Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#801      
It comes down to whether or not our staff wants Nance for 1 year or Hawkins for 1 year because if you take Nance, Hawkins will probably transfer after this year. Nance doesnt want to play the 5 and the staff probably doesnt want to rely on Hawkins at the 5 either as he is much better at the 4.

Your post makes no sense. Nance would be gone after 1 year. So how would that cause Hawkins to leave after next year?

You say the staff doesn’t want to rely on Hawkins at the 5, but as of now, it looks like he’ll be getting lots, if not most of, his time there.

FWIW I think Hawkins would be fine playing minutes at both the 4 and 5. The problem is we have little depth there. It’s Hawk and Dain and that’s it. Unless Lieb makes a huge leap.

It also seems unlikely that we leave two rides open. In light of how we were decimated by injuries last year, that would almost be coaching malpractice. And I think our coaches are smarter than that.
 
#802      

redwingillini11

North Aurora
Cmon people we all have a job to do. No one gets dinner until Nance commits. I’ll think about giving dessert to the person who get Bryce Hopkins here as a PWO.
 
#803      
I love to speculate about potential recruits.transfers coming here, and until BU arrived, that speculation usually had an unhappy ending. Anyway, for many reasons mentioned in the last 20 pages it looks like Nance is not coming. So, moving on, who are we looking at as a backup 5?
 
#805      
Your post makes no sense. Nance would be gone after 1 year. So how would that cause Hawkins to leave after next year?

You say the staff doesn’t want to rely on Hawkins at the 5, but as of now, it looks like he’ll be getting lots, if not most of, his time there.

FWIW I think Hawkins would be fine playing minutes at both the 4 and 5. The problem is we have little depth there. It’s Hawk and Dain and that’s it. Unless Lieb makes a huge leap.

It also seems unlikely that we leave two rides open. In light of how we were decimated by injuries last year, that would almost be coaching malpractice. And I think our coaches are smarter than that.
It makes a lot of sense if you think Nance coming here would eat into a lot of Hawkins playing time. Enough that he or his family feels like he should transfer out. We had 4 or 5 guys at one point this offseason and there was talk of him transferring. I dont see Hawkins playing much of the 5 unless we go "small and fast" which would be only at certain times in certain games. It's no secret that the staff is going to get another 5 because they want Hawkins at the 4.
 
#806      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
Ahhhh Pete Nance..... we hardly knew thee. I remember when It's Happening.

long-longing-for-you.gif
 
#807      
It makes a lot of sense if you think Nance coming here would eat into a lot of Hawkins playing time. Enough that he or his family feels like he should transfer out. We had 4 or 5 guys at one point this offseason and there was talk of him transferring. I dont see Hawkins playing much of the 5 unless we go "small and fast" which would be only at certain times in certain games. It's no secret that the staff is going to get another 5 because they want Hawkins at the 4.
If Nance coming would eat into Hawkins’ playing time, why would Hawkins transfer out after next year when Nance would already have graduated? I think that’s what ElGran’s asking.
 
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#808      

Illin618

I forgot the last i in my username
Southern IL
My point is still that 618 said nance was coming after Mayer committed… what has changed since then? I guess the answer is time, but is wondering if there was anything more concrete
I will say that from everything I was told/have been told, a week ago, Nance was a lock. That’s from an as credible source as credible can get. Things happen quickly in the portal, we will never know truly until a player actually signs. But don’t get it twisted, I was not the only insider here that was told them same things about Nance. I wish I could tell you what happened but that information hasn’t been given to me. We will see!
 
#809      
If Nance coming would eat into Hawkins’ playing time, why would Hawkins transfer out after next year when Nance would already have graduated? I think that’s what ElGran’s asking.
With Morez on his way, and perhaps Jazz Gardner and James Brown too, why would we care? Especially with Underwood's ability to go out and grab a transfer.

I feel pretty comfortable saying Underwood is accounting somewhere close to 0% concern if landing Nance would cause problems with Hawkins. If you don't want to be here, this staff is showing pretty well that they can replace you.
 
#810      
With Morez on his way, and perhaps Jazz Gardner and James Brown too, why would we care? Especially with Underwood's ability to go out and grab a transfer.

