Every year.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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ginabackes00
CrazedUIFan
I think we aren’t used to having guys like Epps and Skyy. There are plenty of freshmen who make big impacts on top ten teams year after year.
I like them both a lot, but the future's uncertain.
Never said there aren't. And we've had a few the last couple of years that impacted our team (Ayo, Curbelo, Miller, Kofi) so I would say I'm definitely used to having highly rated talent.
But there's also aton of highly rated freshmen that come in with lots of potential that don't translate. Payne was rated higher than Kofi as a prospect. Having talent doesn't mean that talent will fit a system or that all the parts work well together.
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Even Georgi.
Yeah, to be fair, very talented doesn’t mean will succeed. See Emoni Bates for an obvious example of this exact worry.
I would challenge the notion on one side though. This is not limited to freshman. Every year there are sophomores, juniors, and seniors that play worse than their previous year. It happens to more than just freshman, but certainly may seem more prevalent among freshman due to the higher volume of players with high fan expectations.
Us old guys are plenty used to it. Great list of high producing freshmen points in our history
Watching Brunson last night I was thinking of Epps and hoping he can grow into a player like Brunson is. They appear from Epps videos to be similar size and playing styles
JJB
- Chicago, IL
If we do add a veteran presence for depth in the backcourt, would you say the staff is looking more for a PG, combo guard, or wing?
ginabackes00
CrazedUIFan
Absolutely! This is true historically with the Illini. I should clarify that we haven't had this high level of talent consistently in several years.
I understand the concern with freshmen and expectations, but there are examples of highly rated freshmen playing well overall, not just for us.
201154JC
- Rockford, IL
Brunson has been scoring since birth. Pretty sure he swished a 3 in the delivery room. Saw him drop over 30 against Rockford Auburn (my HS) in the state tournament followed by 57 in the semifinal.
His team lost the semi.
I know Epps can shoot but I feel like Brunson was pretty lights out. Maybe I’m misremembering. I feel like Epps is a little more athletic and Brunson was the better shooter at the same point.
That was a massage parlor, not a delivery room
WingedWarriors
- Leesburg, FL
Agree with vast majority of this.
Malachi Smith, AJ Green, or Grant Sherfield are possibilities as well. News on these three has been quiet.
Have we actually reached out to Ramey ? ... like you, I haven't read where we have, but I like him. More of a combo guard that has kept getting pushed out of PG role by another teammate at Texas. Shooting and ball handling guard skills.
Everything quiet about PBJ as well.
The twitter appeal to Mayer by Armando Baycot (aka "Mando" in upcoming season 3 of OuterBanks on Netflix) really got the speculation going about UNC. Now it is known that IL and other schools have also reached out to him.
No doubt we have reached out to Nance, but he and schools have been quiet as well.
I really, really want Nance. No concerns from here about the guards. In addition to elite talent, they will be pushing each other hard for PT.
Matta is bringing in a lot of interesting pieces though. I'm not saying they're going to be a tournament team, but I suspect they'll be quite a bit better next year.
Derek Harper, Bruce Douglas, Kiwane Harris, Frank Williams, Dee.
Also, Steve Lanter, Bardo, Deron, McCamey.
illini.culture IG
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
what if...
(this is pete nance for those wondering, did a jersey swap for fun)
(this is pete nance for those wondering, did a jersey swap for fun)
I completely agree with this. I think Epps epitomizes confidence and I don’t even know what that word means
sacraig
- The desert
Which word: epitomizes or confidence or think?
Gah dang I love those uniforms
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