Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#2,152      
True I was concerned bout that as well hell I was concerned every time I seen HumHouse on the court. Dude is not a B1G level player there should be 0 minutes for him on this next years roster.
 
#2,153      
In what universe is Kofi a 3 point threat and what coach doesn’t put his players in positions where they have the most success?
I don't think it means becoming a three point shooter, but letting them work more than just at the rim. Show PnR skills, passing out of the post, face up and take a guy from 15' out are all improvements you can make without just shooting threes.

Players like Kofi, Dain, and Morez see the NBA and know they aren't in that mold, so they want to do what they can to make themselves appealing in other ways.
 
#2,154      
Twelve months ago? My goodness, that is so nice. I was posting about THIS year. Or, add up the stats for the past 5 years, and then see how your post ages.

Oh, and ask Brad Underwood if he thinks this was the season he hoped for. The "Final Four potential" season he talked about all season long.

So, yes, last year was excellent. This year? Nope. And it is NOT just this year that is a concern.
 
#2,155      
He was always going to dominate a smaller conference. His biggest issue was playing against defenders with more size and length since he is only 6'8ish.
You are probably correct against some of the 7 foot players with strength, but I think Dainja would have done better vs Maryland than our guys this year. Tomi was too slow and underweight to guard Queen. We needed someone with some bulk for teams like Maryland.
 
#2,156      
Sorry to reply to an older post but i am never gonna get caught up.

When Shannon's banner was upside down, Whitman took responsibility. We all know Whitman wasn't the guy, but he took responsibility and went out and ate crow publicly.

It doesn't matter if people know what they are talking about. Brad and his people need to shut up, take responsibility, and get it right. The buck stops with him, and the only person who has to think his seat is hot is Whitman, who we know knows how accountability works.
Take responsibility for what exactly?
 
#2,157      
From Fighting Illini Facebook group:

Sorry for the long read, but, worth it…

Now that it's official, here's what has transpired. On Wednesday, I received a phone call from Morez Johnson Jr. We talked for 10 minutes before he brought his dad into the conversation. Here’s what took place.
Morez and his dad were genuinely upset with how Illinois used him as a player. In Morez Jr. words:

"Mr. Prince, I am not just a guy who can rebound, set picks, and dunk. I am more than that, but the person running the offense didn’t believe in me. No matter how many times I showed it in practice, it wasn’t enough. I can't allow my career to end up like Kofi (Cockburn) and Dain Dainja. Their development was hindered. If you remember, Kofi was asking to do more, but they wouldn’t let him. Look at the year Dain had, tell me they couldn’t have used that this season."

I replied by encouraging him to talk to the coaches and urged him to be patient.

Morez Sr. then added:
"No, we're not doing that. We played 30 games here, we know what they think of my son. Go back and look at the Kentucky game, KP. My son took his first mid-range shot of the season, missed it, and was immediately taken out. He sat for the next 9 or 10 minutes. They told Tomislav Ivisic to come back, and the offense ran through him again. Look at how they used the Gibbs boy, he could score, but they had him sit in the corner. Or Tre, he couldn't shoot mid-range shots only threes. Or Ty Rodgers, he can shoot, but they didn’t let him. I can’t put my son in that position again. We respect Coach Underwood, it’s not him he's a great coach, but he doesn’t control the offense."

Morez has received some bad advice from someone, which could lead to a poor decision if he ends up at a particular destination. He has already been offered $1.8 million. I’ll add more details as questions arise.
It's absolutely wild if this is true and they are insinuating that Kofi, much less Dain could have a shooting/perimeter role if it were not for the coaches. Both have gone on to prove that is not the case and Morez did not show that in HS beyond incidental examples. People are freaking delusional.
 
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#2,158      
At the end of the day it's Brad and staffs job to navigate reality and put out a winning product.

I would personally struggle if my top 50 kid played behind Hum & the staff I committed to was largely gone. Piper airing laundry comes off as him trying to defend staff not doing their job.
Piper airing laundry comes of as him calling out the family for lying to him. No problem with him doing so
 
#2,159      
Remember that Morez was a true 18 year old freshmen. Queen was 19-20 year old freshmen. Dain had to get weight control and develop over 3-4 years. Morez going to have the sophomore leap, hope he goes to BYU and we don't play them.
He may have a sophomore leap - we’ll see. But based on his current muscle development, he’s pretty far along physically. Riley has a lot of room for physical development, not Morez.
 
#2,160      
Well this was certainly quite the news to open up after landing from an international flight! I think multiple things can be true here:

- The program is still in a great place. We won a Big 10 title 12 months ago.

- The direction of how the team is being constructed is worrying. We all knew 23 -> 24 would be tough, but seeing that 24 -> 25 might be tough is bad.

All this to say as well that Morez is not some innocent bystander who is forced to make this decision. Saying you don’t want to end up like Kofi is crazy and insanely disrespectful. Yeah his game didn’t end up translating to the big league like he might’ve wanted but he had an incredibly decorated college career. He still has so much left to evolve in his game. He didn’t get the minutes in Year 1 bc he largely didn’t deserve them until well into Big 10 play. It’s unfortunate he got hurt and lost his rhythm, but he did really struggle to avoid foul trouble.

Another year for him here would’ve been great, but if he really thinks going to lower level competition and putting up great numbers like Dain is good for him long term, then by all means kid. Knock yourself out. I think that’s bad advice but I’m just a guy.
 
