Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[millineum]

Blackwell portaled to win a championship. Not going somewhere because the other players are good directly contradicts that. We will see where he ends up.

 

[IlliDan]

For those wondering how Miznoz are getting Crowe Jr. hiring dad as Ast. coach sure helps!

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Illinois is still interested in adding at some point, but it just got clearer the last few days that the role and usage may not be what he wanted.

I guess that answers a lot of questions, if indeed what it came down to (at least from an Illinois standpoint).

Andrej coming back may not happen if Blackwell is in the fold.

And ZERO issues with Andrej being priority #1. Wouldn’t be surprised one bit if he’s our leading scorer / best player (along with Mirkovic). Stud potential.

 

[AssemblyHallForever]

Team will be good but definitely not final four good with out Blackwell

I disagree, we will be better and deeper this coming season than this year. We can throw multiple players against teams. Andrej, I believe, will be a better distance shooter than he was this year. Blackwell would want the ball more than we would want him to have it. We have multiple scorers from every place on the floor. I love our back court with size and athleticism. If he wants to be here, Blackwell will need to understand his role.

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

While I agree that this is a national title contender without any more additions, that is contingent on multiple players taking jumps. That wasn’t necessarily the case if one more high-level add were to happen. If your checklist of advantages gets smaller, so does your margin for error. That’s why the Blackwell thing was so exciting—adding a first-team all B1G level player to a roster already somewhere around #4 or #5? Wow.

Immediately pivoting to “ah, but the freshmen are going to be so good” is spin. It’s somewhat compelling spin (and could end up correct!). But it is spin nonetheless, and I’d rather be counting on a fully-developed sure thing to take this team over the top.

Still an absolutely excellent roster and an A-grade offseason. But for a moment there, we were dreaming even bigger.

Bringing in Blackwell could very well have led to one or more of those freshmen bolting too.
I doubt anyone is over the moon that we likely didn’t land him, but if it’s not going to happen, Brand and Co. need to lock down these young guys.

We don’t need a savior. We will be as good as anyone, and this gives our young guys a chance to get valuable game reps. This team will certainly look wildly different a year from now. We will need guys who will be ready to carry the torch.

A lot of what I’m so optimistic about with this group is the level of buy in. We don’t want to compromise that in any way.

I know we used to laugh about,” if he doesn’t want to be here, we don’t want him…” I’m not sure that was ever true, but this situation might be as close as it gets.

 

[RichardKeene’sHair]

Simply put

Fr. Coleman
So. Vaaks
Sr. Stoj
So. Mirk
Sr. Big T

Is a better than or at least = line-up to

Fr. Wagler
Sr. Boz
Jr. Davis
Fr. Mirk
Jr. Big T

 

[LvilleILL1]

Let's get a quick guard or more athletic. While I love the retention, a little more athleticism would not hurt this roster.

Please go watch Quentin Coleman highlights.

 

[bbpeoria]

He would play a ton at Illinois, that's not the issue. The issue is there are only so many mouths to feed. Illinois already has several high usage players.

Look at Louisville, Shelstad kind of is what he is at this point. Flory is great but he's not high usage offensively. UCLA has some high floor guys, but he will get more overall touches there. With Vaaks, there's a pretty clear path to a major jump. Coleman has a chance to be really good quickly. Andrej year two, not to mention Mirkovic/Tomislav will have the ball a ton. Morillo has a chance to be better than people think too.

Illinois is still interested in adding at some point, but it just got clearer the last few days that the role and usage may not be what he wanted. Andrej coming back may not happen if Blackwell is in the fold. Which stinks because he said he wants to win a title.

Anybody saying Blackwell wouldn’t or couldn’t play on this team has sour grapes. I think he could have had a huge role and been the perfect final piece to a potential championship puzzle. If he goes elsewhere I’m sure he will do well but from a professional standpoint I think he and his team are very short sighted. He could have been possibly the top scorer and one of the faces of a team that would get a ton of publicity

 

[Mistakenj]

Should we be nervous that Quentin Coleman still hasn’t signed yet?

 

[AssemblyHallForever]

There's so many things that are wrong here, not sure where to start.

1) Look around the country. There are not going to be five teams with a better roster than Illinois. There are blue bloods with three to five players total on their roster as we stand with not much runway to add.

2) A lot of people in here said the team before the season started last year was not going to be very good or was super flawed. Illinois just returned 3 guys would would have been TOP FIVE portal players. They also just added a five star level freshman and maybe the best possible (top 15 transfer) portal guard fit for their system.

