Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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By brother played high school ball around the same time that Leonard played so I watched a ton of small town high school basketball games back then and immediately thought he was a future pro. At that time, I really only watched 1A & 2A though so I didn’t really have anything to compare him to but I never saw a high schooler taller than 6’4 move the way that he moved. There were questions about how he’d adjust to a much higher level of play but I don’t remember his strength ever being questioned. He had a B1G ready body even as a junior in high school IMO.
Side note - if you have downtime, I’d recommend checking out small town basketball. It’s a lot of fun. I remember my brother and his teammates scrimmaging EIU basketball guys and beating them when they played 3 v 3. It was pretty funny to see these 1A high schoolers with a 6’2 post beat guys that earned a D1 scholarship. A lot of the boys around east central Illinois can ball.
Joel Goodson
- ties will be resolved
not Indy (obviously), but he alluded to us being on the outs with Swartz, due to the Epps divorce (Swartz's camp has overlap w/Epps' camp).
drsmitty74
- Rochester
Pretty sure it was posted here, but we did not make his final cut list.
Anywhere but IU, please
Joel Goodson
- ties will be resolved
this was a great ID by Chester. way ahead of the curve
There was no minutes crunch after Clark left. Epps was handed the keys and it clearly did not work out. Plenty of blame to go around.
Transfer portal and NIL has changed everything.
Amazing that at one point we thought we would only have Ty, Luke, Dain, Nico and Sencire returning. It was a near miracle that Coleman and TSJ came back.
Even so we only have (7) returnees.
Last year we brought back RJ, Luke, Coleman and Brandon (4)
In the old days people typically only transferred to get playing time or went pro because they were guaranteed 1st round pick.
Amazing that at one point we thought we would only have Ty, Luke, Dain, Nico and Sencire returning. It was a near miracle that Coleman and TSJ came back.
Even so we only have (7) returnees.
Last year we brought back RJ, Luke, Coleman and Brandon (4)
In the old days people typically only transferred to get playing time or went pro because they were guaranteed 1st round pick.
It means don’t buy nuthin!!Does that mean someone is smoking wacky weed?
One never knows when the core will decide to depart the "friendly confines" and seek "greeener paturers." A player like J.J on board to can provide some stability in the face of "changing winds."
Have I ever told the story about holding Keene to 7 points in High School………
Big Jack
- Decatur
Yep, true story.
First possession I played him for the drive but still be there on the shot. He pump faked, I bit a little and he hit a little 2 dribble pull up from about 10 feet.
Second possession I gave him a little more room for the catch and shoot and he hit a 3 on me.
Third possession, I was there on the catch, he ripped through and drove around me for a dunk.
Coach put someone else on him. They beat us by 40.
Disclaimer: All 3 of those descriptions of possessions is right. My recollection of the order could be wrong. But, rest assured all three of those things happened in some order.
They would’ve taken him … He liked us … For certain reasons … It was not going to happen … And I can’t discuss why …
I went to North Carolina and saw Swartz live during HS season … When he was a 3 star … His team was loaded as usual … Cannon always puts out quite a few HM prospects … They were coming off 4 in games in 6 days … Swartz was maybe going 60-70% and scoring with ease … Lazy defender but I figured the schedule and travel might’ve had something to do with it … I told the Cannon coach who I’ve known for a long time that night Swartz would be an NBA guy … I stand by it … Lot of Cam Thomas to his game … In my opinion …
As for where he ends up … Latest I heard … 3 horse race … IU, Miami, and Uconn …
He typically is … He’s also really good at trusting peoples word on scouting players and asking good questions …
Would he play based on where we are today? Just curious because many on the roster would be role players if we achieve what we want.
I think the less certainty is whether we get to where we want to be.
Makes me want to know what he thinks of JJ. JJ was a Anderson get right?
Wrt to Jakstys, I know he's being labeled a stretch big but the shooting is still a big work in progress along with the rest of his game. He only shot 49 percent from the line and made 7 threes in 13 games during Under Armour. https://underarmournext.com/basketball/players/?spid=6440ee304275a02b6931fec3&c=2023boys
Also I believe he only made 9 threes during his Junior Year. However he seems pretty committed to the program so if the shot plus body get better than he should be a good player down the line.
Also I believe he only made 9 threes during his Junior Year. However he seems pretty committed to the program so if the shot plus body get better than he should be a good player down the line.
Coach Alexander get
I could have sworn that Piper said on the recent Illinois Inquire podcast that he was first noticed by Tim.
Elvis truly.
Big Jack
- Decatur
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