#2,161      
I am not sure you do get what I am saying: it is possible to retain players. In basketball, not just football.

Retaining some guys matters, and our current staff is --- in my opinion, no one need agree with me --- under-valueing retention.

I am most certainly NOT talking about the "good ole days" as you call them. Not.at.all.

I am talking about winning. Today.
 
#2,162      
Good luck Rez. We were hoping for your success here at Illinois, you always hustled and played hard and we fans appreciated the effort

I think you are getting terrible information and guidance. That is my opinion.

But we wish you the best. Go make your money now, injuries like what happened to Ju Ju can derail a career so I understand the $1.8. Million dollars is a big deal for you and your family. I really do understand, but it is my humble opinion that you are not making a good decision leaving now.
 
#2,164      
Do you think Kofi or Edey who were all Americans strictly from their work in the paint are a bad model to follow for development? Yes , Morez isn’t the same as either of those guys, but for him to say “he doesn’t want to end up like Kofi” rubs me the wrong way when in reality, he likely won’t end up even 50% of the player Kofi was.

Players can 100% grow their game. However, if you were Brad and Boswell came to your office asking to become a strictly catch and shoot player and take 7 3pa a game because the nba scouts want to see his % go up on high volume, are you going oblige just because you want to keep him?
I guess he didn’t want his jersey hung in the rafters?
 
#2,165      
This is embarrassing for Underwood. Brad, that is, not the other Underwood.
 
#2,166      
I only care about how it turns out for the Illini.
Thank you!

To everyone making economic arguments...get the market value...old system unfair to players...you're right. You're 100% right. I have spent 30+ years in the Finance arm of a leadership consulting firm, and the stuff you are seeing in college hoops is no different than the rest of the business world. Tamer even. You don't need to convince me.

But I don't care about any of that in an Illinois Loyalty basketball thread. I'm not here to vilify Morez or anyone else who leaves (okay, maybe Skyy the mid-season quitter), but nor am I going to applaud what hurts my team. This is the place for emotional catharsis.

Vent away, those that want to. As long as it's not ban-worthy vulgarity or personally attacking anyone, vent away.
 
#2,168      
One sweet 16 in 8 years is not fine. Losing the majority of your roster every offseason is not fine. Some expect a lot more out of this university's basketball program.
How many the previous 8 years?
 
#2,169      
Being an avid and long-term Morez fan, if you asked me who I needed to build around for next year to be successful, and I had to choose Morez or Tomi and lose the other. I'd choose Tomi, knowing it meant Morez walking away.

He's a more dynamic player and influences the game on different levels. Morez is a guy that will be great, and I'm sad knowing we won't see that development happen here. It's even worse knowing it's a kid from Chicago who committed at 16, moved up the rankings, and hung with us.

However, Morez won't be the guy that wins you a title, but it's really hard to win one without a guy like him. The next month or two are gonna be really interesting.
10 times out of 10. You can find a 6’9” guy who is actually enthusiastic about setting picks, rebounding, and dunking.
You won’t find many 7’1” guys who can move, pass, and hit 35% of his 3s.
Just have to keep Tomi. If his bro decided to come with him, we’d be cooking with gas again.
 
#2,170      
Morez is a pre-NIL old school recruit who stayed true to his commitment. True.

Morez is a talented basketball player that should start for a team other than Illinois. True.

Morez DID get his chance to earn more starts and/or time, but two Maryland losses where he was overmatched is VERY telling. True.

Brad should have played Morez more than Ben at times this year. True.

Morez and Ty need to do what’s best for them and go where their talented game can be showcased, which is not Illinois. True.

Last I checked, we still have Orlando and we have had success retooling through the portal in recent seasons. True.

I fully expect we will have a team in place come fall that will be full of players who did not commit as 16 year olds, and we will not know their life story. It’s ok, we’ll be ok, and it’s true.

This is college basketball, this is Illinois. ILL
 
#2,171      
In what universe is Kofi a 3 point threat and what coach doesn’t put his players in positions where they have the most success?
Its wild that in three professional seasons, Kofi has attempted zero 3-pointers. You'd think that if Illinois was holding him back in that department, he'd be showing off that skillet in a relatively safe environment on the Korean pro league.
 
#2,172      
I think this is likely. I also believe that a coach who has captured his guys' hearts and souls manages to bring this guy back. I see other programs -- not many (Purdue, MSU, Houston), I admit -- achieve this.

About the "not many" admission: among the "not many" are winners. I want to see this program do what is needed to win. So does Underwood. He needs to step up.
 
#2,175      
I’m not worried at all about one player leaving. I am concerned about rumors of lying to players, a coach’s son not qualified to coach that is rumored to be acting like a true preacher’s kid, the kid’s buddy who’s not qualified to coach running the defense, a toxic locker room, and players exiting almost every year. Those are symptoms of instability. Doesn’t matter how good of a head coach he is if he doesn’t have players staying. Please tell me if any of this is false. I will believe you. You have earned that right. There’s math here that doesn’t add up. I know what Brad was like and all the crap that went on 5 years ago first hand from team members. Doesn’t sound like anything has changed for the better. I know it sounds crazy but I would like to have a coach (honest, caring, and knows his stuff) like a BB that I am proud to represent the university and knows how to make in game adjustments because that is a winning formula. Just as Bret.
This is EXACTLY where I land!!!
 
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