Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (January-March 2017)

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#202      
Illiniguy13
americanoutlaw11 said:
Anyone know how Marquise Walker's season is going?
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St. Jo's is meh, but Walker is playing well. Just from a few searches it's sounding like he's shooting very well from 3 and getting his teammates involved. I'd love to land him-- I'm not sure how high his ceiling is, but the kid plays with a ton of heart and his handles are naaaasty !
 
#203      
Madprof
IlliniCards24 said:
https://twitter.com/gsv_stl/status/816481506407444480

Here ya go. Enjoy.



Look where he takes off...
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Seems like most people are comparing Smith to McCamey and Deron, maybe a bit more athletic. Could either of those two do this in High School? Even College? If Smith comes and ends up being as good as McCamey it is a win, if he is anywhere near as good as Deron it is a huge win. But damn, I don't think either could do that in H.S., or even college.
 
#204      
nwebb1
I think he is probably more athletic than both.

One this he doesn't have, or it may be something i havent seem from him, is a good crossover. His first step looks quick and he is strong enough where if he gets by you just a little bit he will get all the way to where he wants to go. I havent seen him every cross someone and pull up, or drive and pull up. It seems like its either a 3 pointer, or getting all the way to the basket.
 
#205      
Obelix
Madprof said:
Seems like most people are comparing Smith to McCamey and Deron, maybe a bit more athletic. Could either of those two do this in High School? Even College? If Smith comes and ends up being as good as McCamey it is a win, if he is anywhere near as good as Deron it is a huge win. But damn, I don't think either could do that in H.S., or even college.
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Deron could easily dunk in HS and did multiple times at The Colony. Smith may be a good player, but Deron was a fantastic HS player who was able to establish himself as a starter right off the gate as a freshman for an excellent Illini team that finished 2nd in the B1G narrowly missing 1st.

[YOUTUBE]sjJ4KnSu5I4[/YOUTUBE]
 
#206      
ChiefIllini
Tangent: Why no more Midnight Madness? Is it branding? Cause I've got a great name: Midnight at the Farm (dont tell KU, also patent pending). The green street thing they did a few years ago was kinda cool, impossible to watch but still.

But seriously, a lot of colleges have these midnight madness events and bring recruits in. It cant hurt recruiting can it? Maybe our draw wont be too big now but the catchy name is worth something right ;)?
 
#207      
Calvin
SescIllini said:
I agree, also we haven't had recent PG's who could control tempo. Deron was the best at it and Frank Williams wasn't too bad. They made the game be played at pace and tempo which was best for their team. Smith I believe can bring that leadership on the defensive side of the ball as well, and more importantly Smith shows he can win games.
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Well said. I think part of the tempo problem is the type of offense we run, and that our movement gets stagnant pretty easily. Not sure why that's the case, but we run into spurts where the team doesn't look like everyone's on the same page.

Deron and HRF were both studs. Deron was a guy you could just hand over the keys to --maybe the best combo of PG skills and on-court IQ I've ever seen in an Illini.
 
#208      
mattcoldagelli
ChiefIllini said:
But seriously, a lot of colleges have these midnight madness events and bring recruits in. It cant hurt recruiting can it? Maybe our draw wont be too big now but the catchy name is worth something right ;)?
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I would say if our draw is not very big, yes it would hurt recruiting.
 
#209      
Calvin
ChiefIllini said:
Tangent: Why no more Midnight Madness? Is it branding? Cause I've got a great name: Midnight at the Farm (dont tell KU, also patent pending). The green street thing they did a few years ago was kinda cool, impossible to watch but still.

But seriously, a lot of colleges have these midnight madness events and bring recruits in. It cant hurt recruiting can it? Maybe our draw wont be too big now but the catchy name is worth something right ;)?
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You could have a whole thread on why MM is not very successful here. The venue has been an issue:

If you go outdoors to create a venue with bleachers, you run the risk of weather and limits to viewing.
If you do it at the Hall, you won't come remotely close to filling it, and that's a buzzkill
If you do it at Huff, you could easily fill it, except no one wants to come and risk being turned away because it filled up, so it's kind of self-defeating.

On top of that, the program's recent performance, or lack thereof is definitely a problem. Fans come out for an exciting product, but that's a double-edged sword recently.

A lot of folks believe it could be done right, but it currently seems to be an optimization problem that no one has solved.
 
#210      
ChiefIllini
Calvin said:
You could have a whole thread on why MM is not very successful here. The venue has been an issue:

If you go outdoors to create a venue with bleachers, you run the risk of weather and limits to viewing.
If you do it at the Hall, you won't come remotely close to filling it, and that's a buzzkill
If you do it at Huff, you could easily fill it, except no one wants to come and risk being turned away because it filled up, so it's kind of self-defeating.

