Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2017)

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#2,626      

Deleted member 526137

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Deleted member 526137
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I've said this before, but I'm more of an "abstract" fan, I don't get caught up in specific plays we run or any one given recruit; I care more about the big picture, that SFC is viewed as a snakepit for opponents, that Illini basketball again is thought of as in that "next tier" below the Blue Bloods, etc .... so, for me, it's really simple. I believe, with little doubt, that we have talented enough players RIGHT NOW to fight for a Tournament berth with good coaching, and I believe BU is a very good coach. I also believe, with little doubt, that the staff he's assembled will get AT LEAST good enough players for him to coach up into teams that consistently make the NCAAs, and let's build from there. Mark Smith is icing on a cake of new opportunity to me. BU isn't Ron Zook, he isn't John Groce and we all knew that; we didn't hire him to come in here and reel in the talent needed to turn around a program immediately, we hired him because we saw him as an exceptional coach who could build us a program that wins consistently. We passed on Cuonzo (allegedly! ;)) because we were sick of the former. Let's give his staff some time.
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Too rational for this crew.:)
 
#2,627      

PhillyIllini

P
Los Angeles
PhillyIllini
Chris Yates said:
To be fair, we had most of that down-state talent signed, sealed, and delivered, but we chose to fire the head coach who recruited them, so that opened everything up again. We probably made the right decision in changing coaches now, but as Jeremy Werner and others have explained, that was a huge risk because it cut loose a great recruiting class. Time will tell whether it was a good move, but it's not accurate to say that we whiffed on the 2017 down-state talent that signed Illini NLIs.
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We "whiffed" on Goodwin, with Cuonzo in play at Mizzou there's no guarantee that Tilmon wouldn't have recon$idered anyway, and Mark Smith had reported interest in ILL, but there's absolutely nothing that guarantees he would have been here had we kept Groce given a 4th straight year with no NCAAs and Izzo/Cal still getting involved. The loss of Pickett is tempered by the fact that he wasn't even a consensus top 250 recruit and his offer list left a lot to be desired.

So, I'm going to have to respectfully, yet strongly, disagree with the first part of your statement. At least we can both agree that it was the right decision, I just don't need time to validate that it needed to happen when it did.
 
#2,628      

the national

the national
the Front Range
the national
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I've said this before, but I'm more of an "abstract" fan, I don't get caught up in specific plays we run or any one given recruit; I care more about the big picture, that SFC is viewed as a snakepit for opponents, that Illini basketball again is thought of as in that "next tier" below the Blue Bloods, etc .... so, for me, it's really simple. I believe, with little doubt, that we have talented enough players RIGHT NOW to fight for a Tournament berth with good coaching, and I believe BU is a very good coach. I also believe, with little doubt, that the staff he's assembled will get AT LEAST good enough players for him to coach up into teams that consistently make the NCAAs, and let's build from there. Mark Smith is icing on a cake of new opportunity to me. BU isn't Ron Zook, he isn't John Groce and we all knew that; we didn't hire him to come in here and reel in the talent needed to turn around a program immediately, we hired him because we saw him as an exceptional coach who could build us a program that wins consistently. We passed on Cuonzo (allegedly! ;)) because we were sick of the former. Let's give his staff some time.
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All day!! Well said! :chief:
 
#2,629      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
UK has seven 2017 commits/LOI's already and 11 additional confirmed (but not necassarily commitable) offers out.I wonder where Smith is on the list of 11?? UK gets a free view tonight at Derby Classic and maybe another free workout look during next week's visit. Let's hope for Smith's benefit there are not Simeon type defenders at these games/workouts.:)
 
#2,630      

Elgin7680

E
Elgin7680
Some people on this board just needs to relax, in my humble opinion we kept the 2 most important recruits and I am sure the coaching staff will add a couple of decent Bigs that will make for a good team. Rome was not built in a day, lets see what the roster looks like by August, I am sure it is going to be much different.
 
