Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January 2021)

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#126      

chiefini

chiefini
Rockford, Illinois
chiefini
robjilla said:
Man if they get Oscar and Burnett that would be a great recovery from missing Mac and the Weston/jones/nesbitt/tyty wing group that was just missed. Oscar was great during his senior season. I recall him having a great workout in front of the fans during his Illinois visit.
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I was at that workout. It was packed, 4-5 deep around the Ubben court. Lots of cheering of “Os-car Tshieb-we -clap, -clap, clap, clap, clap (making sure we said it right). I’m sure he enjoyed it. Terrance Shannon and EJ Liddell were also there, but neither was anywhere near as impressive as OT. We really hoped he’d commit to the Illini that night or the next morning.
 
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#134      

robjilla

R
robjilla
chiefini said:
I was at that workout. It was packed, 4-5 deep around the Ubben court. Lots of cheering of “Os-car Tshieb-we -clap, -clap, clap, clap, clap (making sure we said it right). I’m sure he enjoyed it. Terrance Shannon and EJ Liddell were also there, but neither was anywhere near as impressive as OT. We really hoped he’d commit to the Illini that night or the next morning.
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Kofi committed (Thank GOD) and that was a big surprise but Oscar was one of those that wanted to commit but had a family member playing for West Virginia or his host family had ties to West Virginia. Some nonsense.
 
#135      

Deleted member 747840

D
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Deleted member 747840
There will be attrition, as there always is and almost certainly more than normal this year. That includes this team. Kofi/Ayo are likely gone. We will lose a couple to transfer. Is Hutch ever going to be able to play again? Even if DMW and Trent come back, others will leave whether we like it or not.

I'd be shocked if we saw less than 4 new faces next year, including Goode. I dont think our issue will be scholarship availability. The question with Oscar is we have 13 guys on scholarship right now, if he wants to be on scholarship this semester, we'd need to figure out a way to make that happen. People like Jeremy Warner have hinted at ways they could skirt the limit. I dont think that will be Oscar's deciding factor on whether to come here or not.
 
#136      

logjam

logjam
logjam
Austin said:
There will be attrition, as there always is and almost certainly more than normal this year. That includes this team. Kofi/Ayo are likely gone. We will lose a couple to transfer. Is Hutch ever going to be able to play again? Even if DMW and Trent come back, others will leave whether we like it or not.

I'd be shocked if we saw less than 4 new faces next year, including Goode. I dont think our issue will be scholarship availability. The question with Oscar is we have 13 guys on scholarship right now, if he wants to be on scholarship this semester, we'd need to figure out a way to make that happen. People like Jeremy Warner have hinted at ways they could skirt the limit. I dont think that will be Oscar's deciding factor on whether to come here or not.
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Put Hutch on medical scholarship, Oscar gets his, is my guess.
 
#137      

altenberger22

altenberger22
South Carolina
altenberger22
altenberger22 said:
Yes, we're currently at 13 scholarships.

However, these two guys would prospectively be mid-season transfers with eligibility only for the 2021-22 season and beyond. They're forfeiting eligibility for the remainder of the current season. And I'm quite sure we'll be allowed to go above 13 scholarships next year due to the Covid rule (i.e. Loren Tate said he expects both Trent and DaMonte to return for a 5th season.)

We have 4 scholarship seniors. So if I'm interpreting everything correctly:

Goode replaces Ayo
Tshiebwe theoretically replaces Kofi
Burnett theoretically replaces Trent
TBD/OPEN replaces DaMonte

Trent and DaMonte then return with their 5th year of eligibility and we're allowed to exceed the scholarship limit by 2. Thus we could perhaps have a scholarship roster of 15 next season. Further, 2020-21 would not count against any player's eligibility (e.g. Curbelo returns as a FR; BBV returns for his third FR season!).
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EDIT: Of course, Ayo and Kofi are not seniors, but we do expect both of them to leave for the NBA draft.
 
