Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (July-August 2016)

[jrichisamazing]

I would say Frazier, Kiir, and a 5th year. Save the last scholly for either scruggs or wilkes on the off chance they want to come, otherwise keep it open for Finke or one of the pg prospects for next year.

Don't forget Alonzo Verge. The staff will have to do some digging to see if he will qualify and if he actually has attitude problems.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Hope Groce didn't break his hand today. As bad as today was for us fans, it was a lot worse for the staff. Really looking forward to how this class shakes out.

 

[MrOizo]

Don't forget Alonzo Verge. The staff will have to do some digging to see if he will qualify and if he actually has attitude problems.

Verge would be a great get. For some reason or another he could be delayed a year, but that would be OK. Good high risk/high reward recruit.

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[IllinistuckinGopherland]

Yeah a 5th year can be a nice stop gap. But you can't pass on a talented guy like Kiir just because he might not be ready year 1. And you can't assume that you can get a 5th year big later on.

Just to clarify. I'm hoping for Frazier, Kiir, AND a 5th year big (assuming Scruggs or Wilkes don't want that spot)

 

[Smacko]

Verge would be a great get. For some reason or another he could be delayed a year, but that would be OK. Good high risk/high reward recruit.

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Will be interesting to see if Verge will be able to get his classes in order enough to qualify. He can definitely play, unfortunately all the questions about him are unrelated to his skill.

 

[Greensboro]

Greensboro- how do you rank our chances with the multiple bigs we're talking to? One reason I like the 5th year big (a la McLaurin) is that Kiir (or most other non-top-50 freshmen) doesn't look ready to play 15 a game at center. A 5th year big prevents Finke from having to play out of position - as more than 25 mpg for Tilmon seems like a stretch.

First off, all my information is hearsay from this and other sites, so all this is just my read of the tea leaves. The good news is we seem to have quite a few bigs in the mix, but when we start getting them to visit then you start to feel closer, the bad news is we may be playing the numbers game for a reason. I hope we get Frazier & Kiir; then the 6th you go big or go home (not size wise, but quality wise). I'm fine with a 5th year if we have an opening, but don't think you want a 5th yr to be the main plan, because I think we will be a harder sell in 2017. Thorne knew he was walking into the starting lineup, Lewis at least thought he had a fighting chance at starting, Ekey knew he was the day 1 starter, McLaurin knew he had plenty of playing time behind Egwu & competing with Griffey at the 4. We have done well, but we had huge holes to fill & were selling playing time. In 2017 we have 3 bigs, plus a few potential stretch 4s, so unless a big is really good he is competing for back side of the rotation. So just not convinced our luck in the 5th yr market will be as good as in the past & having another freshman big developing take him.

 

[Joel Goodson]

First off, all my information is hearsay from this and other sites, so all this is just my read of the tea leaves. The good news is we seem to have quite a few bigs in the mix, but when we start getting them to visit then you start to feel closer, the bad news is we may be playing the numbers game for a reason. I hope we get Frazier & Kiir; then the 6th you go big or go home (not size wise, but quality wise). I'm fine with a 5th year if we have an opening, but don't think you want a 5th yr to be the main plan, because I think we will be a harder sell in 2017. Thorne knew he was walking into the starting lineup, Lewis at least thought he had a fighting chance at starting, Ekey knew he was the day 1 starter, McLaurin knew he had plenty of playing time behind Egwu & competing with Griffey at the 4. We have done well, but we had huge holes to fill & were selling playing time. In 2017 we have 3 bigs, plus a few potential stretch 4s, so unless a big is really good he is competing for back side of the rotation. So just not convinced our luck in the 5th yr market will be as good as in the past & having another freshman big developing take him.

Spot on on our 5th year transfer chances. Agree on the 6th ride: no reach.

 

[BillMo]

Just to clarify. I'm hoping for Frazier, Kiir, AND a 5th year big (assuming Scruggs or Wilkes don't want that spot)

Everyone keeps using Thorne as the reason for getting a 5th year big, but if you truly think about it he should not be here by the rules and what did he do last year to help ? I am super happy he is here this year but my point is had we took a freshman big last year instead he would still be here and be here 2 more years after this. As they say you cant teach size.

 

[rtbritt]

Everyone keeps using Thorne as the reason for getting a 5th year big, but if you truly think about it he should not be here by the rules and what did he do last year to help ? I am super happy he is here this year but my point is had we took a freshman big last year instead he would still be here and be here 2 more years after this. As they say you cant teach size.

If there had been a freshman big worth taking that wanted to come here, we would have taken him.

 

[Whitman2020]

Hope Groce didn't break his hand today. As bad as today was for us fans, it was a lot worse for the staff. Really looking forward to how this class shakes out.

Love our coach. Total commitment by the staff here and really sucks they don't get the outcome they wanted. With 2 more good additions to the class they would not even flinch though. Groce should be excited with where we're at right now.

 

[IllinistuckinGopherland]

Everyone keeps using Thorne as the reason for getting a 5th year big, but if you truly think about it he should not be here by the rules and what did he do last year to help ? I am super happy he is here this year but my point is had we took a freshman big last year instead he would still be here and be here 2 more years after this. As they say you cant teach size.

Not using Thorne at all. What I'm saying is that I'd like to see a backup for Tilmon so that Finke can play the 4, instead of having to play 15 mpg at the 5. I certainly don't expect a Thorne-level talent to apply for the job of Tilmon's backup. However, I believe a 5th year like McLaurin would make a better back up than some low-rated 190-pound freshman big.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Not using Thorne at all. What I'm saying is that I'd like to see a backup for Tilmon so that Finke can play the 4, instead of having to play 15 mpg at the 5. I certainly don't expect a Thorne-level talent to apply for the job of Tilmon's backup. However, I believe a 5th year like McLaurin would make a better back up than some low-rated 190-pound freshman big.

