Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#401      
PepeSilvia
I don't think he entered the portal and Rick may be offering him a bigger role but Ruben Prey would be about the perfect type of big to backup Mirk imo.

Big, physical, and moves surprisingly well. The jump shot looks solid too. He didn't a fantastic job guarding Boozer in the sweet 16.

Now I don't know if Prey will enter but ideally you go get someone like him or you go the other way and get a small ball wing/forward type of 4 that is athletic enough to guard 1-4 and provides a change of pace from the more traditional big in Mirk.

You're probably bargain hunting for this piece since it's a smaller role and youre hopefully paying Blackwell and Stojakovic but I think you want the depth of a 4th big(foul trouble or guys getting banged up) that's not Jakstys(unless he's become that Ruben Prey type) for a team that should have national championship aspirations.
 
#403      
Altuve27
Indy Illini Fan said:
Priority #1 is Andrej …
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Thrilled to hear this. Do WHATEVER you have to do outside of robbing a bank to get this done. Period.

As I said above, Blackwell is really good, BUT there are a bunch of high quality guards who would be really good here.

I have made it very clear that Paul McNeil would be a great fit here. There are many others.
 
#404      
I-L-L 1318
illini0440 said:
Narrator: “the staff is in fact not”
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They just rolling with the 3 of them for 4/5 spots? Minutes wise it would be fine, just foul trouble I worry about. I imagine its a tough sell to get anyone decent. "Hey do you wanna come back up the focal point of the offense?"
 
#405      
thefalcon5
illini0440 said:
Narrator: “the staff is in fact not”
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I’m surprised we have no interest in a true backup for Mirk.

I can appreciate/want more Z/Tomi lineups but Ben played 22 a game. And I know the staff loves Davis and we’ve got Jakstys, but man that feels like a decent chunk of pressure on either some small ball lineups or very unproven and seemingly under-talented guys.
 
#407      
InDaAZ
Lakes333 said:
Really need a power forward/ athletic big that can back up Mirk/Ivisich brothers. I am sure the staff is working on this.
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Mirk backups:
Along with the small(er)ball option, I expect to see more Twin Tower minutes than we saw this year. Especially if Cam puts them in the defenders lab.
Chemistry Lab GIF by US National Archives
 
#408      
AirTran
jamarvelous31 said:
Ben as the definition of a perfect 6th/7th man role player is such a great legacy
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Ben wasn't a role player and neither was Andre or Z, even though they came off the bench. Brad is the ultimate chess players when it comes prepping for the opposition. The 8 man rotation was designed to force multiple match ups and switches.
 
#409      
Mobi
ChiefGritty said:
If you have to spend all the money on #TheRetention, spend all the money on #TheRetention.

And Vaaks will not have come cheap. He's arguably a more valuable asset than Blackwell given the extra years of eligibility.

I like the idea of giving Lee the surplus guard job. It's that fourth big that's a bit of a head-scratcher. Humrichous was really critical for us in terms of making lineups work.
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Vaak will likely jump to NBA next year. As for the Ben replacement, personally I'd like to leave the minutes to Morillo and Coleman if we get Blackwell and Andrej comes back. If my math correct, we already have 9 very talented players if it turns out this way.
 
#410      
Emerson Bigguns
jamarvelous31 said:
Sure. But that's like saying I would've preferred two dozen other players over Wagler at the beginning of this year.

No one knew Clark would be a flop, who knows if Podz would've been the same player without a 26% usage rate he had at Santa Clara or if he would've been able to maximize his potential under Brad.

It's not like the dude ended up at Duke or even Wisconsin/Marquette, the majority of high major basketball passed on the guy...so the gotcha-ism that pops up with folks saying ButwhataboutPodz when we won a b10 title the year he was here and then went to an e8 and a f4 since is confounding
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I will always believe the Podz story turns out differently if he had been promised playing time at Illinois...

That perceived rejection may well have been the fuel he needed to push himself to become what he is today. Every hero has an origin story, right?

Saying he couldn't have possibly gotten that much better in an off-season doesn't make much sense. It's literally ignoring decades of evidence to the contrary.
Always reminds me of the old Al Maguire quote: "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores."

There is also something very freeing to being the #1 option on a team, and not having to look at the bench every time you mess up... Some guys need to be pushed hard, and some guys need to be insulated. If you are the 2nd type, Illinois may not be the place for you.

Promising playing time isn't something Brad is going to do, nor should he.

Some people are simply a bad match for each other, even if they are both great individually.
 
#411      
jamarvelous31
Emerson Bigguns said:
I will always believe the Podz story turns out differently if he had been promised playing time at Illinois...

That perceived rejection may well have been the fuel he needed to push himself to become what he is today. Every hero has an origin story, right?

Saying he couldn't have possibly gotten that much better in an off-season doesn't make much sense. It's literally ignoring decades of evidence to the contrary.
Always reminds me of the old Al Maguire quote: "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores."

There is also something very freeing to being the #1 option on a team, and not having to look at the bench every time you mess up... Some guys need to be pushed hard, and some guys need to be insulated. If you are the 2nd type, Illinois may not be the place for you.

Promising playing time isn't something Brad is going to do, nor should he.

Some people are simply a bad match for each other, even if they are both great individually.
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I feel like you're breaking up with me..
 
#413      
illini0440
I-L-L 1318 said:
They just rolling with the 3 of them for 4/5 spots? Minutes wise it would be fine, just foul trouble I worry about. I imagine its a tough sell to get anyone decent. "Hey do you wanna come back up the focal point of the offense?"
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thefalcon5 said:
I’m surprised we have no interest in a true backup for Mirk.

I can appreciate/want more Z/Tomi lineups but Ben played 22 a game. And I know the staff loves Davis and we’ve got Jakstys, but man that feels like a decent chunk of pressure on either some small ball lineups or very unproven and seemingly under-talented guys.
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Lucas Morillo is 6 foot 7. He can play 1-4. He will play the 4 next year.
 
#418      
Combo
ChiefGritty said:
If you have to spend all the money on #TheRetention, spend all the money on #TheRetention.

And Vaaks will not have come cheap. He's arguably a more valuable asset than Blackwell given the extra years of eligibility.

I like the idea of giving Lee the surplus guard job. It's that fourth big that's a bit of a head-scratcher. Humrichous was really critical for us in terms of making lineups work.
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Doesn't seem to matter much these days.
 
#419      
PeoriaIllini03
ChiefGritty said:
If you have to spend all the money on #TheRetention, spend all the money on #TheRetention.

And Vaaks will not have come cheap. He's arguably a more valuable asset than Blackwell given the extra years of eligibility.

I like the idea of giving Lee the surplus guard job. It's that fourth big that's a bit of a head-scratcher. Humrichous was really critical for us in terms of making lineups work.
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If all goes as planned Vaaks won't be here for more than one year.
 
#424      
Leelnd
Illini2010-11 said:
I am not sure why Podz continually gets brought into the equation on these boards. We should congratulate him on what he has been able to accomplish, but when he played at Illinois, he was simply not good enough to get major minutes on a team that won a share of the B1G (which is common for young players out of high school). He decided to play elsewhere to showcase his abilities (with guaranteed starter minutes), and that worked out for him. However, I am tired of seeing it brought up that Brad potentially mishandled the situation. Playing time is earned in practice and the game, not handed to you.
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It's not like Major programs were all over him for a transfer. He went to Santa Clara. Maybe that's what it took for him to adjust or that extra motivation to improve. He looked slow and lost at Illinois.
 
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