On top of that, the program's recent performance, or lack thereof is definitely a problem. Fans come out for an exciting product, but that's a double-edged sword recently.

A lot of folks believe it could be done right, but it currently seems to be an optimization problem that no one has solved.
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Huff is an interesting option, but I disagree people wouldnt show up because they'd fear being turned away. 4k seats is probably enough to get students + some alums. Give all the students free access and make the alums by 5 bucks. First come first serve. A recruiting class like we have next year and/or a new coach would solve the excitement problem. Also, the street event they did a few years ago got decent outcome considering it was poorly executed.
 
#212      
Kramer116
Madprof said:
Seems like most people are comparing Smith to McCamey and Deron, maybe a bit more athletic. Could either of those two do this in High School? Even College? If Smith comes and ends up being as good as McCamey it is a win, if he is anywhere near as good as Deron it is a huge win. But damn, I don't think either could do that in H.S., or even college.
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McCamey used to throw down monster dunks in HS
 
#213      
americanoutlaw11
Illiniguy13 said:
St. Jo's is meh, but Walker is playing well. Just from a few searches it's sounding like he's shooting very well from 3 and getting his teammates involved. I'd love to land him-- I'm not sure how high his ceiling is, but the kid plays with a ton of heart and his handles are naaaasty !
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Thanks, I looked around but couldn't find much. Every time I search the kid though I come across his old videos with Dee and McCamey which are both awesome. I'd love ILL to land him
 
#214      
FatGreg
I don't think Mark Smith is a better athlete than Deron Williams. Deron's athleticism was overlooked because of his body type and deliberate game. He could sky. The video Obelix linked shows some examples, but Deron also had some monster dunks in games. I also saw him hit his head on the backboard on an alley-oop his junior year - I forget against who. He didn't become explosive after he lost weight - he was always an explosive leaper (though obviously improved conditioning increased that quality).

McCamey was also a heck of an athlete - not elite, but quick and bouncy for his linebacker-like frame. I'd venture that Smith is in the McCamey realm, a notch below Deron.
 
#217      
618 Illini
Hope Jeremiah stands out as the best prospect of them all.

This could also be a game where Terrence Hargrove Jr makes some noise.


IlliniBrave75 said:
Brad Sturdy Retweeted
Corey Evans ‏@coreyevans_10 1h1 hour ago
Corey Evans Retweeted Gary Parrish
Slight change in the @HoopfestUSA schedule for tonight. Now a battle between VT & UK signees vs Illinois recruit

East St. Louis goes up against Rivals #53 Shai Alexander (Kentucky Commit) and #35 Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech Commit).
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#219      
Deleted member 10676
FatGreg said:
Is this going to be televised or streamed at all?
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http://www.flohoops.com/article/501...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
How To Watch:

When: Friday, January 6 - Saturday January 7
On TV: Now available on Roku and Apple TV 4
Streaming: Available only on FloHoops - $20 monthly or $150 yearly. Yearly FloPro access is to ALL FloSports sites. SIGN UP HERE.
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Verge is on The Cube tonight. (Yes, I still harbor faint hopes.)
http://thecube.com/event/thornton-township-high-school-vs-victor-j-andrew-h-701326
 
#220      
IlliniCards24
Watching smith right now.

Has 23 with 3 minutes left in 3rd quarter. Just dominating everywhere on the floor. 3-6 from 3.

Edit: now with 30 and a huge 2 handed slam.
 
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#222      
MadSeason
miketherevelator said:
Interesting take on some kids and parents.

Joe Henricksen ‏@joehoopsreport 35m35 minutes ago Joe Henricksen Retweeted Pat Disabato
Terrific piece here by @disabato who spells out the truth about the reality of the high school basketball culture today ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...t-disabato-column-st-0108-20170106-story.html
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School ball is an after thought to AAU ball now. The shoe companies and money made sure of that. This kid doesn't sound talented enough to break on to the AAU scene so he blamed his high school coach and thinks a new school will help.

Club ball has really replaced high school ball in every sport outside of Football. Coaches can go scout 100+ players at a club tournament rather than 1 or 2 at a high school game. With the value of scholarships none of this is particularly surprising.
 
#223      
nwebb1
IlliniCards24 said:
Watching smith right now.

Has 23 with 3 minutes left in 3rd quarter. Just dominating everywhere on the floor. 3-6 from 3.

Edit: now with 30 and a huge 2 handed slam.
Click to expand...

I'm ready for another Mark Smith highlight reel
 
#225      
westcoastillini
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