Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2018)

[Second and Chalmers]

I thought Frazier was underrated (he was) and think Griffin is underrated (we'll see).

I think it's Jones who's underrated. A very similar situation to Frazier where I just don't see how the film I'm seeing isn't a top 100 player.

 

[TownieMatt]

Twitter Tuesday: Latest on Romeo, Akinjo, Calloo, OK State

Next weekend, Illinois will host Calloo for an official visit. This is the only trip scheduled for the time being as the Illini, if they so deem fit, could press the Canadian senior during his visit and could leave the Champaign campus a committed man.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...latest-on-romeo-akinjo-and-oklahoma-s-targets

Rivals keeps reporting Calloo's visit as an official, but every thing else I've seen says unofficial. If it truly is an official, I think it shows we're really interested. We don't extra officials to give to players we aren't sure about.

 

[FiveStar]

Rivals keeps reporting Calloo's visit as an official, but every thing else I've seen says unofficial. If it truly is an official, I think it shows we're really interested. We don't extra officials to give to players we aren't sure about.

Speaking of officials, if Okoro is ending his recruitment by May either way as an 18 or a 19, doesn't he need to be on an official soon too?

 

[TownieMatt]

Speaking of officials, if Okoro is ending his recruitment by May either way as an 18 or a 19, doesn't he need to be on an official soon too?

Not necessarily. Being so close, he's visited Illinois several times. Of course, I'll feel better about our chances if he does schedule an OV.

 

[Bailey]

The fact that Verge is second team (and the second highest Fr on that list) gives us some context. This is a guy that would have easily been a high-major player if he had done the work in the classroom. He fell down recruiting rankings in high school because it was clear he wasn't going to qualify and he missed important AAU events.

Verge is one of my all time favorite recruiting targets. I hope some how some way he ends up here down the line. What a player.

 

[skyIdub]

If you haven't listened to the Werner interview with Steven Demeo, Andres Feliz's coach at NW Florida St., I recommend it. The interview starts around the 39:23 mark.

http://jeremywernershow.podbean.com...-inquirer-steven-demeo-nw-florida-st-college/

Wow. Thanks so much for posting this link! Lots of very exciting adjectives thrown around about his El General! I love it!

From 18 to 38% 3pt shooting? That is work. Even if he takes a step back in B1G competition...let's say 30%....that will be a huge upgrade from TL.
I can't wait to see this kid! Major props for him working his tail off to be able to get to our world class institution of higher education! Way to go Andres!
You deserve it, and we are excited to see you win here!

I'm not drowning in Orange Kool-Aid....but I'm swimming in the deep end!

 

[Noslotterb11]

Didn't you say like last week that there is no way IL is getting this kid? His mom played at Northwestern and he loves it there. Something like he is going to Northwestern or Duke. Am I wrong? If that is the case then and IL doesn't have a shot at him, spend your man hours elsewhere

I did say this, that is true. Regardless, if he is the top prospect in the state we still need to go after him. Can you imagine what this message board would look like if we have a top-25 national recruit in our state and we didn't try hard to get him?

I get it's early and I stated that I'm sure our priorities are finishing this class off and getting a jump on '19

 

[TheGMan]

But there are 20 B1G games this year.

Damnit :doh:

 

[SergioKittner]

I work at the school he goes to, played for and coached under his head coach, and am good buddies with all of the coaches on staff. I asked if Illinois has contacted at all, they have not. Villanova called last week too.

My guess would be that the staff hasn't had the luxury of putting much effort into the 2021 class yet. I think it is safe to assume they have been very busy assembling the current class which isn't even set yet with several visits scheduled this month. If he is one of the top players in the state in his class, rest assured they will be finding out about him and reaching out well before he makes a college decision.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

My guess would be that the staff hasn't had the luxury of putting much effort into the 2021 class yet.

One way in which failure begets failure.

 

[NBB1979]

Wow. Thanks so much for posting this link! Lots of very exciting adjectives thrown around about his El General! I love it!

From 18 to 38% 3pt shooting? That is work. Even if he takes a step back in B1G competition...let's say 30%....that will be a huge upgrade from TL.

