Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#527      
NarrowJ
strobes77 said:
Unless you are sure Coleman is going to be a star or defensive stalwart, you need another guy. A lot to ask of a freshman.
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I can see us adding one more, but as Werner said, I'm not sure what this team needs is inserting another 'star' into what we currently have.

Not to get into the whole 'SuperTeam'™ thing, but I can see the challenges to adding a player like Blackwell who, on offense at least, soaks up a ton of shot attempts and hasn't been the most willing passer (career 1.7 assists per game) to this specific group. I think the Blackwell buzz is what's caused Vaaks and Coleman not to sign yet as well as Andrej taking a while to announce a return. Throw in the comments from a couple of the insiders about upsetting the apple cart and waiting until the portal closes to add someone, and I think we can bank on adding one more, but not a Blackwell archetype (shoot-first mentality who isn't necessarily a plus passer or defender).

If Brandon Lee stays, he is a guy who could push for a role as 9th man, and has potential on the defensive side. He was a top 100 recruit, after all.

Which saying he was a top 100 recruit also has me wanting to circle back to Coleman being the 30th ranked recruit, which is about where Ayo, Adam Miller, KJ, Riley were ranked (and lets add TSJ & Keaton even though they weren't ranked anywhere close to 30th). Seems the staff is fairly confident that Coleman can fill a role on this team, and I tend to agree. I read one analyst give a player comp of Labaron Philon (who was also ranked ~30th coming out of HS).
 
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#531      
skyIdub
FI_890526 said:
One thing people need to understand: You aren’t getting a good transfer to join your team to play a niche role off the bench. That’s not why they transfer.

And why add a guy who gives you the same thing as a current bench player or high school recruit?
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To piggyback on this, I get the whole “Avengers assemble” path to NCAA glory with the transfers, but there is still something very special and rewarding to watch development of these young HS recruits.
I know it’s been mentioned here several times, especially from our, ahem, more experienced fans, as we adjust to the new era of CBB.

We will probably never again experience what Wagler did last year and that’s ok.

But I can’t wait to see what our staff does with this freshman class. I hope QC, Morillo, and the rest take these minutes and explode into our orange and blue souls. 👊🏻🧡💙
 
#533      
Squad34
Is Nasir Rankin still planning to play basketball also? I don’t know how good he is, but that could help the rotation at guard.

Also, it seems like everyone likes sugar, but I would recommend adding chives and bacon bits to cottage cheese.
 
#534      
NJB Illini
Just my observation, but I think the Vaaks, Blackwell, Stoj, Mirk, Tomi lineup was thrown around so much online that people, despite the incredible retention we just witnessed, feel a tiny bit letdown.

There are things about the roster I have some questions about, but at the end of the day these guys just did go to the Final Four and we have added some incredible talent to run-it-back.

Yes, we may not be pre-season #1 like we would have been with Blackwell added to this roster, but we are firmly in the mix. Just need to sit back and enjoy the ride, because Illinois basketball is in an incredible place.
 
#535      
BillyBob1
millineum said:
According to the number Vaaks was a better defender than everyone we have returning. Dunno if it was due to providence scheme or what
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Another thing is their coach was fired. Might have something to do with it.
 
#536      
Det_Illini_fan
FI_890526 said:
One thing people need to understand: You aren’t getting a good transfer to join your team to play a niche role off the bench. That’s not why they transfer.

And why add a guy who gives you the same thing as a current bench player or high school recruit?
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I agree, but using our freshman or existing bench assumes they are strong in skillsets that alluded our team last year. Offensively, I think we can be fine, defensively, athletically, and assists are where a strong portal transfer starter comes into play if we’re going to claim we’re now title contenders or favorites because these alluded us a bit last year.

I feel that saying we no longer need a player like this means we either guarantee major leaps in our returning players and freshmen top to bottom, or that we are resetting our expectations for E8 with a decent chance at a F4 or even title. Still an exciting expectation to have knowing where the program was even just a few years ago.
 
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#539      
RowdyFromRow22
I think as fans we are getting a little too greedy on wanting more. It’s great to see the high success and want to keep adding to it.
How many years would we beg to be in the conversation of getting any of our starting 5 to even want to come to ILL.

Just based on what our amazing insiders have stated and just thinking out loud..
We had the money to go get anyone we wanted to an extent, we sought after Vaaks for the fit, returning a hell of a lineup, and oh yeah, welcome in a 5 star guard with a bunch of dudes with an established culture.

Our guys have about 4-5 months of a head start compared to last year and this train keeps rolling.
Roster set on 4/19 baring any weirdness. Beautiful times, friends.
 
#542      
fuggles
all this incessant arguing opinions about why we need more players is killing me.
 
#544      
DeeIL89
QuackQuack said:
Saw some rumors floating around on X that Boswell could potentially return since the eligibility rules could change. Any truth to that?

I’d love to have him back. Guy seemed to be an awesome leader and great teammate
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That would be one heck of a pivot from not getting Blackwell. A magnificent pivot.
 
#545      
Illini1985
I wonder if they can use some of that Blackwell money and overpay Ty to play the niche role off the bench?

Win/win...he gets an opportunity to prove he's healthy and get paid above market value. Illinois gets a guy they familiar with willing to play that niche role...
 
#547      
Det_Illini_fan
Homecoming 2019 said:
Rumors Christian Anderson portalling? Potentially the top player to hit the transfer market.
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I wouldn’t imagine we could get him if Blackwell was too much for our team and roster. Though I know they play different positions, could it drive down the price on Blackwell?
 
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