That's the Spirit? Why not say Wait until Groce lands Tilmon and Goodwin, this board will self-implode.
Its not like there is not a precedent for self-implosion and "nut-punches."
That's the Spirit? Why not say Wait until Groce lands Tilmon and Goodwin, this board will self-implode.
Maybe I didn't hear this correctly but it sounds like he says in the interview very quickly, and before getting cut off, that Michigan State, UNC, and Kansas are his top three schools right now. Anyone else catch that?
If Goodwin and Tilmon want to go elsewhere then let them go we gotta make do with what we got and hope other players that are here or committed here gets the ball rolling.
Maybe I didn't hear this correctly but it sounds like he says in the interview very quickly, and before getting cut off, that Michigan State, UNC, and Kansas are his top three schools right now. Anyone else catch that?
Wow things have changed for us very quickly smh.
I swear some people on here freak out over the smallest things.
Right?
Freaking out over an interview comment, when what we should be freaking out about is having to hang the immediate future of our program on a wildly improbable recruiting hail mary.
You all are reading way too much into that interview. He acts exactly the same when answering any of the questions about Illinois or MSU or Kansas or whoever. There was no mention of a top 3. Look like two kids who were ready to go but had to stop and do another interview that asked the same questions as the previous one. They looked bored.
Tilmon would be amazing to get, but I don't think he will define the class as a failure if we miss out on him. Like all 5-star recruits, there is a chance they will go to a blue-blood no matter how early we got in with him.
IMO, Goodwin is the most important recruit to land. He would be a 4-year player that would really change the program with his competitiveness and drive to win. He's a true downstate recruit that would pair with Damonte and make Illinois a place to go to.
Add Goodwin, Terrance Lewis, Theo John, and somebody like Trent Frazier, Nojel Eastern, etc... and it's a Top 10 class for JFG and Illinois.
IMO, Goodwin is the most important recruit to land.
Landing a top 10 class with the current state of Illinois basketball is wildly unrealistic in my opinion. Illinois is going to have to recruit kids ranked lower and hope that they outperform the "ranking". I am convinced the only reason Williams committed is because the big boys like Kansas were no longer interested. Kids ranked in the 60-100 range should be the hope. If the big boys come calling for Goodwin, which it looks like they will, I have no hope.
The amount of offers going out to new prospects at similar positions should tell you where we stand with our current targets.
We're likely to land a top 10 class even if we miss on Tilmon and Goodwin since we're going to have a big class. Even getting a big like Negron and a guy like McKinley would get likely seal the deal in us finishing with a top 10 class based on who we already have.
We're likely to land a top 10 class even if we miss on Tilmon and Goodwin since we're going to have a big class.
You're right, I should have said 15-20 which isn't difficult to do when you have 5 or more recruits. Doesn't mean it's program changing or fills the holes.Highly unlikely IMO based on average rankings, which is the true measure, if we miss on Tilmon and Goodwin. We need these two players. For comparison, the 2011 class (link below) did not rank in the top 10 although it had some highly ranked players. Unless of course, you are able to land some top recruits from out of state (e.g., Indiana) but at this point it does not look likely either.
Illinois will need some highly ranked players who could immediately step in especially with the departure of Abrams, Tate, Nunn, Hill, Mav and Thorne (some may leave even earlier). Even with Tilmon and Goodwin, I doubt the turnaround will be immediate, but without a top class there is little hope for the direction of the program in the future.
http://247sports.com/Season/2011-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings
The staff had momentum with Goodwin several times and couldn't get him to pop. They also had momentum with Tilmon and had the opportunity about a month ago. They squandered both, and it's really really hard to get recruiting momentum back once it's lost.