Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#51      
Rooftop
IlliniWu said:
Good shooter, especially midrange but can finish with the best of them and plus athleticism at about 6'4. He scored 64 points in a game as a junior and has been a standout on the AAU circuit though I don't know if he's been in any of those major showcases. Have to keep a pulse in Chicago (And CPS to boot). He'd pair great with this class if Pettigrew re-classifies or not. Seeming as though they were still pursuing Bowman along with Pettigrew, this is a no brainer IMO.
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Totally agree on having to maintain a strong presence in Chicago and CPS. Great point and it's something the bball program should always be very purposeful on.

Insiders have any intel on this recruitment?
 
#52      
Illinilosch
IlliniWu said:
I have asked this a few times, but why aren't the Illini on Jordan Wordlaw of Dunbar? Think there's a big opportunity there to get a really quality player out of Chicago.
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Was BU and Co. truly recruiting Lincoln Williams at this time last year? Maybe they were, but he had things off the court to shore up first before offering. I could be wrong, but I don't remember his name being thrown around all that much if at all. So perhaps the same thing can be said for Wordlaw.

Just tossing that idea out. But what do I know?
 
#53      
PrandonBaul
Illini "visit" legend
13102.jpg
 
#54      
March2TheArch
IlliniWu said:
Good shooter, especially midrange but can finish with the best of them and plus athleticism at about 6'4. He scored 64 points in a game as a junior and has been a standout on the AAU circuit though I don't know if he's been in any of those major showcases. Have to keep a pulse in Chicago (And CPS to boot). He'd pair great with this class if Pettigrew re-classifies or not. Seeming as though they were still pursuing Bowman along with Pettigrew, this is a no brainer IMO.
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It’s Ethan Brown 2.0
 
#55      
the juiceman cometh
Rooftop said:
Totally agree on having to maintain a strong presence in Chicago and CPS. Great point and it's something the bball program should always be very purposeful on.

Insiders have any intel on this recruitment?
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Not an insider, so no inside information.

But through public sources it seems obvious that if Illinois is missing the boat on Jordan Wordlaw, then so is everyone else. He doesn't have a profile on 247 or On3. I found his social media profile on X/Twitter. He hasn't posted that he's received any offers. His bio says he's "#35 in Illinois." Not sure what recruiting service. But 247 only has 3 players from Illinois rated for the 2027 class, and #3 on that list is J'Dyn Lloyd out of Belleville, the #281 player in the country (with no P5 offers). So extrapolating from that, #35 is probably going to have a bit of difficulty getting on a D1 radar.

There are a lot of awesome basketball players out there who tower above high school competition. Not all of those guys are going to be good enough for Big Ten basketball. Maybe Wordlaw is flying way below the radar and is in fact a stud. Hopefully he has a great season and his recruitment picks up.
 
#56      
IlliniWu
the juiceman cometh said:
Not an insider, so no inside information.

But through public sources it seems obvious that if Illinois is missing the boat on Jordan Wordlaw, then so is everyone else. He doesn't have a profile on 247 or On3. I found his social media profile on X/Twitter. He hasn't posted that he's received any offers. His bio says he's "#35 in Illinois." Not sure what recruiting service. But 247 only has 3 players from Illinois rated for the 2027 class, and #3 on that list is J'Dyn Lloyd out of Belleville, the #281 player in the country (with no P5 offers). So extrapolating from that, #35 is probably going to have a bit of difficulty getting on a D1 radar.

There are a lot of awesome basketball players out there who tower above high school competition. Not all of those guys are going to be good enough for Big Ten basketball. Maybe Wordlaw is flying way below the radar and is in fact a stud. Hopefully he has a great season and his recruitment picks up.
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That's the thing. It isn't just Illinois. It's everybody to the point he is barely on any of these recruiting sites. I don't know if that's by design as they're probably a close to the vest type of people but I fully expect him to make noise again this season and wind up somewhere in D1. He has the tools to translate to the NBA for sure.
 
#60      
Doogie94
Mason Martin!!! Huge get!!!

I think he will fit so well with our program. I am always skeptical about any recruit these days until they sign on the dotted line!
 
#65      
CoachHooleyHoo
Rooftop said:
Totally agree on having to maintain a strong presence in Chicago and CPS. Great point and it's something the bball program should always be very purposeful on.

Insiders have any intel on this recruitment?
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Honestly, I think NIL has changed the dynamics so that keeping a relationship in Chicago/CPS is not really that vital at all. It's ultimately going to come down to $$$$.
 
#66      
Scoregasm
CoachHooleyHoo said:
Honestly, I think NIL has changed the dynamics so that keeping a relationship in Chicago/CPS is not really that vital at all. It's ultimately going to come down to $$$$.
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Anyone know what happened to all the handlers? Wasn't Anthony Longstreet the handler for Sherron Collins?
 
#67      
ChiefGritty
Scoregasm said:
Anyone know what happened to all the handlers? Wasn't Anthony Longstreet the handler for Sherron Collins?
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NIL has been the bonanza of a lifetime for that layer of the industry.

It's SHOCKING in retrospect how low the dollar figures were moving in those circles relative to the free market values of those players. The legendary $200k for Anthony Davis? Jake Davis is worth way more than that.
 
#68      
Illini 993
I wonder if the Illini checked in on Robbie Avila. St Louis already had 15 on roster, so he went to TCU. I see that Illinois also has 15, so it wouldn't work unless someone like McCoy or L Davis redshirted. IMO, he would have been a great addition to this roster - last year's POY in the A10, 6'10" big that shoots, passes, and rebounds well.
 
#69      
CoalCity
Illini 993 said:
I wonder if the Illini checked in on Robbie Avila. St Louis already had 15 on roster, so he went to TCU. I see that Illinois also has 15, so it wouldn't work unless someone like McCoy or L Davis redshirted. IMO, he would have been a great addition to this roster - last year's POY in the A10, 6'10" big that shoots, passes, and rebounds well.
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No such thing as a redshirt any more.
 
#71      
the juiceman cometh
ChiefGritty said:
NIL has been the bonanza of a lifetime for that layer of the industry.

It's SHOCKING in retrospect how low the dollar figures were moving in those circles relative to the free market values of those players. The legendary $200k for Anthony Davis? Jake Davis is worth way more than that.
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Short term bonanza, and probably long term death knell. Yes, there are still traditional "handlers" that are exploiting some of these athletes and taking huge cuts of these NIL deals (way more than they were getting before). But more and more athletes are replacing these guys with legitimate agents.

This is an area where more regulation is needed, and where we probably actually will see it, because the monied interests (traditional sports agents, athletic programs and conferences that want to keep their players away from shady dealers) actually stand to benefit from more regulation which will box out "handlers" or "street agents."
 
#72      
IlliniUnited
CoachHooleyHoo said:
Honestly, I think NIL has changed the dynamics so that keeping a relationship in Chicago/CPS is not really that vital at all. It's ultimately going to come down to $$$$.
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None of the talent is staying in Chicago. They all head off to basketball academies. Also world is the recruiting area now. Only 6 kids from the Chicagoland area are signing with D1 teams this week. That number was probably close to 40 or 50 a decade ago.
 
#75      
Red77sng
Illini 993 said:
I wonder if the Illini checked in on Robbie Avila. St Louis already had 15 on roster, so he went to TCU. I see that Illinois also has 15, so it wouldn't work unless someone like McCoy or L Davis redshirted. IMO, he would have been a great addition to this roster - last year's POY in the A10, 6'10" big that shoots, passes, and rebounds well.
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And doesn’t play a lick of defense
 
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