Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May 2019)

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#652      

sacraig

The desert
Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?:)

Honestly, for a power 5 team, you have to be better than one of the top 68 teams because of the auto-bids from smaller conferences, whose champions typically are not really top-68 material. So really, you are looking and probably top 45 or so. Still doable and should be a no brainer for a program like ours, but we've... struggled... in recent years.

Obviously.
 
#653      
I get a kick out of the guys who wouldn’t listen last year when we were picked to finish near the bottom of the B1G. Now that we’re picked to be in the upper half of the B1G, no one will believe that, either.

I think your point about predicted finish is valid, but I would say we need to wait until the fall to have a true notion of where the Illini are being predicted to finish in the conference this coming season. Some time back there were some snazzy graphs posted correlating the recruiting rankings of players with conference finish. Those numbers showed a clear under-performance for the Illini compared to the players on the roster. However, I think a more telling correlation is between the predicted conference finish given by a few reputable sources and the team's actual finish. If you look at those numbers this decade, the Illini have done pretty much what was predicted (regardless of the ranking "talent" on the roster). So, if the predictions do come in this fall for a top 6 finish, recent history would say we should be excited.
 
#654      

illini80

Forgottonia
Kouma is on real slow play. I'm surprised he hasn't looked elsewhere. We clearly must be his best option. A couple of dates to consider, NBA draft combine May 16-20 and May 29th to remove name from the draft portal. There will be a good number come out and still be eligible for 2019 season either via 5th year grad or else transfer. Staff will not go into next year carrying 3 open scholarships plus they think they can do better at the 3 than Griffin/Jones/Williams.
Seems risky. I assume they saw something when they offered and accepted his commitment. Now that we have failed to land other options it would seem even more important to get him on board. Especially since that still leaves 2 open. As we saw last year, when you get down to the end, even marginal players are battled for. Landing 3 guys that pulled out of the draft is a pipe dream. Landing one would be great.
 
#655      

illini80

Forgottonia
I get a kick out of the guys who wouldn’t listen last year when we were picked to finish near the bottom of the B1G. Now that we’re picked to be in the upper half of the B1G, no one will believe that, either.
I dunno. I don’t see many on here predicting us to finish lower than 7th which is top half. I think 4-6 is a reasonable expectation, likely puts us in the tourney, and is what most expect. Someone needs to start a “way to early” poll.
 
#656      
Didn't we just have the worst season in school history with the same players? Can't understand how we are DEFINETLY making the tournament.

The answer to your question is no, not when you consider who we played, our winning %, who we beat and where we finished in the conference. Second, we were lead by 2 freshmen and a sophomores who are going to mature and improve. BTW, so you're excluding top 50 5 Kofi Cockburn from the upcoming team?
 
#657      
I get a kick out of the guys who wouldn’t listen last year when we were picked to finish near the bottom of the B1G. Now that we’re picked to be in the upper half of the B1G, no one will believe that, either.
Predictions before rosters are complete are really speculative. Until the players leaving for the draft are all squared away, and recruiting and transfers are completed, the predictions aren't going to be particularly meaningful. Let's see where the experts are picking up once all the info is in before we accuse people on the board of listening or not.
 
#658      
Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?:)
While I agree to make the bar high, however the top 65 teams are not the best 65 teams. If we were not in a power 5 conference we would make the tourney every year with the talent we have because the level of competition is lower. What do you think our conference record would be in the MAC conference? Or any other non power 5 conference? That's what will get us into the tournament, our conference record. Do you not think we would get 20 plus wins in those other conference? The same thing is true in football. Teams go to a bowl every year by needing only 6 wins against lesser competition.
 
#659      
When will our expectations be more than making the tourny, but to make deep runs in the tourny? We've got too much talent in close proximity to not consistently have those expectations. Just have to find a way to land them.

I believe those expectations will grow, once the team has made it back to the Big Dance several years in a row and starts competing for Big10 Championships once again. Right now I think the team is in a good position to get that process started. We have been knocked down and need to get back up and keep fighting. Lack of maturity and team basketball IQ had a lot to do with many of last year's losses.
 
