Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (April-June 2016)

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#626      
Obelix
The Pontiff said:
Assuming all of Tate, Nunn and Black are back, leaving just one a ride open for 2016, it seems unlikely that Groce would offer it to CM.

First, he HAS to win next year if he wants to keep this job. Secondly, to win next season, he has to have another capable big, one that can contribute right away.

Unfortunately that means he can't speculate on a HS big like Rako who may take several years to develop. A healthy Thorne would be perfect but if not, then he should use it on the best possible 5th year post guy.

In my opinion, the only scenario where CM may make sense is if Tate or Nunn aren't on next year's team.
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Easier said than done. Chances that we land another Thorne in the 5th year market are slim to none. So it may come down to the "quality" of a player you can land at the positions of need (PG and C). Charlie Moore can definitely help, I'd welcome the addition, but I have seen nothing to indicate that Moore is currently interested in the Illini.
 
#627      
Newman
Second and Chalmers said:
Only people who can't separate the concepts of "5 star" and "one and done" think Tilmon is likely to be a one-and-done.
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He's not a one and done at this point but the potential is still there for him to get to that point during his freshman year of college. I think ESPN has him as a high 4 star right now which I think is appropriate for how he played this past season.
 
#628      
Illinijose
Landing very good prospects and laying a solid foundation for future success will look well for Groce IMHO. He is off to a good start in 2017, Pickett is looking better and better.
 
#629      
jrichisamazing
Obelix said:
Easier said than done. Chances that we land another Thorne in the 5th year market are slim to none. So it may come down to the "quality" of a player you can land at the positions of need (PG and C). Charlie Moore can definitely help, I'd welcome the addition, but I have seen nothing to indicate that Moore is currently interested in the Illini.
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I would happily take another Sam McLaurin over Moore.
 
#630      
illini80
Illinijose said:
My thoughts exactly, Moore has heard the pitch why try to convince him again. Like I mentioned before, I think Moore is far from the Yogi's and Ulis' of the world. I would be afraid that we would now have a 5-10 SG. I like the size of TJL and that of DWilliams (just sounds so good) at the point. Also like giving JCL the chance to develop PG skills, I think he is closer to providing minutes there already.
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My understanding was that we moved on when CM wasn't ready to make a commitment. Not that he wasn't interested, just not ready. Had some family issues iirc.
 
#636      
Illinijose
We need bigs, I too would take a Sam Mclauren. The JC player out of England via Wyoming looks good.
 
#637      
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Second and Chalmers said:
There is ample evidence that high school recruits and non-high school recruits are just apples and oranges.
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All recruits have their own set of priorities and each is unique. The fact remains we beat out 2 "blue bloods" for a recruit.

Obelix said:
Having seen Tilmon multiple times, I highly doubt that. I really like him and hope we get him, but Tilmon will not be a 1-yr player, he is nowhere near that level IMO.
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Probably not, but being at "that level" is not always a necessity. Plus he's got another year in HS to develop.
 
#638      
OrangeDeeLight
Obelix said:
Having seen Tilmon multiple times, I highly doubt that. I really like him and hope we get him, but Tilmon will not be a 1-yr player, he is nowhere near that level IMO.
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No he is not. I had predicted pre-injury that Tilmon was going to take a Shaw like fall in the rankings. But it could be worse now that he is injured..for sure if he commits to UI. :D

That being said, I would still take him. But he is a not a "savior" type recruit. Especially in the early years.
 
#639      
Illinijose
Tilmon is much more gifted than Shaw. I do agree he will take a fall but probably to top 30
 
#641      
SummerofGeorge
OrangeDeeLight said:
No he is not. I had predicted pre-injury that Tilmon was going to take a Shaw like fall in the rankings. But it could be worse now that he is injured..for sure if he commits to UI. :D

That being said, I would still take him. But he is a not a "savior" type recruit. Especially in the early years.
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I agree that his ranking may fall but, aside from falling in the rankings (which happens to many recruits), there is no other comparison to Shaw. Seeing him in person a couple of times I think a fair comparison would be Marcus Griffin. I think Tilmon is more talented and has more upside but you are right in saying he is not a savior or a 1-and-done type guy. Regardless, he is a player that we desperately need right now in our program.
 
