishes an enduring alliance.

some think it may haunt us in future recruiting of non MIF guys.

Most people agree that it sucks that we had to put THT through this.

Im a little pissed, but Ill get over it...mainly because I dont like to be controlled by others. Im also a little concerned that Ayo was seemingly more loyal to an AAU team than his Illini team. THT recruitment would have advanced our team success. MIF denied that opportunity and Ayo played a role

Sent from my VS500 using Tapatalk

Yes, to all but this.....you have to place some accountability on THT and his handlers for the way they played too. We didn't "put" him through anything.
There's no ideal take on this as you pointed out. It sucks, but it's Chicago big boy pants recruiting now.

Ayo was/is loyal to both as far as I can tell. Only time will tell if this was the right play for both parties. I'm going to lean towards the "it's best for both parties" line.

There's probably a whole mess of stuff we will never be privy to on both sides.

 

[squeezegame]

You can't really blame BU for trying though. He really wanted THT and thought he could get it worked out and was wrong. He'll hopefully learn from it moving forward.

And as far as future recruiting...the staff will spin this story so it doesn't look so bad. They'll say they were in an impossible situation and simply had to do what's best for the program. In the end, I think most of the blame will point directly at the Irvin's and most high school programs will have nothing against BU. Hopefully that includes Robert Smith but only time will tell.

Exactly right. i don't blame underwood or illinois. they did right. i'm talking about the in-between peeps.

 

[BMo79]

BU did the right thing here.

Simeon is likely not going to have or produce the type of talent that Morgan Park has, and will continue to get.

Morgan Park and the MIF more specifically hold the keys to a lot of recruitments that we need to win such as Miller, Whitney, Okoro, Liddell, Steward.

If burning the bridge with Simeon, means getting all the top guys from Morgan Park, and the MIF. Then sign me up.

This was a smart move for the future, and I am totally behind it.

please name me all these top guys from MP vs Simeon over heck the last 10 years ?

 

[Indy Illini Fan]

please name me all these top guys from MP vs Simeon over heck the last 10 years ?

The future at MP is greater than at Simeon, the MIF connection helps.

Excluding recruitments of DRose and Jabari. Simeon has not produced that many good players, they had Norvell, DJW, and Nunn.

Morgan Park has had Charlie Moore, Marcus Lovett.

This isn't the past anymore. This was a move for the future.

 

[tyrannosaurus scorus]

The primary issue I have is that BU and co. should have communicated better with Ayo's camp after he committed to assess if there would be any issues if THT continued through with the OV and then committed.

We all knew something like this was a possibility. Now that it happened, it's time to move on.

 

[IlliniDent]

BU got into a scenario that he never should have and then made the only choice he could. To lose Ayo/MIF would have been a dagger going forward. The issue was putting himself in the position to begin with. He gambled and lost

 

[Obelix]

This has nothing to do with Simeon vs. Morgan Park, or Simeon vs. MIF. While Simeon vs. Morgan Park have had a long standing rivalry, with many games heavily guarded by security and police, many Simeon stars have played for MIF and actually have developed a very strong bond with MIF. While Jabari Parker, for example, cherishes his legacy at Simeon, he is currently much closer to MIF, long after his college days at Duke.

I seriously doubt those dynamics change in the future because of this incident, JMO.

 

[Original jay z]

If you think taking a scholarship off the table is something new in recruiting then you have your head in the sand… This happens all the time and especially with bluebloods… Welcome to big time recruiting board… I trust Underwood and his staff… They know what they are doing… We just have to get used to how big time recruiting actually works … We will be fine and our recruiting will not change… Orange and blue forever

 

[Original jay z]

Also, if someone got their feelings hurt, Get over it… Winning will cure everything and if you win kids no matter where they play basketball in Chicago will want to go play for a winner

 

[TCTORNADO]

This has nothing to do with Simeon vs. Morgan Park, or Simeon vs. MIF. While Simeon vs. Morgan Park have had a long standing rivalry, with many games heavily guarded by security and police, many Simeon stars have played for MIF and actually have developed a very strong bond with MIF. While Jabari Parker, for example, cherishes his legacy at Simeon, he is currently much closer to MIF, long after his college days at Duke.

I seriously doubt those dynamics change in the future because of this incident, JMO.

Yup!!

 

[Halloweenie]

Chicago Way

We have made Mr. Irvin the Michael Madigan of Illinois basketball. Nothing can happen except through him. We will regret compromising our integrity. I don't want to win at all costs. Irvin knows how to play this game and he will be the winner. What else might he demand?

 

[FiveStar]

So...

It sounds like we were never going to have both of them commit to us. It was either one or the other. And with it, the sensitivity of the handlers means you lose either the MIF pipeline or the Simeon pipeline for years to come. (Montagues and Capulets. My goodness.)

No win situation. Some adults are going to get upset, take their ball and go home. If those are your only options, take the 5 Star PG who committed first. Done.

Im kind of here

The primary issue I have is that BU and co. should have communicated better with Ayo's camp after he committed to assess if there would be any issues if THT continued through with the OV and then committed.

We all knew something like this was a possibility. Now that it happened, it's time to move on.

And here

 

[ForWhomTheBellTolls]

I believe THT's parents made the best choice for their kid. But they also have to take the consequences. And it is not a huge punishment. THT still ends up at a good program.

It's like if I leave the job my boss is entitled to write a negative reference letter or spread this to the whole circle he knows. I will have to take it but it won't ruin my life.

Wrong. It's not a job. It's not anything like that.

It's a 16-year old kids decision to go to another AAU team where he can be the featured attraction (and what 16-year old kid doesn't want to be the featured attraction), and then a bunch of adults, who are supposed to be there to help the kids (to put the kids interests ahead of their own), conspiring to deny him a future opportunity to attend a school of his choice that was actively recruiting him because they are butt-chapped that he didn't stay "loyal" to their AAU program. I don't care if U of I was his first choice or his third . . . the way this played out was simply not THT's fault (nor Ayo's fault, from what I can tell).

You can use any analogy that you want to rationalize it, and I don't really have a problem with any of this other than the fact that some people want to blame a 16-year old kid for this mess. I think the whole thing is pathetic. THT didn't go out and commit a crime, he didn't say anything negative about MIF, he just went to a team that he thought would help him get better. And there is some evidence he did get better (perhaps that's really why MIF is threatened -- if a Chicago kid can actually help their stock by leaving MIF, maybe more kids do it). And because some screwed up adults with a misplaced idea of what "helping" kids is all about wanted to torment him for this decision, he has a bunch of keyboard jockeys essentially telling him he deserves it.

 

[IllinistuckinGopherland]

Nobody wants to talk. Wonder why. Werner wrote a column similar to this that if anything came down harder on Illinois. I know I'm supposed to be happy we're in with the Fire. But I'm not. This is a sad day for this 55 year fan.

Michael O'Brien‏Verified account @michaelsobrien 5m5 minutes ago
More
Why Simeon’s Talen Horton-Tucker didn’t wind up at Illinois: https://www.suntimeshighschoolsport...linois-passed-on-simeons-talen-horton-tucker/ …

Glad to see you're ok, Mike. Thought we might need to call the cops for a welfare check at the TheRevelator household.

 

[jrichisamazing]

Didn't realize that MIF was like the mob and that it was a lifetime committment.

If you had a 16-year old kid . . . wait, never mind, perhaps its better if we don't consider that possibility.

delete