Missing is part of recruiting, but I think the hard part for those of us that have followed it, is the frequency. The staff goes after, and seems to get pretty far with a large number of elite level recruits. Unfortunately, the closing rate on those has been low, and that's disheartening. It's also a rejection of the program, and testament to how far Illinois dropped during the Groce years, and even before that, the mediocrity with Weber. We may not like the reminder, but the program only recently made it back into national relevance, top-25 rankings, threatening for the conference title, etc.. The appeal isn't where it needs to be to overcome some of the competition.
It's a slow climb, unfortunately. Takes a lot of fan passion, a great coach, dedicated players, and an administration that supports all of those along the way. My only advice is patience --there's a long way between now and a final roster, and while we haven't hit on several top targets, it's a long way from done. Kind of trite, but these guys don't know the meaning of quit.
It's a slow climb, unfortunately. Takes a lot of fan passion, a great coach, dedicated players, and an administration that supports all of those along the way. My only advice is patience --there's a long way between now and a final roster, and while we haven't hit on several top targets, it's a long way from done. Kind of trite, but these guys don't know the meaning of quit.