Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

[Illini Beer 4 All]

Finke was either hurt or his dad is lying. Knowing Jeff Finke, I’m going to say that he was hurt.

Lying, no. Embellishing, probably. If he had a real injury, why the heck was he out there playing all summer instead of getting healthy and ready for his Sr. season? He already had some really good offers.

Doesn't really matter, there can be a lot of benefits to committing in the spring.

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[FiveStar]

Lying, no. Embellishing, probably. If he had a real injury, why the heck was he out there playing all summer instead of getting healthy and ready for his Sr. season? He already had some really good offers.

Doesn't really matter, there can be a lot of benefits to committing in the spring.

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Because the summer before your senior is the biggest recruiting season in your high school career, way more important than the high school season. Summer ball you’re going against college players at every position. Not even close to that during a high school season.

 

[TCTORNADO]

Lying, no. Embellishing, probably. If he had a real injury, why the heck was he out there playing all summer instead of getting healthy and ready for his Sr. season? He already had some really good offers.

Doesn't really matter, there can be a lot of benefits to committing in the spring.

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The dog ate my homework.

 

[LovieIlliniWood]

Why grad transfer want to come here in '18 to play substitute for Finke + Black?

In '19 all we have are Spicy G + Matic + freshmen. Some experience at the post is badly needed.

There is a chance that Spicy G + Matic won't be B1G caliber at all. There is also chance that Liddell and Okoro won't come. Even if they come, they may not be able to start to play B1G game the first year.

At workouts earlier this fall Underwood was all over Greg, but as Greg walked to half court Underwood had a message for him. Mind you the coaches were literally all over this kid ALL practice. Greg walked to half court during a drill and Underwood said, Greg if you work your !!! off you will be a star in this league. I think he is right. The dude is fairly raw right now but holy cow that kid looks like a Man! He is very very athletic and will make strides offensively this year to get him on the floor imo. I believe he will end up with some big minutes in next years rotation with Finke and Black.

 

[Captain Bubbles]

At workouts earlier this fall Underwood was all over Greg, but as Greg walked to half court Underwood had a message for him. Mind you the coaches were literally all over this kid ALL practice. Greg walked to half court during a drill and Underwood said, Greg if you work your !!! off you will be a star in this league. I think he is right. The dude is fairly raw right now but holy cow that kid looks like a Man! He is very very athletic and will make strides offensively this year to get him on the floor imo. I believe he will end up with some big minutes in next years rotation with Finke and Black.

It's mind blowing how he's gained over 20+ pounds of muscle since he came here. He can be a force in the Big Ten. Just has to put in the work and effort.

 

[PtownIllini8]

Are there any 2018 targets left?

BPJ

 

[PtownIllini8]

1) Most bigs have a tendency to struggle their freshman year. BU probably wants to avoid relying on them if possible.

2) Liddell is a tweener, not a big.

3) Okoro is going to most likely be recruited by almost everyone. It's going to be tough to get him.

4) Okoro and Ayo are tight:thumb:

 

[PtownIllini8]

4) Okoro and Ayo are tight:thumb:

5) Okoro is big, strong and athletic. Likely not a finished product offensively, but defense and rebounding is likely a different story.

 

[GortTheRobot]

I hope Finke doesn't end up at Wisky, only to become a Sam Dekkeresque player.

 

[TCTORNADO]

I hope Finke doesn't end up at Wisky, only to become a Sam Dekkeresque player.

Wisconsin would need to make a commitable offer first.

 

[combes]

I hope Finke doesn't end up at Wisky, only to become a Sam Dekkeresque player.

Dekker was a five star recruit.

 

[illiniguy24]

Dekker was a five star recruit.

How many 5 star recruits has Wisc signed over the last decade?

I’d be interested to see how many of their All B1G or All Americans were blue chip players versus 3 star type players


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[Deleted member 631370]

How many 5 star recruits has Wisc signed over the last decade?

I’d be interested to see how many of their All B1G or All Americans were blue chip players versus 3 star type players


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They've had several top-50 kids. Dekker and Brian Butch were 5* kids. Joe Krabbenhoft, Jon Leuer, Trevon Hughes, Keaton Nankivil, Bronson Koenig, etc. were all comfortably within the top 100.

Guys like Devin Harris, Alando Tucker, Mike Wilkinson, Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes, etc. were definitely under-the-radar types. But their success gives the impression that Wisconsin was built on the back of 3-star kids nobody else wanted. That's not entirely true, but they have had more 3-star success stories than most programs.