TJL wasn’t an awful 3-point shooter. Free throw shooting was TERRIBLE. But he went 17-51 from 3 over his 2 seasons here. Shot 12-32 freshman year and 5-19 as a sophomore. I’d argue he didn’t shoot ENOUGH shots. Happy to have Feliz, but Te’Jon is being treated as garbage and that’s not exactly fair.

 

[skyIdub]

To someone more in the know of the BU system;
Did we run the system through the post like it should have been?
Are we trying to replace what Black did last year, or was that run out of necessity and not the desired scheme BU is building for?

I definitely would not classify myself as "someone more in the know", but from my take, I don't think he was able to do many of the things he wanted simply because of the limits with MF and KN. Black was huge. Ebo drank through a fire hose because of foul trouble and injury, and that may pay off in spades next season.

We have to replace what Black did last year somehow, both in rebounds and scoring. If Kipper takes a mental leap like Black did, and our 2's and 3's pick up some rebound slack, and Ebo continues his growth, and Kane gives us some solid tick, and Giorgi pretends B1G defenders are orange cones, and nobody gets significantly injured, and El General conquers the B1G, and Ayo is good enough to be one and done, and Griffin is a surprise four and a half star, and Mah-Teets adds 15lbs, and Frazier goes All Frazier, and there are no Trash Can Incidents, and we are able to see the Waxing Crescent Moon in October......we should be fine.

 

[skyIdub]

TJL wasn’t an awful 3-point shooter. Free throw shooting was TERRIBLE. But he went 17-51 from 3 over his 2 seasons here. Shot 12-32 freshman year and 5-19 as a sophomore. I’d argue he didn’t shoot ENOUGH shots. Happy to have Feliz, but Te’Jon is being treated as garbage and that’s not exactly fair.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that TL was "garbage". Just that it sounds like Andres will be an upgrade. Maybe I shouldn't have used "huge". :thumb:

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

We have to replace what Black did last year somehow, both in rebounds and scoring. If Kipper takes a mental leap like Black did, and our 2's and 3's pick up some rebound slack, and Ebo continues his growth, and Kane gives us some solid tick, and Giorgi pretends B1G defenders are orange cones, and nobody gets significantly injured, and El General conquers the B1G, and Ayo is good enough to be one and done, and Griffin is a surprise four and a half star, and Mah-Teets adds 15lbs, and Frazier goes All Frazier, and there are no Trash Can Incidents, and we are able to see the Waxing Crescent Moon in October......we should be fine.

So...you're telling me there's a chance! :thumb:

 

[NeaforThree]

Jeez , Loyalty is on fire today lol.

We're all (die-hard) Illini fans...of course many posters are going to argue that every recruit we sign is the best /underrated/take us back to the promised land. With a relatively new coach I'd say I'm surprised more people aren't sharing in the blind optimism. And then of course we have the posters who are a bit more wait and see.

The good news is that we'll all find out one way or another how successful BU and his recruits are in a couple years time. But yeah the condescencion and snarkiness from both sides of the debate is a bit much sometimes but that's sports fandom for you.

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[NeaforThree]

I agree with much of your post, but I think you tend to overstate (and other posters as well) "athleticism." This is not a team very high on "athleticism" IMO.

On the whole, the players we brought in are wayyyy more athletic than the ones who left, and I don't think that was an accident.

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[Deleted member 29907]

I would say bad at shooting. He passed well, penetrated reasonably and could score on drives, but zero outside threat and a minus on FTs.

Agree that Bradley would be a great fit for him. Wardle is a good coach.

Quick note:
Since his suspension (12 games): TJL shot over 50% from the field and 44% from 3. 29 rebounds, 39 assists, 21 TOs. That, plus his excellent D (and assuming growth into next year as a junior) is what we are losing when he left. I feel he had a clear step up on production when he came back and we sorely missed him (3 losses) when he was out. FTs were clearly a problem and so he should be out at the end of tight games, but he was much better at finishing at the rim.

Didn't have time to do the "before" but compared to full season - pretty much all improved except for FTs following the 3 game rest.

 

[tpbradley]

Quick note:
Since his suspension (12 games): TJL shot over 50% from the field and 44% from 3. 29 rebounds, 39 assists, 21 TOs. That, plus his excellent D (and assuming growth into next year as a junior) is what we are losing when he left. I feel he had a clear step up on production when he came back and we sorely missed him (3 losses) when he was out. FTs were clearly a problem and so he should be out at the end of tight games, but he was much better at finishing at the rim.

