Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2017)

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#2,876      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
Jack Ingram Ball Screen said:
I know top 100s are not always accurate, but I wonder why he and Mark Smith don't get any love on them.
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I think they get plenty of love. I have seen Mark Smith escalate in the rankings of many services and Frazier has been ranked higher as well.
 
#2,878      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
IlliniBone said:
Mark Smith not being in the top 100 is borderline crazy
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Love Da'Monte, but there's no rational reason to have him ranked higher than Smith given his injury and Smith's monster year. ESPN doesn't seem to dedicate resources to accurately scouting and rating kids. It's frustrating because they're also the ones that end up showing these HS all-star games and national tournaments.
 
#2,880      

Jack Ingram Ball Screen

J
Jack Ingram Ball Screen
Obelix said:
I think they get plenty of love. I have seen Mark Smith escalate in the rankings of many services and Frazier has been ranked higher as well.
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I agree with you on Mark Smith. Was unranked at the start of the season and now is a 4 star. But when was the last time Heavy Hitters like UK, MSU, and Duke were all bidding for a guy not in the Top 100. I guess I am more confused on how can there be such a disconnect from major sports reporting companies and major universities. I know kids shouldn't dwell on those rankings, but they also work incredibly hard and deserve recognition.
 
#2,881      

troym22

troym22
troym22
ThreatLevelMidnight said:
The ESPN ranking are a joke. I wouldn't put any weight into them at all.
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Just sharing to spark conversation. I would consider ESPN to be the least researched rankings. Still interesting to see and compare different sites rankings.
 
#2,882      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
Jack Ingram Ball Screen said:
I agree with you on Mark Smith. Was unranked at the start of the season and now is a 4 star. But when was the last time Heavy Hitters like UK, MSU, and Duke were all bidding for a guy not in the Top 100. I guess I am more confused on how can there be such a disconnect from major sports reporting companies and major universities. I know kids shouldn't dwell on those rankings, but they also work incredibly hard and deserve recognition.
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The 3 major recruiting services right now are rivals, scout, and 247sports. I believe ESPN is less involved, so that may be the reason. They have a different focus.

I bet Mark Smith is not losing any sleep over it. Getting heavily recruited by MSU, Kentucky, Duke, Ohio State, Illinois, Missouri and pretty much anyone who could get into his recruitment is a lot more powerful than ESPN rankings.

If Mark Smith is successful in college, he will get plenty of love from ESPN in other areas (i.e., not recruiting) were ESPN is very strong.
 
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#2,883      

Calvin

C
Calvin
ThreatLevelMidnight said:
The ESPN ranking are a joke. I wouldn't put any weight into them at all.
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They're especially bad if you follow the college game. I think they're strongly biased towards pro potential, rather than who's going to make an impact in college, or what they did in h.s.

The fact that Smith is getting offers from the likes of Duke and Kentucky, but not making their top-100 shows how little they pay attention to it. It's all the stranger given his size for a guard.
 
#2,885      

EfremWinters84

E
S. Carolina
EfremWinters84
Jack Ingram Ball Screen said:
My boss (former U of I Guard) was talking to a friend (former Florida Guard and current Big East assistant) and that he said he believed Trent Frazier was by far the best recruit in Illinois class. That was during the time that Tilmon was still committed. I know top 100s are not always accurate, but I wonder why he and Mark Smith don't get any love on them.
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I agree entirely with this -- albeit based solely upon highlight videos and stats. Quick. Athletic. He's got a scorer's mentality. He's one of those "athletes" we keep saying we haven't had over the past ten years. I'm optimistically expecting TF to start and score 8-12 ppg next year.

As for DMW, I'm expecting a reincarnation of his Dad by year 2 or 3. Now we just need to round-out the class with some top-notch talent.
 
#2,888      

Calvin

C
Calvin
By the way, what's with the BIG recruiting overall? I look at 2017 team rankings on 247sports, and the highest ranked class is only 19th Purdue. The only other team in the rankings is 21st Wiscy. As far as individual players, it's much worse, with only one player, MSU Jaren Jackson? How is that possible?
 
#2,890      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
whovous said:
I think we get the last in-home.
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I think he announces next week, but I would not be surprised if Duke convinces him to visit campus. I doubt we get an in-home, not that it would be a bad thing.
 
#2,891      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Calvin said:
By the way, what's with the BIG recruiting overall? I look at 2017 team rankings on 247sports, and the highest ranked class is only 19th Purdue. The only other team in the rankings is 21st Wiscy. As far as individual players, it's much worse, with only one player, MSU Jaren Jackson? How is that possible?
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Much of it is class size. Big Ten teams didn't have many spots to give out having signed lots of guys in 2014-6

In 2014 12 Big Ten teams signed 3 or more players, 9 of the classes had 4 or 5 players
In 2015 12 Big Ten teams signed 3 or more players, 7 of the classes had 4 or 5 players
In 2016 11 Big Ten teams signed 3 or more players, 8 of the classes had 4 or 5 players
In 2017 only 5 teams signed 3 or more players and only Purdue had more than 3
 
#2,892      

AJT

A
AJT
I wonder what are the chances that he commits before the OSU visit (I'm assuming BU tries to get one but it doesn't work). I'm expecting an announcement sometime next week. Also, no Kentucky plans...
 
#2,894      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
AJT said:
I wonder what are the chances that he commits before the OSU visit (I'm assuming BU tries to get one but it doesn't work). I'm expecting an announcement sometime next week. Also, no Kentucky plans...
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Was wondering that too, especially since it seems like OSU is on the outside looking in. It seems more likely that Smith's family will take everything in and go away for a few days before making a decision though. At this point, I think Smith knows what Illinois is offering, so it's good to see him visiting again regardless.
 
#2,895      

kuhl84

K
Orlando, FL
kuhl84
I'm sure BU is having player workouts Thursday that Mark and family want to see. Get Mark comfortable with the way the staff works practice.

With a new coach, I would want a point reference. It may just be for final confirmation.


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#2,896      

troym22

troym22
troym22
kuhl84 said:
I'm sure BU is having player workouts Thursday that Mark and family want to see. Get Mark comfortable with the way the staff works practice.

With a new coach, I would want a point reference. It may just be for final confirmation.


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I hope its that and not "go see it one more time to be sure you dont want to go there." Lol. Couldn't resist
 
#2,900      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
Twitter Tuesday: Priorities at Cal, Illinois; Kentucky's next great PG


Orlando Antigua, the former head coach at South Florida and a one-time assistant Pitt and Kentucky, brings a bevy of contacts to his post at Illinois. During his time at Kentucky, Antigua recruited some of the top talent in America, helping John Calipari lay the foundation that has reaped enormous success. While Illinois will not be on the same recruiting platform as the SEC juggernaut, at least not at the time being, Antigua will help Illinois get in a lot of homes that they previously were unable to.

This past weekend, Brad Underwood and the entire staff from Illinois completed an in-home visit with Cameron Johnson, a grad transfer from Pitt. Antigua is the reason that Illinois was able to make the proper inroads with the talented wing.

Besides Johnson, Antigua will get back to his roots within the New York City region. While it may be difficult in 2018, expect for 2019 to be the year that Illinois makes a push for some of the top talent on the East Coast, especially within the talented regions of New York City and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Illinois needs to remain true to who they are, which would be accomplished by locking down the Windy City and landing the best talent from the state. That's something past staffs have had issues with.


https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...ties-at-pitt-and-cal-kentucky-s-next-great-pg
 
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