#660      
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When will our expectations be more than making the tourny, but to make deep runs in the tourny? We've got too much talent in close proximity to not consistently have those expectations. Just have to find a way to land them.

Things have changed. Recruiting is now nationwide, not regional like it was 20 or 30 years ago. Kids have access to tons of information about the better D1 programs and coaches. They do not just see what is printed in the local paper and what is said in a few games broadcast each week. This information gives players a lot more opportunity to see how they might fit other teams rosters and scheme. Additionally, AAU ball makes the bball world a lot smaller for the elite prospects. They will have met and had the opportunity to develop relationships with coaches from across the country. This idea that we must recruit local players to be successful, or that we even have some real advantage in doing so, needs to die.

The ability of the coaching staff to prepare players for the next level, as well as promoting their brand, is the real attraction to most top flight players (not counting activities that would draw the attention of the FBI or NCAA). Location, winning, facilities, social life, etc., are factors but they come after that. Penny Hardaway can say he knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA, and trade off that. BU and staff have a more difficult time - though OA does bring some gravitas.

BYW I expect this team to do more than make the "tourney" next year.
 
#661      
Would like to point out that in a recent interview, BU stressed the fact that recruiting is a year round job. “Always Be Recruiting “, is what he said, I believe. I’ll bet he’s got his eye on several possibilities we’re not aware of. Hope I’m right lol.
 
#662      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Would like to point out that in a recent interview, BU stressed the fact that recruiting is a year round job. “Always Be Recruiting “, is what he said, I believe. I’ll bet he’s got his eye on several possibilities we’re not aware of. Hope I’m right lol.

Well yeah, there's literally not a single coach in the nation that wouldn't say the same thing.

The problem is, as we've learned many times before, effort doesn't guarantee success. I don't doubt this staff's effort. But I seriously doubt their ability to close with talented recruits on a consistent basis.
 
#663      

Deleted member 554798

D
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At this rate do we have any of those talented D2 Guys who want to transfer to a D1 school on our radar :)
 
#666      
Would like to point out that in a recent interview, BU stressed the fact that recruiting is a year round job. “Always Be Recruiting “, is what he said, I believe. I’ll bet he’s got his eye on several possibilities we’re not aware of. Hope I’m right lol.
I'm sure he has his eyes on several possibilities, but with limited officials left it will be harder to close & we haven't exactly been nailing it on the last 23 that did go on official visits. That said, it isn't all doom and gloom either, we have some solid players and just a bit of progress of a couple of the returnees from being a decent team. At a minimum, we know & like what we have at 1/2 with Trent/Ayo/Feliz, a high floor there with still some upside. We played last year short 2 productive bigs IMO, but Giorgi is back and we know we have one big. I think Kofi as a freshman will be at least as good as DLR, with considerable more upside, if Kane improves enough to be serviceable then you start to feel much better at the 4/5. We need to be better at the wing, be nice if TJ, AG, Kipper, or Damonte takes a big step forward...but ...we have to be better, now it is up to offseason growth to find out how much. I still hope we find someone, but at this point most recruits are just going to be a lottery ticket that we hope hits enough to help this year or a longer term play for future years. I still think we underrate how big of a loss Greg Eboigbodin was to last year & even this coming, he wasn't likely to ever be great, but just another serviceable big man or even near serviceable big man sure raises the floor.
 
#668      
We got to love this.

Portals, engaging an agent could mean coming back - to the old or a new team, de-committing, coaches moving on - late - from college to the pros and the other way around.

The only thing missing is Agatha Christie. I am dead sure she will make a comeback.

Onward we march. Never a dull, convoluted may be, day. F5 addiction.
 
#673      
Predictions before rosters are complete are really speculative. Until the players leaving for the draft are all squared away, and recruiting and transfers are completed, the predictions aren't going to be particularly meaningful. Let's see where the experts are picking up once all the info is in before we accuse people on the board of listening or not.
“Speculative”? Darn, I thought posters on this board were insiders......
 
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