#139      

armo859

A
armo859
robjilla said:
Man if they get Oscar and Burnett that would be a great recovery from missing Mac and the Weston/jones/nesbitt/tyty wing group that was just missed. Oscar was great during his senior season. I recall him having a great workout in front of the fans during his Illinois visit.
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Can't disagree with that. Landing these two transfers would place the 2021 recruiting class in a new light. My caution is that Tshiebwe is going to have some explaining to do. I watch a lot of WVU games and Oscar turned into a ghost on the court this year. Many times his head was clearly not in the game. Bob Huggins and Underwood are products of the same coaching tree, so I'm guessing they have already talked about the lad. Huggins came out and said they were a better team without him and (I think) that he arrived out of shape this season. So a Body-by-Adam subscription will surely be in order.
 
#142      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
armo859 said:
Can't disagree with that. Landing these two transfers would place the 2021 recruiting class in a new light. My caution is that Tshiebwe is going to have some explaining to do. I watch a lot of WVU games and Oscar turned into a ghost on the court this year. Many times his head was clearly not in the game. Bob Huggins and Underwood are products of the same coaching tree, so I'm guessing they have already talked about the lad. Huggins came out and said they were a better team without him and (I think) that he arrived out of shape this season. So a Body-by-Adam subscription will surely be in order.
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My take away from reading between the lines is that he got out worked in the off-season by Culver, and lost his starting job. Obviously this frustrated Oscar, who was considered by some to be one of the top 20 returning players in all of college basketball. (Preseason 1st team All-Big 12) Does that mean he's a lost cause? I certainly don't think so. A lot of young men need a "wake up call" at some point in their personal development in order to achieve their potential. Growth isn't always linear. Sometimes you have to fail to learn what it takes to succeed.
He's going to play college basketball again, and my bet is he is going to be really good. (again) Hopefully, he comes Champaign, IL to do it.
 
#143      

Fanview

Fanview
Fanview
altenberger22 said:
I actually agree with you. I think Kofi wants badly to leave and to explore a professional basketball career. And if he does, I sorta think he may end up playing overseas.

Still leaving a 10-15% chance that he returns to Champaign-Urbana next fall.
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I could see him going overseas. I could also see him thinking: "Luka is gone next year. This is my chance to be the most dominant big man in the league". I'm sure that will be a big talking point.
 
#145      

CurbeloYourEnthusiasm

CurbeloYourEnthusiasm
CurbeloYourEnthusiasm
rbillini said:
Mac is on the roster and sitting at the end of the UCLA bench.
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If he gets to the point where he’s physically and mentally on the same page with our team and it’s something that he wants to do, then obviously I’m going to support him and we’ll go from there,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Monday, “but right now we’re not even close to that point.”
There are several hurdles Etienne would have to clear before heading to the scorer’s table to check into a game. He needs to receive medical clearance, start learning Cronin’s system and see how he fits in with the Bruins.

“He is not in shape. He does not know one damn thing that we do. He is far, far from it,” Cronin said of Etienne’s readiness. “But if we ever get to that point, whether it’s February or whatever and that is something that he wants to talk about, I’m going to support him no matter what he decides on that topic.”

Should Etienne play this season, he would still have four years of remaining eligibility under NCAA rules related to the pandemic.

www.latimes.com

Center Mac Etienne playing this season for UCLA? It's a real possibility

Mac Etienne, one of the top centers in the 2021 prospect class, could be on the court for the UCLA basketball team before the end of the season.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com

Doesn't sound like he's going to play much if at all this year.
 
#147      

DICKnaggie

DICKnaggie
Champaign
DICKnaggie
That seems like an unnecessarily harsh accounting of a kid who just showed up mid-year. Was there some event that precipitated that description or was that out of the blue?
 
#148      

logjam

logjam
logjam
DICKnaggie said:
That seems like an unnecessarily harsh accounting of a kid who just showed up mid-year. Was there some event that precipitated that description or was that out of the blue?
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Translates to EARN IT!
 
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