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Deleted member 10676

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Deleted member 10676
[FONT=&quot]Derek Piper‏ @DPiperScout 27m27 minutes ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I've seen THT do a variety of things in the 1st half. Highlight oop, long-range bomb & great no-look dime in transition.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Derek Piper‏ @DPiperScout 29m29 minutes ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Watching the Fire in Highland.. Ayo Dosunmu with an oop to Talen Horton-Tucker. Catch & flush with one hand.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Derek Piper‏ @DPiperScout 30m30 minutes ago [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ayo is back from that foot injury like he never left. Love his court presence and ability to get to the rack.[/FONT]
 
#2,632      

Chris Yates

Chris Yates
Recruiting Correspondent
Michigan
Chris Yates
PhillyIllini said:
We "whiffed" on Goodwin, with Cuonzo in play at Mizzou there's no guarantee that Tilmon wouldn't have recon$idered anyway, and Mark Smith had reported interest in ILL, but there's absolutely nothing that guarantees he would have been here had we kept Groce given a 4th straight year with no NCAAs and Izzo/Cal still getting involved. The loss of Pickett is tempered by the fact that he wasn't even a consensus top 250 recruit and his offer list left a lot to be desired.

So, I'm going to have to respectfully, yet strongly, disagree with the first part of your statement. At least we can both agree that it was the right decision, I just don't need time to validate that it needed to happen when it did.
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Tampering with a signed recruit in the absence of a coaching change is the fastest way to guaranteed sanctions in college sports. With all due respect, anyone arguing that Tilmon would have been a subject of tampering if Groce stayed does not understand college recruiting.

And for anyone roasting me about attributing the loss of recruits to Groce's departure, I said we're probably better off with the coaching change. The point of my post was simply that the Illini didn't whiff on the down-state talent. We simply chose to change coaches.
 
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#2,633      

Ga65

G
Ga65
Still believe we need to do better next year than this year to prove we are on the right track. However believe we are only a big away from that with this coaching staff. Also have faith that this staff will find a serviceable big and also develop Finke. Smith would be a great piece to add but not critical to our long term success. Smith may have much more to gain from the relationship as he can be the headliner here and be a state hero for his lifetime regardless of his NBA level of success.

However our patience has worn thin and I for one keep thinking of the drawing of the vulture with the caption " Patience my a.., I going to kill someone."
 
#2,634      

kuhl84

K
Orlando, FL
kuhl84
Chris Yates said:
Tampering with a signed recruit in the absence of a coaching change is the fastest way to guaranteed sanctions in college sports. With all due respect, anyone arguing that Tilmon would have been a subject of tampering if Groce stayed does not understand college recruiting.

And for anyone roasting me about attributing the loss of recruits to Groce's departure, I said we're probably better off with the coaching change. The point of my post was simply that the Illini didn't whiff on the down-state talent. We simply chose to change coaches.
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For all practical purposes, we traded Tilmon for Underwood.

I like the trade. Hoping for some help that has the ability to contribute at the 4/5 to make it a home run.
 
#2,635      

ILHoff

I
ILHoff
Chris Yates said:
Tampering with a signed recruit in the absence of a coaching change is the fastest way to guaranteed sanctions in college sports. With all due respect, anyone arguing that Tilmon would have been a subject of tampering if Groce stayed does not understand college recruiting.

And for anyone roasting me about attributing the loss of recruits to Groce's departure, I said we're probably better off with the coaching change. The point of my post was simply that the Illini didn't whiff on the down-state talent. We simply chose to change coaches.
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The only miss from the coaching change is Tilmon. We whiffed on Goodwin under Groce. Smith hasn't signed anywhere. Pickett was never a Big Ten level player. The initial suggestion that we had "most" of that area wrapped up is incorrect.
 
#2,637      

The Pontiff

T
Chicago, IL
The Pontiff
PhillyIllini said:
...with Cuonzo in play at Mizzou there's no guarantee that Tilmon wouldn't have recon$idered anyway...
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As Yates pointed out, pretty much no way Tilmon was going to Missouri if Groce is still the Illini coach. Just couldn't see him or his people being good with him sitting out a year since without a coaching change, you can't back out of an LOI without that penalty.
 
#2,638      

Ubermensch

Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Ubermensch
The Pontiff said:
As Yates pointed out, pretty much no way Tilmon was going to Missouri if Groce is still the Illini coach. Just couldn't see him or his people being good with him sitting out a year since without a coaching change, you can't back out of an LOI without that penalty.
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Huh? That's a rule I'm not aware of.
 