Didn't have time to do the "before" but compared to full season - pretty much all improved except for FTs following the 3 game rest.

I agree. I thought his game was definitely improving, and he was getting to the hoop more often, very similar to TF's drives. Was disappointed to hear that he was transferring, esp since I think he could've really contributed next year. But I was wondering if he didn't have the right approach or attitude to fit the culture that BU wants. I'm also guessing that he didn't respond well to the benching.

 

[imdball]

Nitty-gritty

With all the angst over the star rating of recruits and who else is coming, seldom mentioned is the ability of the coaches which is a huge factor in success.

This staff created a Loren Black who went from so-so to a force and deserves a ton of credit. Wisconsin has been to a seemingly endless string of tournaments often with players often considered scraps thanks to Beau Ryan. Loyola made it to the Final Four with nobodies. Even mighty Michigan had some low ranked recruits making big contributions.

Weber and Groce were terrible at player development. I can't imagine the current staff with a more proven history won't be a huge upgrade in this department and with the talent coming in optimism seems justified.

 

[Illiniwek06]

On the whole, the players we brought in are wayyyy more athletic than the ones who left, and I don't think that was an accident.

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More athletic does not equal an athletic team. Pretty difficult to limbo under the bar set by last season's squad in terms of athleticism.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

On the whole, the players we brought in are wayyyy more athletic than the ones who left, and I don't think that was an accident.

It's actually pretty marginal.

Black, Smith, Lucas, Finke and Alstork departing

Jones, Kane, Ayo, Feliz, Griffin and Giorgi entering.

A better group of shooters definitely. More size and length. But a tale of two halves of the class athleticism-wise. Those latter three are as landbound as anyone on the current roster, and Ayo is a length and quickness and body control guy, he's not a leaper.

 

[Tacomallini]

I definitely would not classify myself as "someone more in the know", but from my take, I don't think he was able to do many of the things he wanted simply because of the limits with MF and KN. Black was huge. Ebo drank through a fire hose because of foul trouble and injury, and that may pay off in spades next season.

We have to replace what Black did last year somehow, both in rebounds and scoring. If Kipper takes a mental leap like Black did, and our 2's and 3's pick up some rebound slack, and Ebo continues his growth, and Kane gives us some solid tick, and Giorgi pretends B1G defenders are orange cones, and nobody gets significantly injured, and El General conquers the B1G, and Ayo is good enough to be one and done, and Griffin is a surprise four and a half star, and Mah-Teets adds 15lbs, and Frazier goes All Frazier, and there are no Trash Can Incidents, and we are able to see the Waxing Crescent Moon in October......we should be fine.

Now that's funny. Let's hope it comes to fruition.

 

[NeaforThree]

They are more athletic overall, but again, this team is not very high on "athleticism." I have seen for example Ayo probably more than most, and people assume because he is 5* that he is very athletic. Ayo, Feliz, Griffin, and Giorgi are not the players who one would describe high on the athleticism scale.

Ahh, I see what you were saying now regarding our whole team. Still, I'd say Kane, Ebo and Tevian definitely do fit the bill of being highly athletic and do make our team more athletic, especially with Ebo getting more pt.

From what I've see of Ayo, he seems to me to be very fast on the court with an extremely quick first step, does this jive with what you have seen?

 

[Tacomallini]

Not that it matters at this point, but does anyone know why TJL was suspended those 3 games last season?

 

[NeaforThree]

It's actually pretty marginal.

Black, Smith, Lucas, Finke and Alstork departing

Jones, Kane, Ayo, Feliz, Griffin and Giorgi entering.

A better group of shooters definitely. More size and length. But a tale of two halves of the class athleticism-wise. Those latter three are as landbound as anyone on the current roster, and Ayo is a length and quickness and body control guy, he's not a leaper.

Ayo's quickness to me makes him a better athlete to me then Smith Lucas or Alstork, but I guess that depends on your definition of athleticism.

I feel like other than Frazier (and K Nunn) we've been sorely lacking the last several years in guards with extremely quick first steps.