Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-February 2018)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#1,029      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
mhuml32 said:
Was Ramey considering UCLA?
Click to expand...

Scheduled to OV next weekend.

Who knows, he may still take that OV, but UCLA now has a top-100 PG and 2 top-100 SGs. I would think that serious players remaining are Illinois, Ohio State, OKST, and Texas.
 
Last edited:
#1,030      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
Goldtop said:
To many years of examples to say who will be a better player based on one year of play. Remember how many minutes Tate got over Hill and Nunn his freshman year.
Click to expand...
Tate was really our only PG option at the time, though. Neither Hill nor Nunn were PGs. There's your answer. Plus Groce. That said, pretty much everyone was clamoring for Hill and Nunn to get more minutes by end of non-con because it was obvious they were players.
 
#1,031      

coryfor3

C
coryfor3
TownieMatt said:
Scheduled to OV next weekend.

Who knows, he may still take that OV, but UCLA now has a top-100 PG and 2 top-100 SGs. I would think that serious players remaining are Illinois, Ohio State, OKST, and Texas.
Click to expand...

Don't have to still really be considering the school to take the official visit. If you have visits to burn, it'd be a fun one to go ahead and take. :cool:
 
#1,034      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
mattcoldagelli said:
Ok. Now I'm paying attention on the Ramey front for real.
Click to expand...

Texas would seem like the biggest competition. They've got another strong recruiting class in '18 but no PG. Bamba is obviously leaving early, but there's still a lot of young talent on the wing there. That being said, they're currently over-signed by 3 players according to verbal commits. I'm sure Shaka can count, but signing Ramey would mean 3 players on the current roster would be on the way out.
 
#1,037      

Deleted member 4960

D
Guest
Deleted member 4960
Sounds like we dodged a bullet in not getting Goodwin!
 
#1,038      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
aluma said:
It's interesting that Underwood is apparently selling Ramey on playing 3 guard with Frazier & Ayo. There's no way Smith would feel good about being the odd man out in that rotation. Thankfully, Williams build allows for him to play the 1-3 and he would still get ample playing time. However, Smith, AJ, and Lucas minutes would be severely hurt with the addition of Ramey to the class. I'm all for adding the kid because he sounds like an athletic combo guard who does it all and has a mean streak (which is exactly what we need). I'd have to imagine that at least one of our current guards will not be here next year if we do in fact add Ramey. What's so frustrating is with how many great guards we'll have, if we could add any bigs that were competent rebounders, defenders, and garbage bucket getters, we would be a legit team.
Click to expand...

A few things here:

  1. You always sell recruits on an ideal outcome if they join your program. For Ramey, that's to come in and join a talented young backcourt in an offense that can utilize multiple ballhandlers.
  2. The players you mention there are guys that have already had their roles reduced on a team that's currently 2-9 in the B1G. Those are the type of players that get recruited-over at successful programs. I like each of those guys, but to get better, certain players will have to move aside.
  3. Transfers happen every year, especially in the years immediately following a coaching change. We should expect it, and even welcome it (it's often a win-win for player and program). What we shouldn't do is speculate who it will be while they're still on our roster. That doesn't help anyone.
 
#1,040      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
ties will be resolved
Joel Goodson
aluma said:
It's interesting that Underwood is apparently selling Ramey on playing 3 guard with Frazier & Ayo. There's no way Smith would feel good about being the odd man out in that rotation. Thankfully, Williams build allows for him to play the 1-3 and he would still get ample playing time. However, Smith, AJ, and Lucas minutes would be severely hurt with the addition of Ramey to the class. I'm all for adding the kid because he sounds like an athletic combo guard who does it all and has a mean streak (which is exactly what we need). I'd have to imagine that at least one of our current guards will not be here next year if we do in fact add Ramey. What's so frustrating is with how many great guards we'll have, if we could add any bigs that were competent rebounders, defenders, and garbage bucket getters, we would be a legit team.
Click to expand...

My 2 cents: landing a kid of Ramey's stature will virtually always have roster ramifications (i.e., transfer(s)), unless the cupboard is bare. That's just the way it is.
 
#1,041      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
aluma said:
It's interesting that Underwood is apparently selling Ramey on playing 3 guard with Frazier & Ayo. There's no way Smith would feel good about being the odd man out in that rotation. Thankfully, Williams build allows for him to play the 1-3 and he would still get ample playing time. However, Smith, AJ, and Lucas minutes would be severely hurt with the addition of Ramey to the class. I'm all for adding the kid because he sounds like an athletic combo guard who does it all and has a mean streak (which is exactly what we need). I'd have to imagine that at least one of our current guards will not be here next year if we do in fact add Ramey. What's so frustrating is with how many great guards we'll have, if we could add any bigs that were competent rebounders, defenders, and garbage bucket getters, we would be a legit team.
Click to expand...

