Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[CoalCity]

After watching Vaaks highlights, in some ways he seems like a Wagler clone. Some of those triples come from very deep--I mean we're talking 25 feet on some.

Some of his mannerisms remind me of KJ as well. But he doesnt rebound like KJ. Or KW for that matter. But he sure can fill it up

 

[WxIllini]

View attachment 49636

I’m not saying we’ll have a bad team… but that would literally be such a massive downgrade. Why do we think this.

Good thing we’re not gonna miss on him

 

[GabbyG]

Pardon my ignorance, but does picking up Vaaks mean we are out of the running for Blackwell? Not sure if they play the same position, especially in this new world of position less basketball.

 

[Joel Goodson]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2043697144347992104

 

[wpr]

We need a dislike button for AI slop.

Here you go.

 

[PNWIllini]

not surprising that now of all times there are calls for us to recruit chicago. as if the top chicago recruits (and their coaches/handlers) haven’t been mostly giving us the cold shoulder (edit: and clowning us publicly) for the past 20 years

Yes but you see a bunch of casuals from Chicago is now watching.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

To be fair, people said the exact same thing about Louisville last year.

It’s refreshing to see programs like Louisville and Kentucky flop despite outspending just about everyone. Proves how much scheme, coaching, and fit still matter (and also simply smarter spending)

Seriously! Last offseason they had the #3 transfer portal class in the country, adding guys that 247 ranked as the #9, #14, and #20 transfers, on top of a prep recruiting class that had the #6 prep recruit, and a Euro freshman that wasn't included in 247's rankings but that they graded out as a 96 (equivalent to top 25)

They finished 6th in a bad ACC.

 

[Brosky]

Some of his mannerisms remind me of KJ as well. But he doesnt rebound like KJ. Or KW for that matter. But he sure can fill it up

Agree. And he can create those deep shots; he's not just a catch and shoot guy.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

We were praying that this would be our lineup:

Blackwell
Coleman
Stoj
Mirk
Tomi / Z

Now what if it's:

Vaaks
Blackwell / Coleman
Stoj
Mirk
Tomi / Z

Call it natty hunting.

 

[Heisenbobble]

We were PRAYING that this would be our lineup:

Blackwell
Coleman
Stoj
Mirk
Tomi / Z

Now what if it's:

Vaaks
Blackwell / Coleman
Stoj
Mirk
Tomi / Z

Pretty insane lineup there, especially if Morillo turns out to be a surprise bench contributor. That puts either Morillo or Jake as the 9th man? Sounds crazy.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

We were praying that this would be our lineup:

Blackwell
Coleman
Stoj
Mirk
Tomi / Z

Now what if it's:

Vaaks
Blackwell / Coleman
Stoj
Mirk
Tomi / Z

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Pretty insane lineup there, especially if Morillo turns out to be a surprise bench contributor. That puts either Morillo or Jake as the 9th man? Sounds crazy.

That 9th man spot would definitely be upgraded. Petro was virtually unplayable.

 

[OB positive]

Some of his mannerisms remind me of KJ as well. But he doesnt rebound like KJ. Or KW for that matter. But he sure can fill it up

Could be that there wasn't much emphasis on his rebounding. Especially when 68% of his shots were threes.

 

[CentralILLini]

Cruz Davis now in portal :0

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

To be perfectly blunt, your diary entries are the primary reason I pull up (and on) this thread every morning. The news concerning landing top portal targets and retaining current personnel is a distant second.

Well… I’m speechless. And now I feel pressure to produce. But if we’re being honest here, at its core, the Portal Diary is basically the day’s account of news concerning top portal targets and retention of current personnel repackaged in a succinct and (hopefully) humorous take.

 

[Det_Illini_fan]

Pretty insane lineup there, especially if Morillo turns out to be a surprise bench contributor. That puts either Morillo or Jake as the 9th man? Sounds crazy.

Feels like we’d have a high level contributing rotation player at nearly every position. Mirk being the biggest “gap,” but with our positional size and some fluidity we can cover that for times to give Mirk rest. The depth we could be looking at is crazy, and our returning players (should they stay) will have tons of experience in practice even against some of the best in the conference and league; just think how far they could develop by the next year.

 

[hooraybeer]

Cruz Davis now in portal :0

this is the danger for blackwell in waiting it out when you have big offers in hand.

 

[Illini_Jack]

Anyone got any of that Mirk coming back news....

 

[sulli]

Is "no news" "good news" on the retention front? Seems like the lack of anyone announcing anything makes me think they are working out everyone and announcing at once (which only makes a lot of sense if everyone stays)?

 

[aveseaboy]

Currently on a flight to LAX…I’ll do my best to make things happen!

Get the checkbook ready

 

[STLflyinIllini]

For those in the know, would Blackwell be ok with a lower usage rate and being asked to actually defend if he comes here? Mirk usage will go up. Vaaks obviously is going to have the ball a ton. Stoj needs shots. There's only 1 ball.
Obviously if he wants to come here, great. However, an elite 3 and D guy might be more of what we need instead of another volume scorer. Things change if we lose Stoj or Mirk.

 

[Todd99]

Currently on a flight to LAX…I’ll do my best to make things happen!

 

[illini0440]

For those in the know, would Blackwell be ok with a lower usage rate and being asked to actually defend if he comes here? Mirk usage will go up. Vaaks obviously is going to have the ball a ton. Stoj needs shots. There's only 1 ball.
Obviously if he wants to come here, great. However, an elite 3 and D guy might be more of what we need instead of another volume scorer. Things change if we lose Stoj or Mirk.

What do you think the staff is headed out west to sell him on....

 

[RollChief]

Is "no news" "good news" on the retention front? Seems like the lack of anyone announcing anything makes me think they are working out everyone and announcing at once (which only makes a lot of sense if everyone stays)?

This post was sufficient enough for me on the news front...

 

[illini0440]

Is "no news" "good news" on the retention front? Seems like the lack of anyone announcing anything makes me think they are working out everyone and announcing at once (which only makes a lot of sense if everyone stays)?

Have you heard any inkling of us in the market for major front court players.....