Sleepy Floyd
Kicking it with Fat Lever
- Champaign
Ideally we should always have one rim protecter on the roster.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-March 2016)
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karmapoliceman
- STL, MO
Did anyone see his tweet about his announcement date? He had an emoji for every team. Ours was just a capital I. Couldn't have even used an eyeball or anything!
While it would be nice to have some foreign talent on the team, I agree with anyone who has said it would be fine if he didn't choose us. I believe I've read he's perhaps a bit like Mav, only better on the offensive end. That's not what this team needs.
Well we have Mav
IlliniFan12
- Cedar Falls, IA
Who says we will be in the mix for any 5th year bigs this offseason?? We aren't exactly the most attractive option at this stage in the program. Go all out on what's currently on the table instead of banking on another option in the future.
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How do you figure? UI is an extremely attractive option for a 5th year big this offseason. P5 team that will get plenty of exposure in the B1G with a glaring gap at the 5. Only thing they would have to worry about is beating out Finke and Mav and as many have pointed out Finke isn't really a full time 5 at this point. Mav is what he is at this point so there is a clear path to playing time. You have to remember most of these guys are coming from smaller schools. While it is great for them to go to UK or KU playing time is much less certain and the exposure is not that much better.
Personally I think a 5th year big is much more likely than a frosh big. Additionally they would be more able to contribute next season. The chances of getting an impact big in the 16 class is almost 0 and basically always has been. There are maybe 5-10 impact bigs in each class and unless you have either an existing relationship or they are in your recruiting area you are not landing those few.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
I agree completely.
89illinigrad
- Chicago
That's probably why Thorne chose us over KU and UK.
The pool of quality impact 5th year bigs (and from your post it seems you imply post/inside players) is a lot smaller than regular HS recruits. If you think there are only 5-10 in the whole HS class, how many do you think there are as RS seniors who want to transfer? A lot less. And our lack of team success and void in sending players to the league further diminish the ability to sell UI as an "extremely attractive option." Thorne was definitely an outlier.
One of the biggest problems with Groce's team has been exactly that. He could not successfully recruit a top-100 HS C/post player, in addition to a PG.
There are a lot more 5th yr options that HS options for an immediate contribution. It is the whole lower ceiling higher floor thing. There aren't a lot of great 5th year transfer bigs (probably 3-5) but there are quite a few serviceable ones (probably 10-20). The goals are completely different for these people as well when compared to HS recruits. Typically they just want the exposure of a P5 school to make a paycheck somewhere or tap an alumni network for like after basketball. I would say it is likely that UI is a finalist for the services of at least one of the 3-5 and will entertain 2-3 candidates for the 5th yr big opening.
When I first read this I read it as "thirsty" which didn't give me any pause, but made me chuckle when I re read and realized what I'd done, lol.
:thumb:
I believe you exaggerate the quality of what is available that UI can get. They will make offers (no other choice), but if you depend on 5th year market, chances are that you end up with Ekey more than Thorne. 10-20 serviceable C/post players? Not even close. Unless we are talking below even Ekey's level, who was not even a post/inside player.
The way you address problems is you recruit some top-100 HS players and develop them. In four years, we have not been able to get even one, PG as well. The fact that PG/C remain our top and most visible problems is hardly a coincidence.
I wish could get another Thorne. But I do not see it. It's hard to win the lottery once, let alone twice.
Went through the transfer list from last year. There were about 10 immediately eligible bigs that went to P5 schools. 3-4 of those were players that were expected to have an impact.
A top 100 HS big would be nice but outside of the top 10-20 the bigs will take a year or two to develop before making an impact. The team needs someone that can contribute next year. That was never coming from the HS ranks.
Why don't you post the list then. I do not believe there are 3-5 great inside/post players and another 10-20 serviceable ones. We can discuss it then. What we need is a C/post player and we should have recruited (successfully) some top-100 HS players in the last four years. We do not have a single one.
I do not buy into the theory that chances of recruiting a top-100 HS C/post player are worse than hitting success with 5th year C/post players. Of course we struck out and we have to look at what is available in 5th year as we do every year. Unfortunately, that has been the most visible problem in Groce's tenure. Inability to successfully recruit a top-100 HS C or PG. The more we prolong that state, the more we can make excuse every year that it is better to look for a 5th year plugin.
