Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[ptgrd23]

Identifying, recruiting and developing the right talent is huge component of college coaching.

Brad and his team is very good at it.

Identifying 4 and 5 star recruits like Ayo, Adam, Kofi, Skyy is easy. Signing them is hard.

Finding and developing future starters like RJ, Coleman, Jacob, is a lot harder and just as important. Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue programs are built on these hidden gems.

I cringe everytime I see Fred Van Fleet had another 20 point game in Toronto. He graduated HS in 2012 so that was on Weber and Groce.

 

[IlliniDawgs]

Identifying, recruiting and developing the right talent is huge component of college coaching.

Brad and his team is very good at it.

Identifying 4 and 5 star recruits like Ayo, Adam, Kofi, Skyy is easy. Signing them is hard.

Finding and developing future starters like RJ, Coleman, Jacob, is a lot harder and just as important. Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue programs are built on these hidden gems.

I cringe everytime I see Fred Van Fleet had another 20 point game in Toronto. He graduated HS in 2012 so that was on Weber and Groce.

Plenty to pick at in terms of Weber and Groce recruiting but I think FVF is a bit of a stretch. According to 247 his only 2 offers were Wichita St. and Colorado State. He is the first undrafted NBA all-star in history. He is certainly the exception to the rule. Now, one of Weber's faults towards the end of his tenure was he either relied way too heavily on star rankings or was horrible at player development because he had TONS of top-100 type guys that never panned out. So either he and his staff's evaluations were poor, or developing was poor (or both). Groce could never land the big fish, particularly the PG that haunted him

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

In Weber's defense, which I hate doing, McGee was missed by every P5 school on the country.

JaVale only had 3 offers. (Nevada, UNLV, and San Francisco) He was considered a major project, even when he was drafted, despite significant physical gifts. (Averaged 9 pts and 5 Rebs, prior to being drafted.. not exactly screaming 1st rounder)

He is an example of a guy who developed significantly at the NBA level. (A lot of people don't seem to think its possible...)

 

[bluemountain]

We had Jeff George's son at Ilinois last couple years. I wish we could have gotten Jacob Eason. He was a 5 star QB went to GA then WA now in NFL. I don't think there was any way that Lovie was going to land him over GA.

Jacob Eason - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When I was in school in 80's our DT was Mark Butkus - nephew of famous ex Illini Dick. He had a good career starting for us on good teams.

His dad was a different Tony Eason - he was a Domer

 

[BRucks]

Yep, was a great rebounder and bruising inside force for the Illini in the early to mid 80's. When I think of Big George and those teams, the travesty of having to play an Elite 8 game on Kentucky's home court comes to mind without fail. Home Cooking

Loved me some Big George. May have had the worst hands in the B10 but that was more than offset by his huge heart. There was no quit in that lad.

 

[BryceHopkins]

But Butkus's other son went to USC. Basketball's relevance and focus at Illinois will always make easier to get legacies.

Who was the last legacy we missed out on the basketball side?

Marcus Jordan /s

 

[combes]

Glynn Blackwell’s son. Headed to Wisconsin.

 

[bluemountain]

Glynn Blackwell’s son. Headed to Wisconsin.

I did not realize that....Glynn was a solid player for the Illini. Originally a classmate of Scott Haffner and Jens Kujawa

 

[robjilla]

Had no clue Javale McGee's father played here. Looks like he was a solid player too

I see him often. Nice guy driving a big ol nice ford truck. Javale just signed for 15 million

 

[GForce]

Loved me some Big George. May have had the worst hands in the B10 but that was more than offset by his huge heart. There was no quit in that lad.

Long live Gforce. An example of a player maximizing every ounce of his limited talent. Plus his 1000-watt smile.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I see him often. Nice guy driving a big ol nice ford truck. Javale just signed for 15 million

RJ, wonderful story. If that big ol' Ford truck is similar to the way that GM played, that truck is rugged as hell and doesn't go in reverse.

 

[illini80]

JaVale only had 3 offers. (Nevada, UNLV, and San Francisco) He was considered a major project, even when he was drafted, despite significant physical gifts. (Averaged 9 pts and 5 Rebs, prior to being drafted.. not exactly screaming 1st rounder)

He is an example of a guy who developed significantly at the NBA level. (A lot of people don't seem to think its possible...)

Early Loyalty would have ripped Weber non-stop for recruiting JaVale.

 

[WhiteHorseWings]

Jordan Caroline
Kylan Boswell

Brian Cardinal

 

[Seagee]

View attachment 19352

I am Hal...........................Dr. Chandra ? ....Who is this sources ??

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Good afternoon Hal..........sources is a confidental matter Hal......Top Secret...............Do you understand Hal ??

View attachment 19352

Yes Dr. Chandra , I understand.........I'm not a buffoon , you know...............

View attachment 19353

Yes Hal , I know

Pru, I can’t believe I only recently learned that HAL’s name comes from H-A-L being the three letters in the alphabet that directly precede I-B-M.

 

[BretMyBeachHouse]

Early Loyalty would have ripped Weber non-stop for recruiting JaVale.

That's what Bruce Weber would have you believe.

Is there a player that Weber pursued hard that the board was critical of that ended up being really good?

 

[Poe's Law]

That's what Bruce Weber would have you believe.

Is there a player that Weber pursued hard that the board was critical of that ended up being really good?

Mike Davis? Although I don’t know that loyalty was critical, more like confused and it was a short window to get worked up about.

Who was the point guard that decommitted after he was let go? Orvis?

 

[pruman91]

Mike Davis? Although I don’t know that loyalty was critical, more like confused and it was a short window to get worked up about.