Quentin Coleman does not need to be as good or better than Wagler to have a better team than last year. Tomi (knock on wood) will be healthier. Mirk DID NOT EVEN GET AN OFFSEASON last year. Imagine what he is going to look like with another seven months working with Fletch. Andrej is likely to make a leap in year two.

Also, Lucas Morillo is getting massively overlooked here. They think Ethan Brown can contribute as well as a depth add. Depending on if Lee sticks around or they add a veteran guard to replace him, that's more depth than you had there this past season.

QC, Vaaks, Drej, Mirkovic, Tomislav, Jake, Big Z, Morillo, Lee (add if he goes), Brown.

That is one of the best rosters in the country next season and can win a title.

I agree. Morillo and Brown will see clock, especially in the non conference. I would love for Brad to go 10 deep and wear teams down, throwing multiple looks. This could be Brad’s best and deepest team.

 

[wncillini]

Not even close. Boz/Wagler WAY better

Agree. Its going to be really hard replacing the ball-handling, decision making, seeing over the d, and avoiding turnovers that wagler brought....scoring aside.

 

[okrush]

Does Vaaks play point guard? I need to watch some providence games

 

[Jack's Raging Bile Duct]

If the money is literally there for him and he (or people in his camp) balk at the opportunity to get on board this train, I’ll shed no tears… 10 toes in, or see ya

Nothing against him as a player or a person. He’s looking out for himself (as he should) and if that is a priority for him over a cool legacy story and a legit chance at a title, so be it.

Again, not sour grapes. He’s a baller. Smoked us twice this pet season. If Blackwell came here, no doubt he’d carve out a significant role. But Team chemistry is of the utmost importance. Go be an alpha and get paid somewhere else. We’ve already got plenty of (highly capable) mouths to feed.

 

[skyIdub]

Yep, it was always going to be about the Andrej/Blackwell fit/usage. If it was a gun to head choice I am choosing Andrej 100/100 times because of that locker room.
Blackwell had to buy in. Totally get why he might not, and that is your sure sign that we did the right thing here.

A whole summer to fine tune and plug in Vaaks?
This team is going to be a wagon come Jan-Feb.

Everyone enjoy the rest of the portal.

 

[Da88]

While I agree that this is a national title contender without any more additions, that is contingent on multiple players taking jumps. That wasn’t necessarily the case if one more high-level add were to happen. If your checklist of advantages gets smaller, so does your margin for error. That’s why the Blackwell thing was so exciting—adding a first-team all B1G level player to a roster already somewhere around #4 or #5? Wow.

Immediately pivoting to “ah, but the freshmen are going to be so good” is spin. It’s somewhat compelling spin (and could end up correct!). But it is spin nonetheless, and I’d rather be counting on a fully-developed sure thing to take this team over the top.

Still an absolutely excellent roster and an A-grade offseason. But for a moment there, we were dreaming even bigger.

Agreed. Wagler was a unicorn, we can't expect another Freshman to be like him. Freshman rarely play great defense, and the one knock on Vakks is that he's a defensive liability.
IMO we still need to address last year's biggest weakness and that was a lack of overall athleticism that could lock down small quick guards.
This team has tremendous potential, but I'd rather it be ridiculously loaded rather than plain old loaded.
We finally have the cash to do that and we wiffed again.

 

[CrazedUIFan]

Did @illini0440 @Indy Illini Fan @DB11Headband @sharpshot16 and @LvilleILL1 play rock paper scissors to see who would have to let us know about Blackwell?

 

[Chillinini]

A few things. 1) it takes two to do the portal polka. It’s not just throwing bags of money, it’s also the player thinking if he’s the right fit on an already stacked roster. Maybe said player wants not only a fat bag, but plenty of playing time and optics for the next level. 2) who gives a cr@p about pre season rankings. I’m just concerned about the final ranking in April.

 

[tatupu70]

We are replacing Keaton Wagler with top 30 freshmen and much bigger & stronger all conference 6’7” NBA prospect Stefan Vaaks.

Wagler was great, but not irreplaceable. He is being drafted in the lottery on his upside.

Cooould even argue Sophomore Vaaks > Frosh Wagler in overall productivity. (Wagler will have a much better pro career but just in terms of their college impact for one season)

No offense, but this is a ridiculous take. Wagler was an All-American and the best player on the team by a mile.

Vaaks + Coleman is a definite downgrade from Wagler + Boswell.

 

[Rebounding Dog]

Please go watch Quentin Coleman highlights.

I have and yeah I get it!

 

[WeWillWhen]

Certain people in Blackwells camp did not want him to take the risk of going to Illinois, when Vaaks/Coleman/Drej are all potential breakout pieces and he would have been a secondary option (if those guys breakout).

