Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-February 2018)

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#226      

WhiteRhino

WhiteRhino
WhiteRhino
I Bomb said:
We're getting 10/5 from Finke right now.

Krupalija and Archibald had their best numbers as seniors - big surprise. However, they both contributed 14+mpg even as freshmen. My point was, we don't need a saving grace of a "big man" recruit; what we need is players who can contribute immediately, as those two did.
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I seem to remember fans complaining about Archibald being a stiff his first year or two. People were amazed by how much he developed by his Senior year.
 
#227      

I Bomb

I Bomb
Stylin' and Profilin'
I Bomb
WhiteRhino said:
I seem to remember fans complaining about Archibald being a stiff his first year or two. People were amazed by how much he developed by his Senior year.
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He still played 14mpg. Maybe Eboigbodin is now that guy; it's hard to tell. But, I'm not really talking about what anybody became in their senior year, only that we could use big guys who play meaningful minutes their freshman year - right away. And, not have to be all-B1G from the start, which Archibald wasn't his freshman year nor was he his senior year. Although, yes, he did get better.
 
#228      

I Bomb

I Bomb
Stylin' and Profilin'
I Bomb
GolfingIllini said:
Actually - Finke's stats in Big Ten play are:
4.75 points per game
2.75 rebounds per game
0-9 for 3-pt field goals

Not sure anybody is going to argue he plays great defense either.
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It was really just throwing Finke a bone, rather than coming right out and saying, as a junior, he's not even Archibald's caliber when Archibald was a freshman. I'm also not sure how Arch's stats mapped out over conf. vs. non-conf his senior year, but it's not really the point anyway.
 
#229      

Illini Beer 4 All

I
Illini Beer 4 All
I Bomb said:
It was really just throwing Finke a bone, rather than coming right out and saying, as a junior, he's not even Archibald's caliber when Archibald was a freshman. I'm also not sure how Arch's stats mapped out over conf. vs. non-conf his senior year, but it's not really the point anyway.
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Arch was a strong post presence all year, he just was a merciless fouling machine.

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#230      

haasi

haasi
New York
haasi
Damir was great. Rebounding, defense, hustle, good size and reasonable athleticism, some offensive ability. If we added two senior Damirs on this team, we’d be a completely different team. We had a whole array of really solid bigs back then. Damir, Arch, Chukwudebe, Johnson. Invaluable to have a stable of solid and dependable big guys who can get the job done.
 
#232      

coryfor3

C
coryfor3
I Bomb said:
It was really just throwing Finke a bone, rather than coming right out and saying, as a junior, he's not even Archibald's caliber when Archibald was a freshman. I'm also not sure how Arch's stats mapped out over conf. vs. non-conf his senior year, but it's not really the point anyway.
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Whoa whoa whoa...I love Arch. But let's not kid ourselves into what he was as a freshman. He improved greatly over 4 years. He started out his freshman year impressively but soon looked awkward and tentative and confused. He looked like a freshman. His footwork improved tremendously.
So to say that Arch as a freshman is better than Finke as a junior is just not accurate. Besides, they are very different kinds of players.
 
#233      

GortTheRobot

G
North Bethesda, Maryland
GortTheRobot
Even though we all like Finke, if he's not scoring, he's of little use on the floor. Right now, I believe Ebo can get as many rebounds, and he simply cannot be worse on defense. Finke's upside was as a mismatch 5 that could draw his man out and/or nail the three.

I am in favor of the stop-gap of a 5th year big who will then leave a vacancy for (hopefully) Okoro, or any other big that makes a jump. Ebo and a 5th year would probably be enough to make a significant difference next year...if the 5th is any good...at least at rim protection.
 
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#234      

mattcoldagelli

mattcoldagelli
The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
mattcoldagelli
GortTheRobot said:
Even though we all like Finke, if he's not scoring, he's of little use on the floor. Right now, I believe Ebo can get as many rebounds, and he simply cannot be worse on defense. Finke's upside was as a mismatch 5 that could draw his man out and/or nail the three.

I am in favor of the stop-gap of a 5th year big who will then leave a vacancy for (hopefully) Okoro, or any other big that makes a jump. Ebo and a 5th year would probably be enough to make a significant difference next year...if the 5th is any good...at least at rim protection.
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This is all correct.
 