I feel pretty comfortable saying Underwood is accounting somewhere close to 0% concern if landing Nance would cause problems with Hawkins. If you don't want to be here, this staff is showing pretty well that they can replace you.
No lies here. If Coleman can improve this year things may change, but by no means will the staff sit idly by when it comes to pursing front court help.
 
#812      
With Morez on his way, and perhaps Jazz Gardner and James Brown too, why would we care? Especially with Underwood's ability to go out and grab a transfer.

I feel pretty comfortable saying Underwood is accounting somewhere close to 0% concern if landing Nance would cause problems with Hawkins. If you don't want to be here, this staff is showing pretty well that they can replace you.
Agreed with all of your points. I couldn’t give less of an S if Hawkins transfers. I was just trying to reiterate ElGran’s question to AnnaMay because it didn’t seem like AnnaMay was getting it.
 
#814      
Illinois upping its involvement with 2023 recruit Amani Hansberry:

Amani Hansberry is a 6'7" forward out of Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. He is a bear in the paint, versatile on both ends, and has a 7'1" wingspan. Was recently awarded the Baltimore Sun Player of the Year. Illinois has been upping its involvement, per a report by 247 sports, and Hansberry recently told 247 that he would like to take a visit.

You can check out everything you need to know about his game in this in-depth evaluation that was just published: Player Evaluation.
 
#815      
Illinois upping its involvement with 2023 recruit Amani Hansberry:

Amani Hansberry is a 6'7" forward out of Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. He is a bear in the paint, versatile on both ends, and has a 7'1" wingspan. Was recently awarded the Baltimore Sun Player of the Year. Illinois has been upping its involvement, per a report by 247 sports, and Hansberry recently told 247 that he would like to take a visit.

You can check out everything you need to know about his game in this in-depth evaluation that was just published: Player Evaluation.
I would like a bear in the paint. Yes please.
 
#816      
I will say that from everything I was told/have been told, a week ago, Nance was a lock. That’s from an as credible source as credible can get. Things happen quickly in the portal, we will never know truly until a player actually signs. But don’t get it twisted, I was not the only insider here that was told them same things about Nance. I wish I could tell you what happened but that information hasn’t been given to me. We will see!
Tell us the source and let Loyalty decide the credibility. Otherwise we will be skeptical there could be more credible sources. /s
 
#817      
Been out of the loop a bit lately so this is a late post. How much of an upgrade is Mayer compared to Grandison? Grandison is the better shooter and Mayer’s length plays well on defense.
 
#819      
Slight exaggeration but it feels like almost all top flight big men want to avoid the 5. Obvious exceptions for guys who are mountains but it baffles me nance thinks he’s got a better shot at making an nba team being a primary 4.
 
#821      

theNewGuy

Dallas, TX
Slight exaggeration but it feels like almost all top flight big men want to avoid the 5. Obvious exceptions for guys who are mountains but it baffles me nance thinks he’s got a better shot at making an nba team being a primary 4.
I think it’s more of the fact that 4s can showcase more skills. It’s hard to show you can shoot the 3 if you’re posting up the majority of the time as a 5.
 
#822      
If Nance coming would eat into Hawkins’ playing time, why would Hawkins transfer out after next year when Nance would already have graduated? I think that’s what ElGran’s asking.
If Hawkins is not happy about losing time to Nance and feels he was “wronged” by bringing Nance on then it wouldn’t be surprising for him to transfer next year even with Nance being gone. May just feel the trust isn’t there and just move on. That’s no reason not to bring on Nance, even though it now looks like that won’t be an option. But even if Nance isn’t brought in, still no guarantee that Hawkins doesn’t transfer after next year anyway. Who knows?
 
#823      
My guess is that some of the feedback Nance received was his ability to guard on the perimeter, and against smaller guys. I could actually see a team like Villanova be a good fit, but no idea if they are in the mix. If Illini started using a switching defense next year then Nance playing the 5 could he moot point.
 
#824      
Yup.
I can't see both of these players on the same team, someone or both would be unhappy.
I respectfully disagree. Mayer is a big wing. Nance is the classic "4." It wouldn't be difficult to blend them effectively.
 
#825      
I respectfully disagree. Mayer is a big wing. Nance is the classic "4." It wouldn't be difficult to blend them effectively.
I don't believe it is a matter of positions so much, but rather an unwillingness to compete as a go-to option.
Both players want to showcase their talents for the league and would have less success doing that if both are on the same squad.
 
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