 

[ChiefIllini]

their success gives the impression that Wisconsin was built on the back of 3-star kids nobody else wanted. That's not entirely true, but they have had more 3-star success stories than most programs.

Exactly. The whole "Wisconsin turns water into wine" narrative is overplayed and overstated. They get plenty of high ranked players.

 

[illiniguy24]

They've had several top-50 kids. Dekker and Brian Butch were 5* kids. Joe Krabbenhoft, Jon Leuer, Trevon Hughes, Keaton Nankivil, Bronson Koenig, etc. were all comfortably within the top 100.



Guys like Devin Harris, Alando Tucker, Mike Wilkinson, Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes, etc. were definitely under-the-radar types. But their success gives the impression that Wisconsin was built on the back of 3-star kids nobody else wanted. That's not entirely true, but they have had more 3-star success stories than most programs.

Thanks!


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[Spoon House]

Exactly. The whole "Wisconsin turns water into wine" narrative is overplayed and overstated. They get plenty of high ranked players.

But I constantly wonder what would have happened if Egwu had committed to Wisconsin instead of Frank that year.

As for Illinois, I think we might see a coach craft a league star in Eboigbodin.

 

[Obelix]

The whole "Wisconsin turns water into wine" narrative is overplayed and overstated.

Wisconsin turns everything into cheese.

That is their recruiting advantage.

 

[BMo79]

Why grad transfer want to come here in '18 to play substitute for Finke + Black?

In '19 all we have are Spicy G + Matic + freshmen. Some experience at the post is badly needed.

There is a chance that Spicy G + Matic won't be B1G caliber at all. There is also chance that Liddell and Okoro won't come. Even if they come, they may not be able to start to play B1G game the first year.

you said we need to get a transfer big who can play in 19, I do not agree with that at all if you are going to do that just get a fr big for 18 he can rs or what ever and he doesnt waste a year .

 

[BMo79]

1) Most bigs have a tendency to struggle their freshman year. BU probably wants to avoid relying on them if possible.

2) Liddell is a tweener, not a big.

3) Okoro is going to most likely be recruited by almost everyone. It's going to be tough to get him.

if we get one in 18 we will have them and Spicy-G and yeah I know EJ will be more like what ever we see Black doing this year, and even if Okoro is recruited by everyone I like our chances with him, and wont be shocked to see him commit before we land another guy in 18, this is just a guess nothing more

 

[coryfor3]

Finke was either hurt or his dad is lying. Knowing Jeff Finke, I’m going to say that he was hurt.

Knowing that is a critical evaluation time against tough competition, I have no idea why you would play at less than 100%. Not saying anything about the truth here- just that if he was injured, he should have said so and he would have been in a better spot. Things could not have really improved for him recruiting-wise. They could have only gone bad. And gone bad they did.

 

[Deleted member 631370]

I have a feeling recruiting is going to be relatively boring and anti-climatic for a little while, which is maybe a good thing considering what all went down lately. Although I recall Piper hinting that Okoro may make a decision pretty early on in the process.

1. That's okay, because once the season kicks off, we'll have plenty more to talk about.

2. The sooner Okoro commits to a school, the better for us IMO. Because as it stands right now, we're probably in a good position. But I would expect lots of suitors to come calling.

 

[PtownIllini8]

1. That's okay, because once the season kicks off, we'll have plenty more to talk about.

2. The sooner Okoro commits to a school, the better for us IMO. Because as it stands right now, we're probably in a good position. But I would expect lots of suitors to come calling.

Yeah, but none of the other suitors has his buddy Ayo playing for their team.

 

[scaggs22]

Yeah, but none of the other suitors has his buddy Ayo playing for their team.

Yeah, but if Ayo is one and done (which is his stated goal) then he won't be here when Okoro is a Freshman

 

[GranMastaFlex]

Yeah, but if Ayo is one and done (which is his stated goal) then he won't be here when Okoro is a Freshman

IMO it's very unlikely he's a one and done.. The NBA is the final goal for the large majority of 5* recruits so I certainly understand his confidence in saying it won't take him long to get there but he has a ways to go as most kids do at that age.

 

[PlayAZ]

1. That's okay, because once the season kicks off, we'll have plenty more to talk about.

2. The sooner Okoro commits to a school, the better for us IMO. Because as it stands right now, we're probably in a good position. But I would expect lots of suitors to come calling.

The best possible outcome would be Okoro would commit sooner than later.

If Ayo declares for draft which he has declared the want to do, he would not be around from the Hey "Lets build something here together angle".

Now is there a chance Okoro could reclass and join us next year with Ayo...now that is something to ponder....hmmm, I like that scenario.