#235      

IlliniFace

I
Chicago, IL
IlliniFace
IlliniBrave75 said:
UIHoopsRecruits‏ @UIHoopsRecruits 3h3 hours ago
UIHoopsRecruits Retweeted Rivals.com

Bossi says EJ Liddell poised to make one of the biggest rankings jumps in 2019; also mentions new offer Lester Quinones & Jaemyn Brakefield

Rivals.com‏Verified account @Rivals 5h5 hours ago

BOSSI'S BEST: This week, @ebosshoops focuses on HS sophomores & juniors whose stock is rising rapidly: http://rvls.co/Best0103
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Not sure what he was before this most recent update (thought it was in the 90s) but he's at #42 now. Huge jump as expected.
 
#236      

Greensboro

Greensboro
Greensboro
coryfor3 said:
Whoa whoa whoa...I love Arch. But let's not kid ourselves into what he was as a freshman. He improved greatly over 4 years.
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this, there is a difference between a big that is ready to play as a freshman & a freshman big who plays a lot because you have no other choice. If we don't add a freshman big this year, then a freshman big or likely 2 will be playing a lot in 2019. Egwu, Morgan, Colbert, even Leonard all played more minutes than they were ready for as a freshman, but it was as at least as a limited backup. In 2019 we have Greg, Matic, and Kipper that can even pretend to be bigs. Without a big in 2018, we have to get a couple Okoro/Liddell level bigs in 2019. A Grad transfer just kicks the can down the road to next year, we may have to do that, but it should be plan B
 
#237      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
ties will be resolved
Joel Goodson
IlliniFace said:
Not sure what he was before this most recent update (thought it was in the 90s) but he's at #42 now. Huge jump as expected.
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Much more accurate assessment, IMO. He'll have the opportunity to move even further up during AAU season.
 
#239      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Dan said:
NEW & UPDATED 2019 #Rivals150 Rankings
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...round-table-analysts-break-down-big-decisions
https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2019

4. Anthony
10. Watford
13. Lecque
32. Stewart
33. Igiehon
34. Okoro
38. Cockburn
42. Liddell
50. Hall
51. Carton
54. Timme
74. McKinney
77. Massoud
81. Quinones
82. Whitney
92. Wong
112. Days

https://twitter.com/UIHoopsRecruits/status/951148579204288512
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The big jump for Liddell just proves what many of us already said. By July or August we will be fighting off the whole country for Liddell and Okoro. This board is going to go crazy during the ups and downs of these 2 recruitments, and I'm going to love every minute of it.:)

Going on a late season run is so important this year. We need some momentum in the program to help fight off the blue bloods and Cuonzo.
 
#240      

Illiniguy13

Illiniguy13
Illiniguy13
jrichisamazing said:
The big jump for Liddell just proves what many of us already said. By July or August we will be fighting off the whole country for Liddell and Okoro. This board is going to go crazy during the ups and downs of these 2 recruitments, and I'm going to love every minute of it.:)

Going on a late season run is so important this year. We need some momentum in the program to help fight off the blue bloods and Cuonzo.
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Yessir. Gonna be a wild ride.
 
#244      

Illini Beer 4 All

I
Illini Beer 4 All
PNWIllini said:
Not directly Illini related, but fun to take note of anyway is Missouri just lost one of the guys that Cuonzo Martin poached from the University of Washington when Porter quit after Romar was fired.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ransferring-nc-state-wolfpack-missouri-tigers

Looks like he's moving on to the latest bandwagon that'll have him.
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He's from North Carolina. That's where I expected him to go in the first place.

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#245      

EthanM

E
EthanM
ESPN saying Brian Bowen to SC.


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#246      

I Bomb

I Bomb
Stylin' and Profilin'
I Bomb
Lol, I feel like I've been bait and switched. Anyway, I still stand by my original comment that we could use recruits like Archibald and Krupalija, even at their freshman skill level(s). Felt like a pretty innocuous comment at the time - guess I was wrong! :(
 
#248      

IlliniCaboose

IlliniCaboose
IlliniCaboose
Hell, I'd settle for (my favorite all time Illini and the reason I always pick #22) Lucas Johnson. And he only averaged 5&3 for his career.
 
#249      

TownieMatt

T
CU Expat
Chicago
TownieMatt
Verified Insider said:
SC being South Carolina in this instance.

Man.....I wouldn't touch this kid with a 10 foot pole.
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Since we're linked to Cherry, I've been thinking about the potential ramifications of taking the kids that got caught up in the FBI sting. To me, it seems like the worst thing that can happen is that the player is ruled ineligible. Assuming you operate above-board when recruiting them, your program isn't at fault for dumb things they did while being recruited by someone else.

Maybe I'm missing something and SC is taking a bigger risk, but it seems like decent risk-reward for a program like that.
 
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