This is a completely rational position for Blackwell to take.

This is a good question. Illinois has already spent around 15 million this offseason, which is easily top 10 in the country. If you saw what type of numbers teams were willing to pay Mirkovic, Tomi, and Drej, you would be floored. Illinois can afford Blackwell, but they are also confident in the incoming freshman/Vaaks (they spent a ton of Vaaks, Coleman, and Morillo) to fit in really well with your three to five. There's also very high optimism that Ethan Brown will make a impact right away.

Don't settle for hoping that Vaaks or one of the freshmen blow up like Wagler -- Lottery Pick/Consensus All American. The Illini have a once in a generation opportunity to build on the momentum of a Final Four season. The money is there. Bring in one more proven piece. Don't settle.

 

[Da88]

Not about tick. He would be a role player at Illinois.

But he said he wants to be on a title contender, so does he also want to be the man? Because if he was that good, Wisconsin would have done more.
Title contenders need role players. And the best role players get the ball when teams need them.
It's maddening when we lose out on guys because we're not title contenders or don't have the cash. Now we check those boxes and a target comes up with some other exuse. My thoughts are let him go somewhere else and let's find a guy that truly wants to bring Illinois a title.

 

[zentrails]

If you’ve seen this kid play you love this pickup. Also, great to beat out Bucky for their best again.

I like him for his name alone, ok I'll give that joke a rest
Welcome, ZZ! great choice!

 

[Det_Illini_fan]

I feel like I’m/we’re complaining that we have a Lamborghini instead of a Ferrari. Brad and Company have definitely proven themselves, and the locker room will be unparalleled next year and I’m extremely excited for the team next year if we get the leaps from the returners. Wish we got Blackwell to complement, and maybe a pivot piece to fill that transfer void but we should have the team and staff to make a splash.

 

[CoachHooleyHoo]

There's so many things that are wrong here, not sure where to start.

1) Look around the country. There are not going to be five teams with a better roster than Illinois. There are blue bloods with three to five players total on their roster as we stand with not much runway to add.

2) A lot of people in here said the team before the season started last year was not going to be very good or was super flawed. Illinois just returned 3 guys would would have been TOP FIVE portal players. They also just added a five star level freshman and maybe the best possible (top 15 transfer) portal guard fit for their system.

Quentin Coleman does not need to be as good or better than Wagler to have a better team than last year. Tomi (knock on wood) will be healthier. Mirk DID NOT EVEN GET AN OFFSEASON last year. Imagine what he is going to look like with another seven months working with Fletch. Andrej is likely to make a leap in year two.

Also, Lucas Morillo is getting massively overlooked here. They think Ethan Brown can contribute as well as a depth add. Depending on if Lee sticks around or they add a veteran guard to replace him, that's more depth than you had there this past season.

QC, Vaaks, Drej, Mirkovic, Tomislav, Jake, Big Z, Morillo, Lee (add if he goes), Brown.

That is one of the best rosters in the country next season and can win a title.

This is going to sound a bit pessimistic but I’m really not. I think this is a very good team but I feel like expectations should be tempered just a little for these reasons:

* We’re losing the best freshman in program history. Wags covered up a lot of holes.

* BAM’s leadership and his play (especially pre-injury) is going to be missed.

* We have a tendency to overhype freshman. We were told Brandon Lee was going to contribute last year (just latest example.) My point with that is you just never know what you’re going to get until those guys step on campus. Feels like a big gamble to count on them.

* I love Mirk but there were matchups that he really struggled with. Same with AS. We know what we’re getting for the most part which is a team that can compete for a B1G title and should be 2nd weekend. But to suggest this is a guaranteed top 3 seems a little optimistic to me. Hope I’m wrong.

Adding a stud like Blackwell is exactly what this team needs. And Michigan was able to put together a super team with those bigs and that turned out pretty good.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Wagler had one of the best “stretches” in program history. There were certainly ups and downs. He was a great player, but people are going to over value his production based on his draft status.

The only reason that’s even being brought up is because he didn’t have super gaudy per game numbers — which is a direct result of how slow we played (300s in possessions per 40 minutes).

He was a consensus top 10 player in college basketball (if not top 5 when you factor in leading a team to the final 4). The metrics would agree as well.

His PRPG on Torvik — which directly measures a player’s value to their team (your argument) — is higher than Ayo and Kofi… and on the doorstep of TSJ’s incredible season.

Ayo — 5.5
Kofi — 5.4
Terrance — 6.6
Keaton — 6.5

Again, I do not dislike our current team, but I’ll correct a wrong perspective when I see one.