Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[Calvin]

I’ve heard from a couple different people that Brad seems somewhat “checked out” …

Wouldn't blame him. Not sure why this roster didn't live up to it's potential, but if he was invested in the team (and you know he is), it's not hard to imagine disappointment, being burned out, or searching/reflecting what he needs to do for next season.
That said, the show goes on...

 

[redwingillini11]

If you’re referring to what I think you’re referring to …

I can’t comment on it …

 

[Xfactr]

The biggest issue is there appears to be a consistently fundamental mistrust between player and coach. Too many players come and gone to think anything else. Guys on the bench don’t think they have a path to being starters. Guys in role playing roles don’t think they have the path to being featured players. Healthy programs have players trust that coaches will put them in the best position to help the team but also to help themselves become the best version of themselves. At Illinois that is not the case. Nobody is saying it’s not a two-way street and players need to buy in in as well to make it work. Thing is though, they don’t have to. They can literally just leave.

So you are saying this isn't a "healthy" program? What do you consider "healthy" in this NCAA climate of constant turn over? Generalizing a bit maybe?

 

[D1959]

Sounds like we need an episode of undercover boss to be filmed about the U of I basketball program

 

[Heisenbobble]

He better get his fee-fees in check soon. He's got almost an entire roster to build (yet again), and he's paid top-15 money to win big here.

 

[Illinirog70]

We WILL field a competitive team next year, maybe without all the hoopla of this year. But I'll bet they will be able to play defense! Who thought a pickup from Southern Illinois could make a difference (Damast?) Will miss Rez, but I say... NEXT?

 

[Xfactr]

Unfortunately, these are young adults being misled by others with ulterior motive$$

If these kids want the spotlight they will have to move to a mid major program with not so many pieces...... The only person recent in Illini history to benefit a change to a mid major program is Podziemski. Can this translate to Tre White and Morez Johnson? That's the big question.

 

[HailtotheChief]

Looking like it might be a rough next year if we can’t grab a couple good players.

If we have money it does not to me. Last year's team only ended up with DGL. We are in much better shape than that with just Boz as the starting PG. I do think Tomi will declare and come back. Jake is a solid role player. Wait and see on Ty and how Jakyst are developing.

 

[risingfalcon98]

Something about this off season feels more ominous than the last up to this point. I am very aware things can change quickly and recruiting is fluid but the vibe is just a bit off.

 

[Scoregasm]

Sounds like we need an episode of undercover boss to be filmed about the U of I basketball program

Whitman undercover.

 

[OrangeBlue98]

We WILL field a competitive team next year, maybe without all the hoopla of this year. But I'll bet they will be able to play defense! Who thought a pickup from Southern Illinois could make a difference (Damast?) Will miss Rez, but I say... NEXT?

Is that a wild mix of Marcus Domask, Nate Mast, and Damonte Williams?

(I know you meant Domask - needed a little levity this morning.)

 

[BalloonsTheElephant]

Let's see where we end up. KB and Tomi is a good start (if Tomi stays).

I'm less than pleased about the lack of continuity of the team and staff, except when apparently they should be let go. I was told that Hamer is to be fired, but it's now lingering longer than expected.

I could see a slow start next year turn ugly if Hamer and Kwa are still there. I'm not sold on Tyler, but he's not the problem right now. They run some good sets, but he's not experienced enough to be able to counter adjustments mid-game. Hopefully he takes the offseason and gets a few more tools in his belt.

Now that I was able to openly wail and gnash my teeth about Morez and Tre leaving, I'm looking forward to some positive offseason developments. The Cubs bullpen isn't helping me move on, however.

 

[One Man Fast Break]

A lot of it tends to be sample size.

There are definitely some examples like Lee Humphries wasn't a great free throw shooter and was an elite shooter.

But free throw percentage tends to be a great indicator of shooting ability and a great predictor of future results.

Anouby's early career free throw attempts were only like 60 attempts per season. Hitting only a few free throws and he is a 70%+ free throw shooter.

It’s like the biggest thing nba scouts look at to determine someone’s “shooting ceiling” so to speak.

 

[Gregjacksonfan]

And yet, the guy only one spot above him had the ultimate green light.

But he was ELITE in practice

 

[ImGonnaBeILL]

Looks like it could be a long long upcoming season for the Illini. Amazing how quickly the upward momentum of this program has come to a screeching halt.

Morez, a guy committed for years & a high motor physical beast home state kid that people root for, leaving suddenly after 1 season is devastating. Easily one of the biggest (if not the biggest) transfer losses in the program's history.

No surprise at all if Brad never recovers from this. Go look at Bill Self. He looked and sounded completely checked out all last season. As the highest paid coach in college basketball. How much is $ going to motivate a couple of 60+ year olds that are long set for life in this NIL era?

More guys will enter portal this week(s) with more teams eliminated from the tournament but ..

Orlando/Alexander (assuming they stay )and presumably another assistant (who hopefully can bring aboard new recruits this season) have their work cut out for them. JMO It's going to be a much more difficult job this offseason than last (coming off Elite 8). The perception of the program as a whole seems to be torpedoing IMO.

I can't be the only person that envisions everyone leaving. And we're left with Humbrickhouse....

