Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-February 2018)

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#1,451      
PlayAZ
LouAlcinder said:
Late bloomer? Yes. Limited other than inside? I don't think so. He plays center for him team, but he can shoot the 3, is pretty athletic, runs the floor really well, and his work ethic is off the charts. We may not have room for him but, he will continue to improve and likely will find a higher landing spot than IL State. If not, he'll be a star in the MVC.
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I agree he does have offense other than inside play (due to current position played), but that also limits him as of now. He has been handling the ball and bringing up with guards as well, still makes him limited. Given time I think he will be a very good player, I also tend to think he is more your MVC type vs B1G type though.:chief:
 
#1,453      
jrichisamazing
UnderwoodsCoffeeGuy said:
Brad Underwood has had three players with an original commitment to him, two of them being big men. Whether they play major roles is yet to be seen, but Greg has shown tons of potential and Matic is 'a build from the bottom' prospect with a lot of potential.
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We should stop classifying Matic as a big. He plays like a guard and BU has used him as a guard in the few minutes he has played.
 
#1,456      
Chief lives on
IbleedOandB2014 said:
Watched Okoro play last night in Mahomet. He is quite the physical specimen. Normal West won big but there were a few dunks and alley hoops he caught that no one on our current team could throw down. Matt Painter was in the house but no Illini coaches.
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Hard to believe nobody from the Illini staff wasn’t there given how close Mahomet is. Perhaps you just didn’t see them
 
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#1,457      
TCTORNADO
Shaka in to see Ramey today. For some reason, I think we still have a good shot at Courtney. It would be most impressive if BU were to pull Ramey in. OTOH, I would settle for Jacobs in a heart beat.
 
#1,458      
IlliniDent
Kajagoogoo said:
Illinois isn't getting Ramey. I'll call donuts on that one. Jacobs, yes. Ramey, no. Probably land Trice, too, but neither of those guys are difference-makers. If Underwood lands just those two to go with Ayo, next year isn't much better than this year. Add Cunningham, and then we're talking about a good chance at the NIT.
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Is this a hunch? There has been a lot of positive news regarding that recruitment. Not saying we get him but this isn't just board speculation
 
#1,459      
IlliniDent
TCTORNADO said:
Shaka in to see Ramey today. For some reason, I think we still have a good shot at Courtney. It would be most impressive if BU were to pull Ramey in. OTOH, I would settle for Jacobs in a heart beat.
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Absolutely agree. Not saying we get him at all, but would be massive for us going forward. Would give us significant depth at the 1-3 spots with Frazier, Ayo, Smith, Ramey, DMW, and Lucas.
 
#1,460      
Joel Goodson
TCTORNADO said:
Shaka in to see Ramey today. For some reason, I think we still have a good shot at Courtney. It would be most impressive if BU were to pull Ramey in. OTOH, I would settle for Jacobs in a heart beat.
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Agreed. That said, there's a yawning chasm between Ramey and Jacobs.
 
#1,461      
ChiefIllini
I think if BU pulls in Ramey, thats a more impressive get than Ayo. Not comparing the two as players, just the recruiting process.

That being said, Ramey would be awesome, but I think we can afford to take on a guy like Jacobs/Rodriguez, though maybe Rodriguez fits a different need. Trice would be a decent get. I still think we need a true center for this team. It's obvious teams aren't afraid to challenge guys like Finke or Ebo (or leron for that matter). Minny shows just how game changing a true big can be.

Kind of an aside, does anyone have a scouting outlook on Ayo? I know the reports of his elite driving ability and quirking shot, but anything else?
 
#1,464      
IlliniDent
Verified Insider said:
Remember the triumphalism about how Tyger Campbell committing to UCLA likely takes them out of the running? Well apparently not.

I'd be shocked if we get Ramey.
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He already had a visit there planned and I think the reason people thought it helped us was because of UCLA not having as much room for him with other chief targets. However, I would be shocked if they didnt take him if he wanted to go there
 
#1,465      
Deleted member 631370
IlliniDent said:
He already had a visit there planned and I think the reason people thought it helped us was because of UCLA not having as much room for him with other chief targets. However, I would be shocked if they didnt take him if he wanted to go there
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Exactly.

