Hi all - just wanted to swing by to share some notes I had...given the Frolling announcement I thought it was good timing.
- Frolling was an AZ lean the whole way. Turns out AZ was making him more of a plan B option and that cooled him off on the AZ shot. SMU was his plan B. From everyone I have talked to, no one has a real clue how ILL got the visit/connection, fwiw.
- TJL is an absolute monster. Lots of people kicking themselves over whiffing on this kid. Great get for ILL.
- Lots of rumblings (as always) among the B1G coaching circuit, mostly centered around Groce. John has a LOT of respect, and a lot going for him given his ability to recruit and form relationships. The main issue, and this is like a broken record to me, is that his team & program has yet to form an identity. It's no secret that he's become victim to the injury bug, but unfortunately until he puts everything together on the court, recruits will remain in the friend-zone with Groce & Co. The most common complaint of Groce by recruits and handlers is that they have no idea what portrait John is trying to paint. How can he land a point guard when he's demonstrated four years of lackluster pg play? Good luck grabbing a big man when you haven't had a dominant post game in the better part of a decade. Groce can't even sell a role-player like a knock-down 3 pt specialist like just about every program in the league can.
Just my opinion here, but I think once Groce can get a team in the tourney and win a game or two, the pieces will really fall into place. Until then, no one wants to commit four or five years to an NIT team without a solid identity.
Cheers IL....