Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#359      
foby
Eating a small amount of cheese an hour before bed can help you remember your dreams better and can even give you more vivid dreams. It seems that Stilton blue cheese has some of the best and trippiest effects.

matty matheson GIF by Dead Set on Life
 
#361      
the juiceman cometh
Mistakenj said:
Back on topic….

Illinois ranked 42nd best class including transfers (Mirkovic and Petrovic not ranked yet): 247 Rankings
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Mirk and Petrovic are not considered transfers. They will eventually be rated/ranked with the incoming prep recruits (Lee and Wagler).

Edit: Whoops, misread your post. Thought you were talking about transfer rankings and not overall class ranking. Carry on.

To try and add some value to my pointless post, I looked up 247 ranking history for KJ and Tomi and neither were ranked until early August last year. Might be similar timeline for Mirk and Petrovic.
 
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#364      
skyIdub
FightinIllini30 said:
Why? I never specified this board as the “hate” I was referring to. I doubt Ben reads this board a whole lot. As if all Illinois fans whose voice could reach Ben exist on loyalty lol. I was referring to fans in general, and literally only speculating why I think he isn’t making a return post.

Your whole gripe is just the word I chose to use and you’re getting pressed for a dumb reason. So yes, you did miss the point and threw an internet fit while doing so.

I’m the blonde one
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Lmao, ok. So you getting pressed about fans commenting on Ben is different because it’s morally superior?
Whatever you need to tell yourself to feel better and win the argument.
 
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#366      
Fighter of the Nightman
Mistakenj said:
Back on topic….

Illinois ranked 42nd best class including transfers (Mirkovic and Petrovic not ranked yet): 247 Rankings
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FWIW, using this list of top transfers, this is the Big Ten's activity, with simply the team that got that transfer listed (and Illinois-related player names in parentheses). This of course doesn't account for (A) non-transfer recruits coming in and (B) which players a team retained:

1. Michigan
3. Purdue
4. Iowa
9. UCLA
21. Indiana
25. Indiana
26. Illinois (Stojakovic)
28. Wisconsin
29. Iowa
31. Indiana
33. Iowa
53. Michigan
54. Illinois (Ivisic)
64. USC
65. Michigan (Morez)
68. Ohio State
69. Indiana
71. Michigan
73. USC
77. Kansas (Tre White)
83. Maryland
86. USC
90. Wisconsin
92. Oregon
93. Nebraska
98. Wisconsin

Quantity is obviously deceiving, as programs with new coaches like Indiana and Iowa will necessarily require getting more transfers. It is also worth noting that last year Boswell was #56 and Humrichous was #65. While Ben underperformed that ranking, I think it is clear Boswell performed more like a top 30-40 transfer by the end of the year.
All that is to say that you could put this pretty positive spin on things:

1. We retained two essential starters in Boswell and Tomi, both of whom would have almost certainly been top 40 on that list if they had entered the portal.
2. We retained two important supporting players in Ty and Ben, the former of whom was a starter on an Elite Eight and BTT championship team and the latter of whom was previously a top 70 transfer recruit. We also retained Jake Davis, who provided some great minutes off of the bench for us last year.
3. We added the #26 recruit on the list above as a guaranteed starter and key piece.
4. We added the #54 recruit on the list above as a backup option.
5. We added two recruits in Petrovic and Mirkovic who are not rated but both of whom will be big contributors.

The more I learn about this roster, the better I feel. I am cautiously optimistic that we will have a 2024-style rebound season, where Brad takes a deep breath and really tries to tailor his plan to his current team now that we have more experience and after a chaotic, up-and-down season last year that sort of parallels our 2023 campaign. This lineup is one that I could not only see having a high ceiling but also finally a high FLOOR again!

G - Petrovic
G - Boswell
G - Stojakovic
PF - Mirkovic
C - T. Ivisic

Rogers, Z. Ivisic, Humrichous, Davis, etc. off the bench?? I'll wait for a true Xs and Os guru to correct me, but that looks like a group that could compliment each other's strengths and play tough/consistent basketball.
 
#369      
ChiefGritty
Fighter of the Nightman said:
The more I learn about this roster, the better I feel. I am cautiously optimistic that we will have a 2024-style rebound season, where Brad takes a deep breath and really tries to tailor his plan to his current team now that we have more experience and after a chaotic, up-and-down season last year that sort of parallels our 2023 campaign. This lineup is one that I could not only see having a high ceiling but also finally a high FLOOR again!
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Since Kofi left we have been in an often fraught and friction-producing but also sometimes wildly successful process of transitioning to a very different style of basketball than the Ayo-Kofi teams played, fast, space and ball movement, 3pt heavy, bend-but-don't-break drop coverage defense, etc.

This roster is the best fit on paper for playing that style of basketball we've had yet, I feel confident in saying that. Whether that makes the best team in reality will remain to be seen!

The worst criticism you could level at BU at Illinois is that his teams have succeeded just by bludgeoning you with the 1-2 elite players he has habitually been able to have on his team year after year, rather than through the subtlety of his X's and O's coaching. Do we have that elite player among this group? Is the roster and system fit good enough that it won't matter?
 