Why would a 5th year transfer in to play 15 mpg?

 

[MrOizo]

Thank goodness for Williams, Pickett, and Tilmon (and Frazier). We don't need to sweat this shady move by a recruiting target due to the commits and the upcoming PG rising prospect that is about to visit and hasn't been shy about Illinois. It was bound to happen that "external factors" would play a role with one of our big targets. I'm glad it didn't lead off the class or precede Tilmon. Get a Frazier commitment and the momentum us back in full force.

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[hodgesonfire]

I hear a lot about "we need a 1" or "2" but this classical approach to basketball is disappearing. The top 3 "1s" are Irving, Curry and Paul and all of them would have been viewed as "2s" in the past because they are prolific scorers. The tallest player on Team USA is most likely Durant but he plays "3" and often is a "2". To me basketball has switched to a game of match-ups. See what Cleveland did to Steph Curry on switches in the finals, and think of Tristan Thompson guarding point guards.

For me what our team needs is 10 guys who have the size and quickness to defend multiple positions, who can pass, shoot, drive and have the intelligence and integrity to make good decisions on and off the court. Not so much 1s, 2s and 3s...

That being said a 7'-0" rim protector goes against everything I said, but I'd still like one on the team.

 

[Illiniguy13]

I hear a lot about "we need a 1" or "2" but this classical approach to basketball is disappearing. The top 3 "1s" are Irving, Curry and Paul and all of them would have been viewed as "2s" in the past because they are prolific scorers. The tallest player on Team USA is most likely Durant but he plays "3" and often is a "2". To me basketball has switched to a game of match-ups. See what Cleveland did to Steph Curry on switches in the finals, and think of Tristan Thompson guarding point guards.

For me what our team needs is 10 guys who have the size and quickness to defend multiple positions, who can pass, shoot, drive and have the intelligence and integrity to make good decisions on and off the court. Not so much 1s, 2s and 3s...

That being said a 7'-0" rim protector goes against everything I said, but I'd still like one on the team.

Yeah, pretty sure every coach in the country would love to have 10 guys who have the size and quickness to defend multiple positions and be that versatile offensively. They don't grow on trees.

 

[MrOizo]

I hear a lot about "we need a 1" or "2" but this classical approach to basketball is disappearing. The top 3 "1s" are Irving, Curry and Paul and all of them would have been viewed as "2s" in the past because they are prolific scorers. The tallest player on Team USA is most likely Durant but he plays "3" and often is a "2". To me basketball has switched to a game of match-ups. See what Cleveland did to Steph Curry on switches in the finals, and think of Tristan Thompson guarding point guards.

For me what our team needs is 10 guys who have the size and quickness to defend multiple positions, who can pass, shoot, drive and have the intelligence and integrity to make good decisions on and off the court. Not so much 1s, 2s and 3s...

That being said a 7'-0" rim protector goes against everything I said, but I'd still like one on the team.

Eastern, Smith, and Verge all come to mind with what you describe. Eastern and Verge by all accounts would be prolific passing wings. Smith would add extreme versatility to the 3/4 and allow us to create real matchup challenges. I think Verge would be the most prolific scorer of those 3, but you never know how these guys will develop. Wouldn't bet against any of them and would love to have one of them round out the class.

All that said, we do need bigs... Kiir or another is definitely critical.

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[Obelix]

I hear a lot about "we need a 1" or "2" but this classical approach to basketball is disappearing. The top 3 "1s" are Irving, Curry and Paul and all of them would have been viewed as "2s" in the past because they are prolific scorers. The tallest player on Team USA is most likely Durant but he plays "3" and often is a "2". To me basketball has switched to a game of match-ups. See what Cleveland did to Steph Curry on switches in the finals, and think of Tristan Thompson guarding point guards.

For me what our team needs is 10 guys who have the size and quickness to defend multiple positions, who can pass, shoot, drive and have the intelligence and integrity to make good decisions on and off the court. Not so much 1s, 2s and 3s...

That being said a 7'-0" rim protector goes against everything I said, but I'd still like one on the team.

I think you confuse scoring and height with ability to effectively play a position. Finke and Hill have more than adequate height to play C and PF, yet they are not as effective at those positions. Irving and Paul have always been extremely effective PGs, despite their ability to score.

It is not JCL's scoring ability that prohibits him from playing PG. Nor is the fact that Goodwin is "too tall" to play PG.

Also, let's not confuse players like Curry who is truly at the top of basketball world with HS "combo" guards, who are simply labeled that because they lack PG skills.

 

[hodgesonfire]

Article

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...positions-being-eliminated-college-basketball

Maybe this article explains it better than I did.

 

[hodgesonfire]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9799167/traditional-positions-being-eliminated-college-basketball

 

[ILLOB]

Disclaimer: prepare for a meltdown

Apparently Tilmon has now gone radio silent with us...

 

[Adnarel]

Source?

 

[ILLOB]

Same one that told me about Goodwin last weekend.

 

[BIzzy]

Same one that told me about Goodwin last weekend.

oh brother

 

[ILLINIFAN2]

I hope Tilmon didn't have the same dream that Goodwin had or we could be in trouble.

 

[jjh22003]

Tilmon isn't going anywhere. People need to stop posting this garbage.