#2,639      

Centennial Illini

C
Centennial Illini
I have been gone for a few days and apparently Brad Underwood has morphed into Quin Snyder.

We, for 10 years, have begged for a top shelf coach and every analyst said we got our wish with someone nobody even knew was available.

It won't matter because we won't give him enough money to hire a competent staff. We gave him the biggest assistants budget in the BIG and if rumor be correct added 6 figures to it so he could get OA and a Chicago guy.

We haven't been to the dance in 5 years, so no recruits will ever want to come here. UConn hadn't been to the dance in 11 years but Calhoun seemed to turn that around.. Coach K was 38-47 after 3 years but I think he has done well since.

Tradition matters some, facilities matter some, fan support matters some, but the 4 coaches that I have to spend the next 4 years with matters exponentially more.

If we have made the right choice with those 4 guys, every single thing will fall into place. I would like to have Smith, etal, but if we don't we will still be OK.

Did any of you watch the PSU game at home and don't think we are in a better place.
 
#2,641      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
Centennial Illini said:
I have been gone for a few days and apparently Brad Underwood has morphed into Quin Snyder.

We, for 10 years, have begged for a top shelf coach and every analyst said we got our wish with someone nobody even knew was available.

It won't matter because we won't give him enough money to hire a competent staff. We gave him the biggest assistants budget in the BIG and if rumor be correct added 6 figures to it so he could get OA and a Chicago guy.

We haven't been to the dance in 5 years, so no recruits will ever want to come here. UConn hadn't been to the dance in 11 years but Calhoun seemed to turn that around.. Coach K was 38-47 after 3 years but I think he has done well since.

Tradition matters some, facilities matter some, fan support matters some, but the 4 coaches that I have to spend the next 4 years with matters exponentially more.

If we have made the right choice with those 4 guys, every single thing will fall into place. I would like to have Smith, etal, but if we don't we will still be OK.

Did any of you watch the PSU game at home and don't think we are in a better place.
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Amen. Please post more.
 
#2,642      

foby

foby
Bonnaroo Land
foby
If you want to learn all about getting released from an NLI, go to http://www.nationalletter.org/ and click "Can I be released from my NLI" on the left hand side. Then you can watch a nifty cartoon and you will know all about it, and knowing is half the battle.
 
#2,643      

PhillyIllini

P
Los Angeles
PhillyIllini
ILHoff said:
The only miss from the coaching change is Tilmon. We whiffed on Goodwin under Groce. Smith hasn't signed anywhere. Pickett was never a Big Ten level player. The initial suggestion that we had "most" of that area wrapped up is incorrect.
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Exactly why I initially responded to OP :thumb:
 
#2,646      

oldman

O
oldman
Seagee said:
I'll probably get clobbered for this, but part of me thinks in-state loyalty has to be a two-way street. As we are trying to convince players like Mark Smith to see UofI as a 'diamond in the rough' and stay home vs accepting offers from more established programs with WAY better recent / 10-year track records, then it feels like we should show we are willing to do the same with our own home-grown talent. To those who say, 'yeah, but we want to win', well so do the Mark Smiths of the world, and UK wins a lot more than we have lately.

This isn't solely in regards to Bruninga. Brian Cook played for a small downstate high school with lower competition yet still was recognized as an MDAA.

My bottom line is that while Bruninga may be a wildcard, there is absolutely no downside to bringing him into the gym with our staff and players and having them do a thorough evaluation.


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Ummm .... Brian Cook played in the CS8 on a Lincoln team that lost in the quarterfinals of the AA state tournament when there were only 2 divisions. The CS8 is one of the better high school conferences in Illinois. Ed Horton and Kevin Gamble; Andre Iquadala, McBride, Chukudebe -- I don't know anything about Bruninga, but there is no comparison between Cook's high school competition versus Bruninga's.
 
#2,649      

Centennial Illini

C
Centennial Illini
Driving to Colorado with my wife and seeing that full sized billboard paid for by KU fans in downtown Kansas City was memorable.

All of his failures listed with the punch line

"God save the Quin"
 
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