And even worse is it isn’t close to the first time. I know I’ve read the Hamilton/ Street & Smith thing before.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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MustangWally
- Mayfield
We already missed on TyTy. Can't pass on Dai Dai.
JJ had an awesome visit this weekend. Spent a little time with him and Geoff before the football game and He was loving it...eating up the love he was getting. Said some really really encouraging things. Now just keep Cal and OA/Chin away and get some good NIL projections for him....
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
former: lol, that's the definition of wishful thinking
latter: can't bring a knife to a gunfight.
Great to know that we're in the game though.
didn’t make caseys top 6
He's not even a take for some of the schools on his list F.Y.I.
Yeah i definitely don’t see Gonzaga taking him his best bet would be DePaul where he would start day one
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
I will keep my expectations extremely tempered here, but there's a couple reasons (as I see it) to have some optimism. If he has great relationships with Dai Dai and Davius, and we're able to snag both, you'd have to think that would help. I don't see those guys as potential KY recruits, but who knows what could change between now and then. I like that Quam should be around him a lot (I assume he's still an assistant at Kenwood?) and hopefully Ayo can make a point to see some of his games and seek him out given he's in town. While I don't have confidence we'll ever outbid KY in NIL projections, he should be able to make a ton of money while here and I wonder how much the difference in NIL $ would even matter to JJ given he'll likely sign a $30+ million contract less than a year later (unless he goes the BJ Boston route...which, where did that happen again?). Also, different program but never hurts to have an Irvin on campus. There's so many variables and the past says this won't go our way, but there's a helluva lot more to point to as potential reasons he might actually come here than we had back in the D. Rose/Jabari days.
Yes I would keep expectations tempered but the staff feels 1000% better about the situation now than they did 6 months ago. Also Geoff is awesome....underrated recruiter....really connects with the kids more than you'd expect him to.
Great to hear especially after all the work he did to get Kofi back. Sounds like the whole staff has great recruiting/coaching chops!
I don’t know. They’re pretty dumb down there. I have some former in-laws (outlaws?) down there that would not be so tough to outfox.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Yeah, our ACs are really good. Underwood responded to a potentially devastating situation with a straight flush. Very impressive. Loving where the program sits and our momentum.
Understandable considering Illinois hasn't even recruited him for months. Never even attended any of his summer league games. DePud is probably his only option these days.
It all comes down to the closing. Groce was a great recruiter who couldn't close. So the jury is generally still out on these guys.
IlliniwekKDR
- Colorado Springs, CO
Those who can remember the details on this probably don't have too many more hairs to split.Actually, this was more than 30 years ago.
Couldn't resist splitting more hairs.
They do seem really good, but let’s see them land the same caliber players OA and Chin managed to before claiming a straight flush IMO. No disrespect to the current recruits, but we’ve missed on numerous top-60 guys since the turnover.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Was he though? Not interested in rehashing, but very mixed bag.
WRT current staff, it's very, very early, but I'm impressed thus far. We're in on a lot of VG (or better) players.
Groce was always a bridesmaid and never a bride, the mom's loved him and the athlete's really liked him, but he couldn't close.
sacraig
- The desert
Groce was a plus evaluator and great at getting his foot in the door. He was a mediocre closer. That doesn't make him a great recruiter.
New staff hasn’t earned coffee . . . yet.
I’m not sure if impressing Mike Thomas should be be regarded as a positive. His judgment in all things measured up to spit.
Exactly. Nothing matters if you can't close.
You said it just as I intended it. That was my whole point and why we can't assume that the current staff is a "straight flush"
Lots to get excited about when you're sitting on a 6-7-8-9 of hearts. But without the 5 or 10, you literally have nothing.
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