 

[My2Cents]

Maybe it's because I have never had the luxury of being remotely close to "wealthy", but I am curious to see the effects of the economy, when it comes to big money donors. Personally.....looking at the stock market....future uncertainty, I wouldn't be surprised at all if some coaches are gonna make big donors feel a little less "giving". Add in reports of another year of 80%+ roster rebuild.... questions surrounding staff/players conflicts....worse loss in Illinois men's basketball history and another first weekend exit from the tournament....supposed rumors of the coach "checking out", to me makes for the perfect storm and we might get caught in just a "dinghy".

 

[Yes33]

Don’t disagree with some of what you are saying. I feel DGL is a great athlete and has the potential to be a good player. Unfortunately, I also think he can be a head case and the way Brad has handled him hasn’t helped. He would be crazy to stay around.

 

[FloridaMan]

“Checking out” while collecting $5 mil a year is not an option. If that is true, I hope JW learned his lesson with the football program. I have a really hard time reconciling this info, but I do not doubt Indy. He is a proven/trusted source.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Looks like it could be a long long upcoming season for the Illini. Amazing how quickly the upward momentum of this program has come to a screeching halt.

Morez, a guy committed for years & a high motor physical beast home state kid that people root for, leaving suddenly after 1 season is devastating. Easily one of the biggest transfer losses in the program's history.

No surprise at all if Brad never recovers from this. Go look at Bill Self. He looked and sounded completely checked out all last season. As the highest paid coach in college basketball. How much is $ going to motivate a couple of 60+ year olds that are long set for life in this NIL era?

More guys will enter portal this week(s) with more teams eliminated from the tournament but ..

Orlando/Alexander (assuming they stay )and presumably another assistant (who hopefully can bring aboard new recruits this season) have their work cut out for them. JMO It's going to be a much more difficult job this offseason than last (coming off Elite 8). The perception of the program as a whole seems to be torpedoing IMO.

I can't be the only person that envisions everyone leaving. And we're left with Humbrickhouse....

lol

 

[thefalcon5]

I feel like this portion of the offseason happens every year. People gotta chill out.

 

[Yes33]

Pls forward to Josh…

 

[That's Just Groce]

What's the deal with the rumored 11A meeting?

 

[21ChampaignSt]

I’d like to see someone put together some smart-stats on the churn/turnover rates all over college basketball…

We presently are struggling with retention…BUT obviously it’s bad all over. It would be nice to see what we could glean from the #s all across college hoops. A little knowledge might illuminate things a bit…and settle a couple of arguments?? (Nah, who am I kidding?)


Anyways, you (also Fighter of the Nightman) seem like the right folks for the job. Do you accept the challenge?

I would do it myself but I’m: a lazy Humanities guy and a lousy beancounter.
(like really bad at math.)

Alright. I looked at returning minutes in the B1G from 2022 (the start of instant transfer eligibility) to 2025. Keep in mind that this doesn't only reflect transfer out, but also graduating players and players who turn pro.

A few takeaways:

The overall average returning minutes in the B1G from 2022 to 2025 is 47%.

For 2025 specifically, the average is 41%, down from 54% in 2022. So continuity is in decline overall.

Illinois returned an average of 37% of our minutes.

Only three teams returned less than that on average; Michigan, Washington, Minnesota. From 2022 to 2025, there was only one 20-win season between those three teams.

Not surprisingly, Purdue has the highest average returning minutes over that time period with 67%.

Here are the full rankings:

Rank	Team	Average Returning Minutes
1	Purdue	67%
2	Northwestern	63%
3	Wisconsin	59%
4	IU	57%
5	MSU	56%
6	UCLA	56%
7	Iowa	53%
8	Rutgers	49%
9	Maryland	48%
AVERAGE		47%
10	Nebraska	46%
11	USC	42%
12	Penn St.	42%
13	Oregon	42%
14	OSU	40%
15	Illinois	37%
16	Michigan	35%
17	Washington	33%
18	Minnesota	28%

 

[champaignpak]

Something I found interesting is that since 2022, every transfer that received a high-school rating that transferred here got assigned a lower transfer rating than their high-school rating, except for Marcus Domask. In other words, we are almost always the destination for transfers who are trending in the wrong direction before they come here. This is based on 247's ratings.

This applies to Mayer, Shannon, Dainja, Guerrier, Booth, Boswell, and White.

It’s also a bad way of looking at things because high school recruiting and portal recruiting isn’t comparable at all.

 

[Serious Late]

Let's see where we end up. KB and Tomi is a good start (if Tomi stays).

I'm less than pleased about the lack of continuity of the team and staff, except when apparently they should be let go. I was told that Hamer is to be fired, but it's now lingering longer than expected.

I could see a slow start next year turn ugly if Hamer and Kwa are still there. I'm not sold on Tyler, but he's not the problem right now. They run some good sets, but he's not experienced enough to be able to counter adjustments mid-game. Hopefully he takes the offseason and gets a few more tools in his belt.

Now that I was able to openly wail and gnash my teeth about Morez and Tre leaving, I'm looking forward to some positive offseason developments. The Cubs bullpen isn't helping me move on, however.

I would disagree that retaining 2 players on a team graduating 0 meaningful contributors is a good start.

Returning 0-1 players is not some benchmark, where returning 2 makes for a good start. Only retaining 2 of potentially 6-8 guys is a very bad start to an off-season. Retaining less than 20% of your roster in consecutive years with no changes at the top, is a degree of turnover not standard in any era of basketball, including this one.