Name Height Pos Class School
Olalekan Ajayi 6-11 C RS Jr. Eastern Michigan (will graduate)
Braeden Anderson 6-9 F RS Soph. Fresno State (will graduate) -- SETON HALL
James Bourne 6-8 PF Jr. Winthrop (will graduate) -- COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Quintin Brewer 6-6 F Jr. Bethune Cookman (will graduate) -- ILLINOIS STATE
Arthur Edwards 6-6 F RS Jr. New Mexico (will graduate) -- ALABAMA
Tomasz Gielo 6-9 F RS Jr. Liberty (will graduate) -- OLE MISS
Keith Gray 6-7 PF RS Jr. Northern Illinois (will graduate) -- FLAGLER
Daniel Green C 6-10 Sr. Wake Forest (will graduate) -- ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK
Rayvon Harris 6-5 F Jr. Niagara (will graduate) -- WINSTON-SALEM STATE
Tyler Harris 6-9 F RS Jr. Providence (will graduate) -- AUBURN
Durand Johnson 6-6 F Jr. Pittsburgh (will graduate) -- ST. JOHN'S
Iman Johnson 6-5 F Jr. Maryland-Eastern Shore (will graduate) -- SAMFORD
Eric Katenda 6-9 F Jr. Notre Dame (will graduate) -- NORTH TEXAS
Scott King 6-9 PF RS Jr. Stony Brook (will graduate) -- FAIRFIELD
Denton Koon 6-8 F Jr. Princeton (will graduate) -- HOFSTRA
Willy Kouassi 6-10 C RS Jr. Kennesaw State (will graduate) -- ARKANSAS
Uros Ljeskovic 6-8 C Jr. Coastal Carolina (will graduate) -- GRAND CANYON
Rafael Maia 6-9 C Jr. Brown (will graduate) -- PITTSBURGH
Serigne Mboup 6-7 F Jr. Austin Peay (will graduate) -- UNION (KY)
Shonn Miller 6-7 F RS Jr. Cornell (will graduate) -- UCONN
Rawane Ndiaye 6-10 C RS Jr. Tennessee (will graduate) -- REGINA (CIS)
Angel Nunez 6-8 F Jr. Gonzaga (will graduate) -- SOUTH FLORIDA
Kerwin Okoro 6-5 F RS Jr. Rutgers (will graduate) -- NORFOLK STATE
Nick Pendergast 6-5 SF Jr. Temple (will graduate)
Jarelle Reischel 6-5 F RS Jr. Rhode Island (will graduate) -- EASTERN KENTUCKY
Aaron Rountree 6-8 PF Jr. Wake Forest (will graduate) -- IONA
Will Simonton 6-10 C RS Jr. UIC (will graduate) -- QUINNIPIAC
Evan Sims 6-6 PF Jr. Louisiana-Monroe (will graduate) -- ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
Kenyatta Smith 6-9 C RS Jr. Harvard (will graduate)
Shawn Smith 6-6 SF RS Jr. Marshall (will graduate) -- NEVADA
Antwan Space 6-8 F RS Jr. Texas A&M (will graduate) -- UMASS
Chandler Thomas 6-6 SF RS Jr. Ohio (will graduate) -- GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN
Mike Thorne Jr. 6-11 C RS Jr. Charlotte (will graduate) -- ILLINOIS
Mark Tollefsen 6-8 PF RS Jr. San Francisco (will graduate) -- ARIZONA
Joe Uchebo 6-10 C Jr. Pittsburgh (will graduate) -- CHARLOTTE
Nate Wells 7-1 C RS Jr. Bradley (will graduate) -- BALL STATE
Aubrey Williams 6-7 PF RS Jr. Toledo (will graduate) -- KENNESAW STATE
David Wishon 7-2 C RS Jr. Charleston (will graduate) -- LIPSCOMB
Shonn Miller, Thorne, Tollefsen, and Harris are all major contributors. There are a number of minor contributors on the list as well.
You can't fix the past and the team needs someone for 2016. That isn't coming from HS and never was. That is the moral of the story. By 2017 Finke will be playing the 5 consistently and hopefully Tilmon will be there as well. If you want to expand to the 4, which I don't think you do, Black is a top 50 recruit and I think most would classify him as a big.
Harris is a stud for Auburn....15 ppg/ 8.5rpg.
Go on.......
Without googling, could you name the other two programs Harris has suited up for?
Or today and tomorrow.
Maybe he's waiting to see if SMU stays unbeaten? Currently down 9 @ Temple.
Only other I know is Providence
He started out with NC State
Or today and tomorrow.
Maybe he's waiting to see if SMU stays unbeaten? Currently down 9 @ Temple.
Maybe he is really taking some time to reflect on what his sisters really had to say about their time at SMU
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