Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#678      
joeybcrazy13
FI_890526 said:
If Illinois had continued to push hard for John Blackwell while the portal was open and a key recruit was unsigned, neither Andrej Stojakovic nor Quentin Coleman would be on this team.

Have a great offseason.
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Told You So Mic Drop GIF by FullMag
 
#679      
Altuve27
NarrowJ said:
For all who are wondering why we have $5M for Blackwell but can’t use it for another equal player:

My understanding via tea leaves is there was someone (or 2 or 3 someones) who said if we can get Blackwell they’ll write a check. He’s a great player and legacy through Glynn.

If Blackwell says “no thanks I need more usage or shot attempts than you can offer me” then it’s not like those someones still have to give/donate.

Also, it seems we will add one more during the summer. But, again, it’s not from this pool of “Blackwell money” so this player isn’t guaranteed to be an elite one.
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Thank you very much for the explanation. Makes total sense. Nobody here is doomsdaying the roster. I LOVE how our roster is constructed.

Hell, I’ll go one step further. If I was told you can have either Blackwell or Stojakovic, I would take Andrej. I expect him to get even better defensively and make a pretty significant year 2 jump.

Andrej is a team first guy who does what is asked. That FREAKING matters. Let’s have some real talk, guys. Does anybody believe Stojakovic was delighted with coming off the bench for Jake Davis? I don’t. He never opened his mouth. Hell, he had a game where he played a grand total of 12 minutes. Again, never complained and just did what the staff asked. Give me that guy 100 times out of 100. Full stop.

Thanks again for the explanation on why we went from Blackwell to let’s reevaluate things at a later date after we get a look at what we have and may need.
 
#680      
March2TheArch
Fly Illini Fly! said:
www.espn.com

Florida top scorer Thomas Haugh to return, pass on NBA draft

Thomas Haugh is expected to be one of the highest-paid players in college basketball, after his decision to return to Florida for his senior season.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Precisely why some of us fans were hoping we’d pick up a Blackwell-esque piece.

I pray and hope Mara (likely gone) and Morez (potentially moving closer to the lottery) leave. They won a championship on a dominant team. The team is essentially trading in Yaxel for McCoy. One injury and they forgo millions in guaranteed income.

I’m shocked Haugh is returning. But damn that sucks for every non-Gator fan. They may not even done with Moncilovich lurking in the rumor mill.

I really hope not to hear that so is Peat for Arizona. Kharchenkov, Peat, and Krivas is as good a trio of assorted and elite talents as one could hope to have on a contender.

My guess is Isiah Evans will return for Duke.

We caught a break with UConn not having Ball’s services this year.
 
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#681      
Scoregasm
7 Year Illini said:
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Common Comparisons:
It is frequently eaten with fruit, in salads, or on toast, say users on Facebook
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Toast..... :unsure:
 
#682      
NJB Illini
FI_890526 said:
If Illinois had continued to push hard for John Blackwell while the portal was open and a key recruit was unsigned, neither Andrej Stojakovic nor Quentin Coleman would be on this team.

Have a great offseason.
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Makes sense and also changes my view on that call. Staff made the right decision.
 
#683      
1m4tr
Brad Gagnon's wife said:
Remember this name...... Seth Trimble, 6'3 Athletic Defender PG from UNC now in the portal and raised in Wisconsin. Y'all heard it here first..... to Illinois.
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As someone who has watched Seth Trimble a ton, trust me, we don’t want him. He would be the whipping boy for all of us next year. Besides if he were eligible, so would Boswell. Boswell is a better Trimble in every way except in dunking. Trimble is a vastly overrated defender. UNC got terrorized by small quick guards and Trimble couldn’t shut those guys down. And Trimble isn’t strong enough to try and guard 6’8” dudes like Boswell is. He has less of a track record as an outside shooter than Boswell does. Boswell is a better Trimble in almost every way. Trimble was asked to do more than Boswell so his scoring numbers might look better but he’s not very efficient in doing it b
 
#685      
Boomauer
hangdog said:
I have a hot take that's been hinted at, but I don't think specifically stated here.

The prevailing narrative, based on the timing of the media reporting, is that Blackwell backed away from ILL upon the return of AS.

My speculation based, outsider hot-take is that Coleman's camp was signaling to ILL staff that he would pivot elsewhere if Blackwell was signed. And the ILL chose Coleman.

If any insider wants to humiliated me based on these wretched thoughts, I can handle the abuse.

