foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Not sure he would be a bigger get. But Frazier + Ayo + Kipper + Okoro = 4/5ths of a very formidable line-up
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April 2018)
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Not sure he would be a bigger get. But Frazier + Ayo + Kipper + Okoro = 4/5ths of a very formidable line-up
+El General for the win!
Deleted member 8896
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He is solid, in the right program I think there is no question he could be a1st round in 2020. Let's hope we are the right program.
I just saw him play & there is absolutely no way he is a first round pick in 2020.
GortTheRobot
- North Bethesda, Maryland
WHAT!!! This is a disaster! Can we jettison Trent to make room? Or Ayo?
"Absolutely no way" seems a little too definitive...2 years is a fairly long time.
haasi
- New York
6’5 SG. #28 prospect in 2020 class
Looks like super athlete
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Deleted member 8896
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I think he is a good player but to be a first round pick in the NBA After one year of college in 2020 is extremely unlikely. Think about players that are routinely projected to be second round picks this year- Grayson Allen, Devonte Graham, maybe even Keita Bates-Diop. Some mock drafts even list the player of the year Brunson at 26 or so. If they eliminate the requirement that you have to go to college at all then you would have even younger guys move ahead of him that would be eligible straight out of high school.
Liddell is far from a one and done. I think he will be a really good college player, but he's a bit of a tweener in the NBA. Is he big/strong enough to guard 4's? Is he athletic enough to guard 3's? The best case scenario for Liddell would be a Bates-Diop type of player. KBD was a 4 year player and a projected 2nd round pick.
Not sure I would go that far. Seen EJ and Okoro play several times and Liddell has much more consistent skill set. Okoro is a big guy, but his handles lack, and outside shot needs work. Love to have him on team, but Ayo will be a very good player, maybe one and done, remains to be seen. And yes love them to both playing for us next year, that would be awesome.
I don't need Okoro to put the ball on the floor and shoot 3's.
haasi
- New York
Latest from henricksen- surveyed Illinois HS coaches about top 5 prospects in stats regardless of class.
https://www.suntimeshighschoolsport...ys-college-coaches-rank-states-top-prospects/
EJ clear #1, followed by THT. Then Miller, Ayo #4, then Steward then Okoro #6. Biggest revelation was how highly coaches regard EJ over everyone else. 24 of 26 surveyed ranked him #1. The other two had him second. And a couple quote from coaches- “There is no way E.J. Liddell isn’t the best player and best prospect in your state. No way.” “Give me E.J. Liddell. You can have the rest.” …
Others receiving votes for top 5 in state were max Christie and Markese Jacobs - Christie got some #2 votes and henricksen noted that he was the only player the majority of coaches hadn’t seen- so maybe should be ranked higher.
Some real differences between here and national rankings. A couple quotes from coaches about that - “I just believe several of the current, nationally-ranked players out of Illinois are overrated.” “There are a couple of those players you mentioned who are very overrated nationally.” I assume they’re talking about Ayo and Okoro.
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https://www.suntimeshighschoolsport...ys-college-coaches-rank-states-top-prospects/
EJ clear #1, followed by THT. Then Miller, Ayo #4, then Steward then Okoro #6. Biggest revelation was how highly coaches regard EJ over everyone else. 24 of 26 surveyed ranked him #1. The other two had him second. And a couple quote from coaches- “There is no way E.J. Liddell isn’t the best player and best prospect in your state. No way.” “Give me E.J. Liddell. You can have the rest.” …
Others receiving votes for top 5 in state were max Christie and Markese Jacobs - Christie got some #2 votes and henricksen noted that he was the only player the majority of coaches hadn’t seen- so maybe should be ranked higher.
Some real differences between here and national rankings. A couple quotes from coaches about that - “I just believe several of the current, nationally-ranked players out of Illinois are overrated.” “There are a couple of those players you mentioned who are very overrated nationally.” I assume they’re talking about Ayo and Okoro.
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foby
- Bonnaroo Land
I must be getting old. After talking to my son he graduated in 2005 not 2008. Sure doesn't seem that long ago.
Peoria Illini
- Peoria, IL
Tell me about it... I just found out they tore down Forbes Hall where I spent my freshman year. I thought to myself... but that place seemed new... turned out it was built in the 50's and I stayed there over 25 years ago
Speaking of old... my posterizing Kenny Battle has disappeared *gasp*!
The real tragedy was the tearing down of Willie's Illini Inn on Fourth and Daniels this past summer, to be replaced by yet another high rise apartment building that blocks the sun from campus.
They are replacing the Inn within that high rise fyi
Not sure if this has been posted (didn't see it on the scholarship grid), but Illinois (and Harvard) recently offered 2019 MacDuffie (MA) F Ismael Massoud per Corey Evans.
If you want this offense to add another element and fire on all cylinders you do.
Peoria Illini
- Peoria, IL
Yeah, I heard that.
I'll believe it when I see it. Not the same.
Ah, the nights I wasted in college, drinking $0.90 frosted mugs of Michelob... LOL
So ...
Bryce Golden is currently on an OV to Butler.
Francis Okoro is currently on an OV to Purdue.
Okoro OV to Illinois next weekend?
Calloo OV on deck to Illinois weekend after that, if we still have an opening?
Bryce Golden is currently on an OV to Butler.
Francis Okoro is currently on an OV to Purdue.
Okoro OV to Illinois next weekend?
Calloo OV on deck to Illinois weekend after that, if we still have an opening?
Did I miss something? Okoro has planned an official visit to Illinois?
Not what I was saying, you missed the point, we had a schollie to take Okoro before Matic left. It wasn't an either/or. Matic's schollie only comes in to play if you take 2 more or if you think we take Okoro and we need to leave one open for a midseason/late transfer. My bet at this point is that we don't do as well as some seem to expect and end up with an empty schollie or a big that is a reach (Okoro isn't a reach).
I'm not convinced Matic would have ever made a difference, but after his first 2 seasons I don't remember anyone around here thinking there was any chance Mav would ever start a game either or be a regular contributor, so there is a chance.
I get your point, but it's still a stretch to compare the two. Morgan was behind Egwu in the depth chart and had to practice for two years against him. Matic couldn't get meaningful minutes even with a huge hole in the frontcourt. He was a bad frontcourt player that thought he could become a small forward. I wish him well but he wasn't going to contribute until senior year at best, IMO.
Okoro would be big because of how badly we need a big...but I wouldn't expect him to be a difference maker next year. When is the last freshman big that came in and was that significant his freshman year. Not Egwu, Not Leonard, probably have to go back to Augie, then maybe Cook and Efrem.
Problem 2 is we were very bad underneath last year and we lost are 2 best bigs in Black & Finke. Even if Okoro comes in and produces at the level of Augustine as a freshman we are still 2 bigs in the rotation short of being good, so we need Ebo and Kane or Georgi to soldify a rotation.
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