Listen, as I said, the improvement is commendable for us Illini fans, but the impact is highly exaggerated by posters. Black was a highly ranked recruit (like EJ), and we were able to make him the centerpiece of our team that finished 4-14 at the bottom end of the league (worse than previous years), earning him HM Big Ten, not getting drafted, and ending up very low in Europe. "If we did all that to Black, and we made HM, imagine what we can do for YOU EJ!" If people would have bought that improvement success story, Black would not have been buried very low in Europe not been able to even make 1st division to begin with. Reality talks, and reality is that people fairly knowledge in basketball (including pro-teams in Europe, agents, coaches, etc.) did not buy the Black success story.
The key sell to EJ is that we have some extremely talented guards (Frazier, Ayo) and we need some equally (or better) talented players in the frontcourt to compete not only in the B1G but nationally. And in the process, we will get you to the league. That would be the story for ALL 3 recruits. Black does not register as a success in highly recruits' mind, and is actually not a big positive.