View attachment 50019
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seth meyers GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
 
#691      
Illinirog70
I LOVE this freshmen class! If they stick together and we add a couple of bigs next year (transfers or recruits,) They will be dynamite. Great shooters, assisters, positional size, they have all the earmarks of a top-notch Illini team. I'm sure we will see great contributions from most if not all of them this year. Our coach is not afraid to play freshmen, if they're willing to play defense and rebound,

They are the product of a final four year...
 
#692      
Fly Illini Fly!
Piotyr said:
Also discounting Ethan Brown and Zavier Zens, who I assume the staff quite likes.

I mean, if you consider last year's team 10 deep including Lee and Petrovic, then you have to also consider this year's team the same way.
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Actually, it was Ty and Petrovic. Just had an unexpected injury (in the summer).

Petro turned out a bust, but we went into the year 9-10 deep.
 
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#693      
bavanga3
23674477 said:
Florida and Duke already say hello
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Duke is extremely thin down low though. I'm not sold on them yet. We have more depth in the frontcourt and we have people panicking about another 4, which I actually agree with. They're gonna be vulnerable if they don't keep adding.
Florida however, clear cut favorite and they'll probably get their other big back too on top of Haugh. Its why we can't get comfortable where we are.
 
#695      
mysterio2525
FI_890526 said:
If Illinois had continued to push hard for John Blackwell while the portal was open and a key recruit was unsigned, neither Andrej Stojakovic nor Quentin Coleman would be on this team.

Have a great offseason.
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this is the clarity the board needed. if that's the trade (stojakavic + qc) vs Blackwell. then I'm happy with that trade. rather keep our players who went to final four and were studs in the tournament. also I like 5 stars
 
#696      
bavanga3
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Nope. Vaaks is lead guard.
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Do we even know what a point guard is in today's day in age? I would say Jeremy Fears type, but not too many like that anymore.

The way offenses rely soo much on pick and rolls instead of actual plays, I think a point guard just needs to be a creator and decision maker. Coleman won't be the guy right away in crunch time, but anybody who watched him play knows he will be one of our lead guards and most likely penciled in at the one. He doesn't have the type of passive mentality that an Adam Miller or Skyy Clark has that limited their potential. He's a straight dawg, and he won't be shy. Its a good problem to have.
 
#697      
wc_illini
PeoriaIllini03 said:
I hate to break it to people, but most college kids do not care all that much about winning a college national championship. They care about money and setting up their career.

In our current situation, the $$ isn't the issue. Selling an experienced player with 1 maybe 2 years of eligibility on a reduced role for a loaded team in most cases is not what is best for their career. Everyone keeps referencing Hummer but seem to ignore the fact that he came here as a junior with expectations to start and carry a scoring load.
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Honest question: how do you think other stacked teams (not just/necessarily this offseason) have done it? Lied and made false promises? Offered ridiculous amounts of money? Are more desirable for some other reason (prestige, connections, etc)?
 
#698      
Emerson Bigguns
LvilleILL1 said:
People in here need to understand that the talent across college basketball next year is not going to be the same as this year. There is not going to be an Arizona or Michigan like superteam, the transfers aren't as good overall, and the recruits aren't as high end compared to last year in terms of the elites.

Illinois has one of the four or five best rosters is the country. Could they push and add another stud? Sure, but it's not that easy. There are agents and other factors involved with that. I still stand by my thinking that they add someone over the next few months.

There are a ton of teams that have half a roster filled out with not a lot of options left, including blue bloods. It's okay to want more, but we are set to contend for a national championship next year. Have some faith in the evaluations that the staff made in Coleman and Morillo.
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It is also understandable why the staff is choosing to wait. There are only a few impact guys left in the portal. You have to imagine the bidding right now is getting absurd as other teams begin to panic because they don't have 8 guys they really like.

Even when it comes to guys we may hope to target, due to the overall lack of difference makers, they are probably being over pursued at present.
There is a lot of parity among guys who remain out there. Once some of the panic bidding calms down, there will likely be some decent guys who haven't found a home yet.

Once the musical chairs start to fill up, we will likely find a guy or two who fit our needs and are more ready to accept a role. No one wants to be left standing when the music stops.
 
#700      
Dinger
Aillini32 said:
1. We have no clue who the PG is going to be, others on different boards think it will be Coleman.
2. If Vaaks doesn’t workout at point, Coleman or Morillo will be the guy.
3. Coleman will more than likely be the backup point.

Back to the original post, McCoy will be in none of those positions for Michigan. Hope this helps
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I think we're overrating the "point guard" and "lead ballhandler" roles. Our offense runs like NBA, so the bigger question is who initiates the offense. That will be Vaaks, Mirk, Stoj, Coleman, or anyone else for that matter, based on matchups. Defined roles are fluid, which makes us more dangerous
 
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