Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-March 2017)

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#951      

Deleted member 10676

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Deleted member 10676
ILHoff said:
Liddell was the best player on the court tonight...scoring from everywhere on the floor, blocking shots (including a Tilmon two handed dunk attempt), grabbing rebounds, and hitting his free throws. He plays with a great temperament and has a very high IQ. Best sophomore in the state.
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Hope Jamall is on the case.
 
#952      

FatGreg

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FatGreg
Liddell seems to have taken some drastic strides over the last 9 months or so. I thought he'd end up ranked around #100, but I'm starting to get a top-50 vibe from him.

Re: Verge, I think he'll go the juco route, but I hope the staff keeps tabs on him. He might be a great fit in two years. I'd love to see him take a redshirt at a top junior college next year, get his grades in order, gain 10-15 pounds, and then blow up. He's fun to watch.
 
#953      

poor dirt farmer

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poor dirt farmer
Went to the Belleville West East St louis matchup Liddell is a monster if he's not a top 30 2019 then its gotta be one heck of a class. Tillmon was more assertive than I've ever seen him but they don't use him down low enough otherwise they would have won. Hargrove got in foul trouble but played his tail off he might be a good big ten player if he keeps working. That Tuesday night game between west and Edwardsville could be really good I think it's gonna be played at Collinsville.
 
#954      

whovous

W
Washington, DC
whovous
FatGreg said:
Liddell seems to have taken some drastic strides over the last 9 months or so. I thought he'd end up ranked around #100, but I'm starting to get a top-50 vibe from him.

Re: Verge, I think he'll go the juco route, but I hope the staff keeps tabs on him. He might be a great fit in two years. I'd love to see him take a redshirt at a top junior college next year, get his grades in order, gain 10-15 pounds, and then blow up. He's fun to watch.
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If he goes to a JUCO and takes a redshirt and gets his grades up, can he transfer to and play for Illinois as a soph with four years of eligibility, or would he still have to take a year off if he transferred in before graduating?
 
#955      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
whovous said:
If he goes to a JUCO and takes a redshirt and gets his grades up, can he transfer to and play for Illinois as a soph with four years of eligibility, or would he still have to take a year off if he transferred in before graduating?
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If he's a non-qualifier out of HS he'd have to earn his associate's degree before he'd be able to transfer to a D1 school. He could red shirt in JC but that's unlikely IMO.
 
#956      

FiveStar

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FiveStar
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
If he's a non-qualifier out of HS he'd have to earn his associate's degree before he'd be able to transfer to a D1 school. He could red shirt in JC but that's unlikely IMO.
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I know it's unlikely but I think it would be smart. He's a known commodity among college coaches right now. If he gets his grades up and has a 3 years of eligibility compared to the normal 2, I think he is that much more attractive as a prospect. But, even though he's a high major talent, kids still just go to juco to play, nobody wants to not play. I'm interested in seeing how his situation turns out.
 
#957      

Smacko

S
Lexington, KY
Smacko
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
If he's a non-qualifier out of HS he'd have to earn his associate's degree before he'd be able to transfer to a D1 school. He could red shirt in JC but that's unlikely IMO.
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Yeah, convincing a kid to take a year off and just focus on school is a hard sell. I agree it could be a good idea for him, but I just don't see it happening.
 
#958      

Wittsdream

W
Chicago
Wittsdream
The prospects of getting guys like Smith & Liddell, to buttress our current '17 crop of recruits, not to mention our investment in other key recruiting targets in both '18 and '19.........these are just some of the reasons why I can envision better days ahead for Groce and this program, and I think Whitman feels similarly.

I believe we will be NCAAT worthy next season (the loss of Hill, Morgan and Abrams notwithstanding); Sweet 16/Elite 8 potential the following season (with seniors Black, Finke and JCL); and quite possibly NC-caliber great when this '17 class are juniors, and if we land our top targets in '18 and '19.

If you want to play the "projecting" game (an Illini fan staple), and look at the potential makeup of this roster by 2019-20 (if Groce is retained), it's difficult not to get excited by the tantalizing possibilities of these permutations.

(projected height and weight):

C - Tilmon Jr. 6-11/250
F - Liddell Fr. 6-9/240
F - Nichols Sr. 6-6/225
G - Smith Jr. 6-5/225
G - Frazier Jr. 6-2/185

G - Te'Jon Lucas Sr. 6-0/180
G - DaMonte Williams RS So. 6-4/190
G - Javon Pickett Jr. 6-4/190

OTHER TARGETS:

F - Tim Finke So. 6-7/220
G - Ayo Dosunmu So. 6-4/180
C - Francis Okoro Fr. 6-10/235
F - Terrence Hargrove Fr. 6-6/215
G - Marquise Walker Fr. 6-1/180

Now if history has taught me anything about Illinois basketball, it's highly doubtful that ALL of these kids will don the orange and blue in the future. But even if we only land 4 out of the 7 who are not committed, and they are the right mix of Bigs, Wings and PGs, we could find ourselves reliving that '83 -'89 or '00 -'05 stretch of prosperity.

The U of I truly is the sleeping giant of the college basketball world. And if you were to somehow waterboard Bobby Knight, Digger Phelps and Bruce Pearl in an underground Gitmo torture chamber, they would divulge as much.