#370      
AnnaMay
One Man Fast Break said:
Nobody should personally attack players, and I would go so far as to say @ them when they play poorly or to tell them they are bad is ridiculous and a line too far.

Having a discussion about roster usage should be more than fair game. I understand people (on both sides of this topic) struggle to tell the difference sometimes.
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These players are on the same level of scrutiny as the coaches now. They are no longer just student athletes. They are millionaires that deserve honesty with regards to their play now. Times have changed and they should earn what they are being paid to do. Hummer didn't deserve 30 minutes a game last year, but him taking a cut and sticking around should earn everyone's respect considering how many players are hoping around for the biggest paycheck now. I hope he finds a role that helps us win 30 games this year. We are going to need him.
 
#371      
the juiceman cometh
skyIdub said:
Oh for the love of christ...this overcooked "hate" for Ben idea is just so dumb. He sucked, and didn't deserve the playing time he was getting. Fans are going to comment on it, and maybe...maybe...some of it was overblown...but that was purely out of frustration.

Nobody "hated" the kid and none of it was personal. He didn't belong in the lineup for 30 minutes per game.

Period. End of this dumb "so much hate for Ben" bs. I too hope he has a great year in a limited role.

If he's playing more than 10-12 mpg........we have bigger problems. Again.
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You sure about that?

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Those examples aside, knowing how much weird hate players (and other public figures) get that isn't publicly posted (dms and the like), I have a very hard time believing that there isn't a lot more disturbing stuff we aren't even aware of. And when you're the person in question, it all definitely feels personal.

The fact is that there were a lot of players that had flaws on this team, BH included. None of them got the amount of hate (yes, hate) that BH did. When things aren't going well that's what happens. Fans tend to coalesce around a narrative that blames one or a few individuals. In this season's narrative, BH was the source of all ills, while other guys that struggled mightily this season, like DGL and WR for the first 75% of the season, were deemed innocent. That's fine, it's human nature. But to pretend it didn't happen and everything was just fine is ridiculous. BH got a lot of hate (the proliferation of the nickname HumBrickHouse is one example), and it almost certainly sucked for him. I'm not saying it was you or anyone else specific. If you want to choose to get defensive over it that's your prerogative.
 
#372      
NarrowJ
the juiceman cometh said:
You sure about that?

View attachment 42184

View attachment 42185

Those examples aside, knowing how much weird hate players (and other public figures) get that isn't publicly posted (dms and the like), I have a very hard time believing that there isn't a lot more disturbing stuff we aren't even aware of. And when you're the person in question, it all definitely feels personal.

The fact is that there were a lot of players that had flaws on this team, BH included. None of them got the amount of hate (yes, hate) that BH did. When things aren't going well that's what happens. Fans tend to coalesce around a narrative that blames one or a few individuals. In this season's narrative, BH was the source of all ills, while other guys that struggled mightily this season, like DGL and WR for the first 75% of the season, were deemed innocent. That's fine, it's human nature. But to pretend it didn't happen and everything was just fine is ridiculous. BH got a lot of hate (the proliferation of the nickname HumBrickHouse is one example), and it almost certainly sucked for him. I'm not saying it was you or anyone else specific. If you want to choose to get defensive over it that's your prerogative.
Click to expand...

1746028642508.png
 
#373      
Illiniguy13
the juiceman cometh said:
You sure about that?

View attachment 42184

View attachment 42185

Those examples aside, knowing how much weird hate players (and other public figures) get that isn't publicly posted (dms and the like), I have a very hard time believing that there isn't a lot more disturbing stuff we aren't even aware of. And when you're the person in question, it all definitely feels personal.

The fact is that there were a lot of players that had flaws on this team, BH included. None of them got the amount of hate (yes, hate) that BH did. When things aren't going well that's what happens. Fans tend to coalesce around a narrative that blames one or a few individuals. In this season's narrative, BH was the source of all ills, while other guys that struggled mightily this season, like DGL and WR for the first 75% of the season, were deemed innocent. That's fine, it's human nature. But to pretend it didn't happen and everything was just fine is ridiculous. BH got a lot of hate (the proliferation of the nickname HumBrickHouse is one example), and it almost certainly sucked for him. I'm not saying it was you or anyone else specific. If you want to choose to get defensive over it that's your prerogative.
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Yup. I guarantee the vitriol he's received elsewhere is 10x worse than what's been posted here. We have a particularly insane internet fanbase.
 
#374      
One Man Fast Break
If BH was so hated and mistreated by the fanbase, I doubt he'd have come back. Not trying to diminish anything, just saying these guys are often tougher than we credit them. They're all getting paid these days. They could play Mid-Major ball if they want to just go about their games in peace where nobody not directly involved in the program cares how they play.

My concern is he felt over-utilized last year, and now we have what I feel are 7 players that are clearly better along with another returnee with eligibility and a group of freshmen that will be trying to make their mark. If we can't express concern that he may be over-utilized and it in turn under-utilizes other players or drives them away, then are we to do anything but say "rah rah" on repeat?
 
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