Why does Williams' build allow him to play the 1-3 spots, but not Smith?
 
#1,043      

Illinoise

Illinoise
Illinoise
TownieMatt said:
A few things here:

  1. You always sell recruits on an ideal outcome if they join your program. For Ramey, that's to come in and join a talented young backcourt in an offense that can utilize multiple ballhandlers.
  2. The players you mention there are guys that have already had their roles reduced on a team that's currently 2-9 in the B1G. Those are the type of players that get recruited-over at successful programs. I like each of those guys, but to get better, certain players will have to move aside.
  3. Transfers happen every year, especially in the years immediately following a coaching change. We should expect it, and even welcome it (it's often a win-win for player and program). What we shouldn't do is speculate who it will be while they're still on our roster. That doesn't help anyone.
Click to expand...

All of this is perfect. I’m glad I did t have to type it all! When this team makes the NCAA tournament in two years (not that they won’t next year) Frazier might be the only guy getting significant minutes that’s already on the roster.
 
#1,044      

aluma

A
aluma
TheGMan said:
Why does Williams' build allow him to play the 1-3 spots, but not Smith?
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you on this point. I do think that so far, Williams has proven his worth much more than Smith has. One thing I've learned as a coach is that potential is great and every coach wants players that have potential. But if potential doesn't become reality on the court, it doesn't mean squat. Smith and Williams have to improve for next year or they will quickly be replaced by players like Ayo and potentially Ramey.
 
#1,045      

IlliniDent

IlliniDent
Chicago, IL
IlliniDent
Dear lord we like to write off freshmen early, especially for them to be replaced by incoming freshmen who haven’t even stepped foot on campus yet. This board can be ridiculously fickle and impatient sometimes.
 
#1,046      

aluma

A
aluma
IlliniDent said:
Dear lord we like to write off freshmen early, especially for them to be replaced by incoming freshmen who haven’t even stepped foot on campus yet. This board can be ridiculously fickle and impatient sometimes.
Click to expand...

Writing off is much different than being a realist. Everyone arguing that Smith and Williams must improve next year in order to play is 100% correct. I don't think anyone has stated that they don't think Williams or Smith have potential or that they will eventually make those improvements. I believe they will and ultimately will be great assets to our team. HOWEVER, if they don't improve, especially Smith on the defensive end, they will quickly get passed up.
 
#1,048      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
aluma said:
I don't disagree with you on this point. I do think that so far, Williams has proven his worth much more than Smith has. One thing I've learned as a coach is that potential is great and every coach wants players that have potential. But if potential doesn't become reality on the court, it doesn't mean squat. Smith and Williams have to improve for next year or they will quickly be replaced by players like Ayo and potentially Ramey.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Pretty much every player needs to improve or they will get passed over, and potential doesn't mean anything unless it becomes reality. However, I would say that it's too early to give up on any of the freshman's potential. Next year is probably too early, in my opinion, too.
 
#1,049      

PtownIllini8

P
PtownIllini8
Illinoise said:
All of this is perfect. I’m glad I did t have to type it all! When this team makes the NCAA tournament in two years (not that they won’t next year) Frazier might be the only guy getting significant minutes that’s already on the roster.
Click to expand...

Your statement on Frazier is extremely unlikely and I'd say is down right fantasy. Kipper, Da'Monte, Ebo, Smith and Lucas won't be playing? GMAB.
 
#1,050      

PtownIllini8

P
PtownIllini8
aluma said:
Writing off is much different than being a realist. Everyone arguing that Smith and Williams must improve next year in order to play is 100% correct. I don't think anyone has stated that they don't think Williams or Smith have potential or that they will eventually make those improvements. I believe they will and ultimately will be great assets to our team. HOWEVER, if they don't improve, especially Smith on the defensive end, they will quickly get passed up.
Click to expand...

Williams D will keep him on the floor. Plus he's only a bit over a year removed from ACL surgery. He's going to get stronger and more explosive, no doubt by next year.

Coach U says that Smith's practices have been WAY better as of late, he just needs to take it to the floor in games. Not surprising for a freshmen. He'll be fine. He has slightly better stats this year than Luther did as a freshmen.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.