UCLA gets pretty good talent, but Alford isn't a Calipari-level recruiter who can hold out for a top-10 recruit in the spring and be reasonably certain he'll succeed. If Ramey wants to go to UCLA, I can't imagine them not taking him.

And if Ramey is flying out to UCLA for a visit, I can't imagine that he's not at least interested in them.

(insert the obligatory "oh, he's only visiting them for the free trip, nice weather, and LA scenery" line)
 
#1,466      
IlliniDent
Kajagoogoo said:
To add to this, there's still no indication that Ramey is planning a visit to Champaign, which is more reason to believe IL isn't really on his radar (not seriously, anyway).
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That's not true, there actually has been a lot of indication that he plans on visiting. Whether or not that happens is to be seen
 
#1,467      
IlliniDent
sacraig said:
I think you are perhaps losing your mind a bit. Either that, or you didn't sleep much last night and could use a nap.

We don't need "difference makers" to make the NIT or even the NCAA tournament next year. What we need are serviceable post players. If we had that this year, we'd probably have at least 4 or 5 more wins.
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I think the biggest needs next year are having 4 regular scoring options on the court at all times in addition to someone who can play some post defense.

This offense runs so much more smoothly when the defense has to react to multiple players since it pulls the defense apart and allows our swing passes and cuts to create space and scoring opportunities. When the opposing team can ignore 2-3 players on the court and force TF, Black, or Kipper alone to beat us we simply can't win. This problem will likely be improved by adding Ayo and having our freshmen get 1 more year of experience which hopefully (crossing my fingers) will allow Smith and Williams to break out a big and become serviceable contributors on offense. Obviously adding any of Ramey/Jones/a transfer big would also do a lot to help this problem as well next year.

On the defensive side, improved defense by our soon to be sophs should help but what we really need is is a transfer big that can come in and play solid defense in the post to help prevent the easy 2 points that teams get when they break past our guards. Right now, Black gets in too much foul trouble having to be that last resort and Finke is borderline useless against more athletic post players. Ebo shows a lot of potential and will continue to help in the post as he improves but that 5th year transfer is going to be key for us moving forward if we want to win.

This year, while incredibly disappointing, was actually much closer to being acceptable than it would seem. We are clearly 1-2 players away from being a solid NIT team and about would be a possible bubble team with the added addition of improved play from our vast numbers of underclassmen. However, I still think we are another year off of the NCAA's without a significant influx of talent/improvement from our freshmen.
 
#1,469      
Illini_1979
Verified Insider said:
Exactly.

UCLA gets pretty good talent, but Alford isn't a Calipari-level recruiter who can hold out for a top-10 recruit in the spring and be reasonably certain he'll succeed. If Ramey wants to go to UCLA, I can't imagine them not taking him.

And if Ramey is flying out to UCLA for a visit, I can't imagine that he's not at least interested in them.

(insert the obligatory "oh, he's only visiting them for the free trip, nice weather, and LA scenery" line)
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And the cheerleaders! :thumb:
 
#1,473      
OrangeNTude
IlliniDent said:
Obviously adding any of Ramey/Jones/a transfer big would also do a lot to help this problem as well next year.

...

We are clearly 1-2 players away...
...However, I still think we are another year off of the NCAA's without a significant influx of talent/improvement from our freshmen.
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Ramey has already been on an unofficial to Illinois. Maybe that has made him less in a hurry to do an OV.

1-2 players could make a big difference.
Say JCL had stayed and was taking all the shots Alstork has been taking this year (might have had less defense though).
Or say Tilmon stayed committed and took the load off Black and Finke offensively and defensively (if he could stay out of foul trouble).

Like has been said, we need
1) a rim protector (offensively skilled big would be a bonus)
2) another skilled shooter

:deadhorse:
 
#1,474      
TCTORNADO
It's amazing to see our name still mentioned with Ramey, considering that Shaka has/is in to see him for the 2nd time and he has taken an OV to Austin.
 
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