Who was the point guard that decommitted after he was let go? Orvis?

Michael Orris ??

 

[illini80]

That's what Bruce Weber would have you believe.

Is there a player that Weber pursued hard that the board was critical of that ended up being really good?

Are you asking what players he was criticized for recruiting or if he recruited any unheralded players that became stars?

The answer to the first question is nearly everyone up until the Richardson/Paul/Bertrand/Griffey class. One comment by a prolific poster at the time I will always remember is “He couldn’t sell candy to a baby.” If you were here then, you know the board fully expected all the Derrick Rose’s and Jon Scheyer’s. Anything less was a failure. And there were plenty of true failures.

Unheralded players that did well is subjective, but I’d throw Chester Frazier in that column. Until his senior year, he was treated brutally on this board. Mike Davis is another that was seen as a desperation pick up.

 

[jamarvelous31]

Mike Davis? Although I don’t know that loyalty was critical, more like confused and it was a short window to get worked up about.

Who was the point guard that decommitted after he was let go? Orvis?

The entire Mike Davis recruitment lasted like 2 weeks. It was so fast that 247 has him enrolling before he committed...

As an aside, it's super cool that he's back in school finishing his degree.

'It's home': Mike Davis completing Illini degree thanks to Lou and Mary Henson Scholarship

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Tucked behind a mask and under a pulled down hat, Mike Davis has spent most of the last three months standing baseline in the corner of Lou

247sports.com

 

[doowink]

Are you asking what players he was criticized for recruiting or if he recruited any unheralded players that became stars?

The answer to the first question is nearly everyone up until the Richardson/Paul/Bertrand/Griffey class. One comment by a prolific poster at the time I will always remember is “He couldn’t sell candy to a baby.” If you were here then, you know the board fully expected all the Derrick Rose’s and Jon Scheyer’s. Anything less was a failure. And there were plenty of true failures.

Unheralded players that did well is subjective, but I’d throw Chester Frazier in that column. Until his senior year, he was treated brutally on this board. Mike Davis is another that was seen as a desperation pick up.

You can recruit all the 5 star players you want...but if they don't want to come, then you recruit the next tier of players and so on until you get your roster filled....there can be lots of debate as to why the Rose's & Scheyer's etc didn't come here.....but we are now in a point with the program under BU where we're getting some of those 5* and 4* players...why???......I think it's the culture the BU has talked about from day1....Players want to be a part of something good.....they want to be pushed....they want to be held accountable.....plus our asst coaches, Fletch, and we're winning consistently....that "culture" was missing under the previous coaches programs

 

[IndyILL]

The entire Mike Davis recruitment lasted like 2 weeks. It was so fast that 247 has him enrolling before he committed...

As an aside, it's super cool that he's back in school finishing his degree.

'It's home': Mike Davis completing Illini degree thanks to Lou and Mary Henson Scholarship

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Tucked behind a mask and under a pulled down hat, Mike Davis has spent most of the last three months standing baseline in the corner of Lou

247sports.com

Didn't realize that he is in second place in career rebounds @ UofI.

 

[tpbradley]

But Butkus's other son went to USC. Basketball's relevance and focus at Illinois will always make easier to get legacies.

Who was the last legacy we missed out on the basketball side?

Justin Smith?

 

[BretMyBeachHouse]

Are you asking what players he was criticized for recruiting or if he recruited any unheralded players that became stars?

The answer to the first question is nearly everyone up until the Richardson/Paul/Bertrand/Griffey class. One comment by a prolific poster at the time I will always remember is “He couldn’t sell candy to a baby.” If you were here then, you know the board fully expected all the Derrick Rose’s and Jon Scheyer’s. Anything less was a failure. And there were plenty of true failures.

Unheralded players that did well is subjective, but I’d throw Chester Frazier in that column. Until his senior year, he was treated brutally on this board. Mike Davis is another that was seen as a desperation pick up.

Of course you didn't much give an answer. Frazier yes was criticized coming off the seasons we were having. Davis not at all. People were perplexed as he hadn't even appeared on a list for his class.

Weber and you talk as if board would have complained about Van Vleet but you truly can't find an example of a similar case.

So somehow Weber followed the board's guidance in not going after van Vleet but ignored all the questions and criticism in inking Orris.

First, this notion is largely a myth. You quote one poster out of millions of fans.

Second Weber's job was not to listen to message boards but to recruit a winning team. It doesn't get much more pathetic than "I would have offered Fred Van Vleet but I couldn't take the heat from anonymous poster DaveDowney65 on the Illinois Loyalty message board."

 

[illini80]

Of course you didn't much give an answer. Frazier yes was criticized coming off the seasons we were having. Davis not at all. People were perplexed as he hadn't even appeared on a list for his class.

Weber and you talk as if board would have complained about Van Vleet but you truly can't find an example of a similar case.

So somehow Weber followed the board's guidance in not going after van Vleet but ignored all the questions and criticism in inking Orris.

First, this notion is largely a myth. You quote one poster out of millions of fans.

Second Weber's job was not to listen to message boards but to recruit a winning team. It doesn't get much more pathetic than "I would have offered Fred Van Vleet but I couldn't take the heat from anonymous poster DaveDowney65 on the Illinois Loyalty message board."

If you want to find your posts stating we should have these recruited unhearlded players that became stars, I'm happy to read them. Not sure what your point is. You want me to quote millions of fans? There weren't millions of fans on here in 2006. I'm not defending Weber. I was here through it all. If you were and remember it differently, fine.

 

[Illiniam1984]

Another futurecast for Illinois! That makes it now 14 total CB’s across Rivals and 247.