And yet, all of this could hinge on the outcome of the next several days.:faint:
 
#959      

ILHoff

I
ILHoff
poor dirt farmer said:
Went to the Belleville West East St louis matchup Liddell is a monster if he's not a top 30 2019 then its gotta be one heck of a class. Tillmon was more assertive than I've ever seen him but they don't use him down low enough otherwise they would have won. Hargrove got in foul trouble but played his tail off he might be a good big ten player if he keeps working. That Tuesday night game between west and Edwardsville could be really good I think it's gonna be played at Collinsville.
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I'll just add one thought to Liddell that I forgot. There is zero wasted motion in his game. He's not dribbling around. He's not standing around. When he catches the ball he makes a decision to pass, shoot or dribble immediately. This is actually one of the major aspects that makes Jordan Goodwin so good.
 
#960      

RickBB

R
RickBB
RenoGray10 said:
NC is his dream school. Not saying Ol' Roy will offer him but if he does, it's over.
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One of my high school teammates has a son on Normal West...and when I chatted with him over the Pekin Holiday tourney, it seems that this is indeed the case.

He's a unique player....his athleticism is off the charts...like Greek Freak off the charts. But after watching West play I don't think he's utilized very well....but I guess the thing these days is high ball screens and 6-9 guys having the ball in their hands 30 feet from the basket
 
#961      

Paigncake

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Paigncake
Wittsdream said:
Indeed. Liddell loves the Illini staff and we were his first offer. He and Tilmon alone starting up front would present us with a scoring, shot-blocking, rebounding duo that C-U hasn't seen in a looooong time.

It's difficult not salivating at a potential future Illini frontcourt with Tilmon, Liddell, Okoro, Nichols and Hargrove.

Combine that with a backcourt led by Smith, Frazier, TJL, DMW and Pickett.

Haven't even brought up Ayo Dosunmu or Tim Finke, our top '18 prospects.

Mercy!!

If even 3 out of that list of 5 '18 and '19 recruits are "realistic" commitments by retaining Groce at the helm, it seems like a no-brainer decision by Whitman.

Elmer Fudd could coach that squad to an Elite 8 appearance, minimally.

:chief:
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This is exciting to hear.

Also, guys, there's some rumblings that the staff could be looking at a highly regarded possible transfer if a coach is canned and another kid who might be let out of his LOI if his coach is fired.

No names on it. No clue.. One guess would be Justin Smith if Crean was fired but that is 100% a guess.
 
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#962      

217sports

217sports
Springfield
217sports
Liddell only has offers from in state schools right now but will get more offers from other schools like Indiana in June
 
#963      

zpfled

Z
Logan Square, Chicago
zpfled
Whoever the next coach is REALLY needs to lock down Frazier...I really want to see a team next year with two good, quick PGs
 
#964      

Wittsdream

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Chicago
Wittsdream
We'll, so much for that long diatribe from earlier. I swear it sucks being an Illini fan. :(
 
#965      

RickBB

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RickBB
Wittsdream said:
We'll, so much for that long diatribe from earlier. I swear it sucks being an Illini fan. :(
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As soon as I read that, I thought to myself "That's a great post with some solid thinking in it. I like the general positive nature of it. I hope it doesn't all go for naught now."
 
#966      

CoalCity

C
St Paul, MN
CoalCity
Wittsdream said:
We'll, so much for that long diatribe from earlier. I swear it sucks being an Illini fan. :(
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This made me chuckle when I read it. The last 10 years of basketball have made us all somewhat bipolar.
 
#967      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
Osceola the team that beat Frazier/Wellington on Friday night, went on to win the Florida 9A championship by a score of 59-47 last night over Wekiva.
 
#969      

nwebb1

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nwebb1
Mike is usually on top of this, but i didnt see anything posted about the Eville vs. Belleville West game tonight. Does anyone know if that is going to be on the cube or not this evening.

Should be a great game with 2 Illini targets
 
#970      

t7nich

t7nich
Central IL
t7nich
#971      

Deleted member 10676

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Guest
Deleted member 10676
nwebb1 said:
Mike is usually on top of this, but i didnt see anything posted about the Eville vs. Belleville West game tonight. Does anyone know if that is going to be on the cube or not this evening.

Should be a great game with 2 Illini targets
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I've been checking. Not on Cube http://thecube.com/cube/illinois/broadcasts/athletics/basketball
and not on NFHS http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/explore/upcoming

Doubt there will be any more games on The Cube this month-- there are enough games on NFHS that I broke down and paid for the 9.95/month package and will drop it after the basketball season is over. If it wasn't all the way over in Frankfort and I wasn't so sure West Aurora is going to get drubbed by Bolingbrook, I'd have gone to that. But a lot of good games on NFHS tonight -- unfortunately Belleville West- Edwardsville isn't one of them.
 
#972      

Captain Bubbles

Captain Bubbles
Fairfield, IL
Captain Bubbles
The game to keep an eye on tonight is the Class 2A Carbondale Super-Sectional. Mt. Carmel vs Alton Marquette. If you're down there in the area, watch Mt. Carmel's Jackson Marcotte. Kid is a heck of an athlete at 6-8 and is garnering football interest (SEC, other powerhouse conferences), along with basketball schools.

He's been getting double-doubles as of late. He's been rolling.
 
#975      

Deleted member 10676

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Deleted member 10676
Todd Eschman‏ @tceschman 52s53 seconds ago
Smith taking over. Eight points in last 2 mins. Edwardsville leads 40-32. 4:33 left.


Derek Piper‏ @DPiperScout 2m2 minutes ago
.@Mark_Smith_13 splashes a trey. He's done it all. 28 points. Just give him the Mr. Basketball
1f3c6.png
now.
 
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