#645      
217sports
OrangeDeeLight said:
No he is not. I had predicted pre-injury that Tilmon was going to take a Shaw like fall in the rankings. But it could be worse now that he is injured..for sure if he commits to UI. :D

That being said, I would still take him. But he is a not a "savior" type recruit. Especially in the early years.
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This is a lot of yikes. I'm glad you would "still take him" though.

We would be lucky to get Tilmon. He's a top 20-25 player who may not be a 1 and done but would still make a potentially program changing difference to this team.
 
#646      
The Pontiff
Obelix said:
Easier said than done. Chances that we land another Thorne in the 5th year market are slim to none. So it may come down to the "quality" of a player you can land at the positions of need (PG and C). Charlie Moore can definitely help, I'd welcome the addition, but I have seen nothing to indicate that Moore is currently interested in the Illini.
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Well, you can't very well go strongly after CM until you know for sure if Thorne is out. And don't know how one can say the odds of getting a quality to even serviceable 5th yr big is "none".

I grant that it's not easy to nab one, but every year there are solid options, and after taking a quick glance, you see guys like Shonn Miller (UConn), Anton Grady (Wichita St.) and Damion Lee (Louisville) were excellent bigs for their teams last season. Plus as others have pointed out, 5th yrs have done rather well here when healthy, so I think the sales pitch can be rather good - play in the B1G, upperclassmen roster, immediate playing time, could be missing piece, yada, yada, yada...

But if Groce opts to go hard after CM and that recruitment drags out, then he pretty much guarantees no additional post help for next season.
 
#647      
OrangeDeeLight
SummerofGeorge said:
I agree that his ranking may fall but, aside from falling in the rankings (which happens to many recruits), there is no other comparison to Shaw. Seeing him in person a couple of times I think a fair comparison would be Marcus Griffin. I think Tilmon is more talented and has more upside but you are right in saying he is not a savior or a 1-and-done type guy. Regardless, he is a player that we desperately need right now in our program.
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I guess that is why I said "Shaw like" fall. Not that he was the same talent level as Shaw.

Shaw really "should" of fell out of top 100 instead of just to the 60s. But I think evaluators were afraid to drop him that far and look bad for a previously evaluated top 10 talent.

Now I do think JT is MUCH better than Shaw. And like a few just said he does have a lot of upside. But I just do not see a top 30 type talent here. I would rank JT in the top 60 because of potential alone. But not top 30. Probably not even top 40?

And even if he was ranked #260...we still need a guy like him. :thumb:
 
#648      
Newman
OrangeDeeLight said:
I guess that is why I said "Shaw like" fall. Not that he was the same talent level as Shaw.

Shaw really "should" of fell out of top 100 instead of just to the 60s. But I think evaluators were afraid to drop him that far and look bad for a previously evaluated top 10 talent.

Now I do think JT is MUCH better than Shaw. And like a few just said he does have a lot of upside. But I just do not see a top 30 type talent here. I would rank JT in the top 60 because of potential alone. But not top 30. Probably not even top 40?

And even if he was ranked #260...we still need a guy like him. :thumb:
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They use production and potential to rank players. Jeremiah Tilmon will not drop out of the top 40 based on his potential alone.
 
#649      
Johnny Lawrence
SummerofGeorge said:
I agree that his ranking may fall but, aside from falling in the rankings (which happens to many recruits), there is no other comparison to Shaw. Seeing him in person a couple of times I think a fair comparison would be Marcus Griffin. I think Tilmon is more talented and has more upside but you are right in saying he is not a savior or a 1-and-done type guy. Regardless, he is a player that we desperately need right now in our program.
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A more talented Marcus Griffin would be a program changer. I often think Marcus gets overlooked for many reasons (juco, injuries, talented roster, etc) but he was an absolute force down low, as good as any big man in the Big Ten this year.
 
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