Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (July-August 2016)

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#629      

roz77

R
roz77
sacraig said:
Wischnowsky has never been all that tied into recruiting and he's a well-known Groce-hater. I take a lot of those sorts of tweets by him with a large grain of salt.
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To Dave's credit, he did seem to know what was going on in April when Tilmon almost committed.
 
#630      

The Rock Says

The Rock Says
The Rock Says
LuckyLefty8 said:
.....dominoes.....

:)
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#633      

Keisersose

Keisersose
Keisersose
Awesome news! Can't forget the impact of Damonte Williams too.

I have complete trust in Josh Whitman.
 
#634      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
FatGreg said:
I feel 99% sure that Goodwin is already in. I think that he--and potentially some other highly regarded prospects--were waiting for Tilmon to commit and signal that it was on for sure. Now that Tilmon is in, I think that Goodwin is in, too. And I think that guys like Justin Smith and Nojel Eastern are likely seriously thinking about jumping on a ride, which puts pressure on Paul Scruggs to consider coming on board.

If, and it's still a long shot (!), Scruggs were to commit, I think that guys like Wilkes and Bowen would at least give us a hard look (despite the fact that they're currently leaning hard toward other programs). Conservatively, something like Tilmon, Goodwin, Frazier, and Kiir/Uyaelunmo/John still makes this a top-10 class.
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That PF slot's most interesting. Think you have to put Justin Smith in the mix too. Not prototypical height, but really athletic and skilled. I like the 2 FL kids better than John.
 
#635      

FatGreg

F
FatGreg
Joel Goodson said:
That PF slot's most interesting. Think you have to put Justin Smith in the mix too. Not prototypical height, but really athletic and skilled. I like the 2 FL kids better than John.
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After watching John a few times, I think his ceiling is as a lunch pail, blue collar rotation big who can give you rim protection, defensive versatility, and some garbage buckets. Obviously, that's not nothing! That type of player can be a vital cog as a 7th/8th man. I just don't expect him to progress much. He's really lost offensively, and not a learning-the-game way. The FL kids sound like they both have more upside.

I'd take Justin Smith in a heartbeat and my gut says it could happen in the fall. No info.
 
#637      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Joel Goodson said:
That PF slot's most interesting. Think you have to put Justin Smith in the mix too. Not prototypical height, but really athletic and skilled. I like the 2 FL kids better than John.
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Definitely put Justin Smith on the list. I think the Tilmon commitment affects Smith the most (except for Goodwin). Smith is the one that talked about the "all-Illinois" thing and I think getting Goodwin and Tilmon would almost force Smith to commit as well.
 
#638      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
FatGreg said:
After watching John a few times, I think his ceiling is as a lunch pail, blue collar rotation big who can give you rim protection, defensive versatility, and some garbage buckets. Obviously, that's not nothing! That type of player can be a vital cog as a 7th/8th man. I just don't expect him to progress much. He's really lost offensively, and not a learning-the-game way. The FL kids sound like they both have more upside.

I'd take Justin Smith in a heartbeat and my gut says it could happen in the fall. No info.
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Think you nailed it on John.

My order of preference: Kiir, Smith, U, John

It's fun to think about twin towers, with U. But Kiir and Smith bring a lot more O. Kiir gets the nod over Smith because he's 2 inches taller. But Smith would be a helluva consolation prize.
 
#639      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
jrichisamazing said:
Definitely put Justin Smith on the list. I think the Tilmon commitment affects Smith the most (except for Goodwin). Smith is the one that talked about the "all-Illinois" thing and I think getting Goodwin and Tilmon would almost force Smith to commit as well.
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I would LOVE it if we could land Justin Smith. I think he has a high ceiling and I'd love to see what he could do after a year under Fletcher to improve his size and strength.
 
#642      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
Joel Goodson said:
That PF slot's most interesting. Think you have to put Justin Smith in the mix too. Not prototypical height, but really athletic and skilled.
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Justin Smith has upside, but he is no PF. He will not play that position in college. If Goodwin commits, I seriously doubt that Smith will end up an Illini.
 
#643      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
JoseyWales83 said:
Does Terrence Lewis fit in the picture anymore?
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Can't believe Groce would have flown from FLL to MKE if he wouldn't still be in the mix.
I think it will come down to Smith and Lewis for one of the 6 spots and I give Smith the nod because of his higher ceiling. I think they were both at NBPA Top 100 camp together and Smith made the All Star team and not Lewis. Smith's hi-lights from that camp are big time.
 
#644      

Bomb Squad 217

B
Bomb Squad 217
TCTORNADO said:
Can't believe Groce would have flown from FLL to MKE if he wouldn't still be in the mix.
I think it will come down to Smith and Lewis for one of the 6 spots and I give Smith the nod because of his higher ceiling. I think they were both at NBPA Top 100 camp together and Smith made the All Star team and not Lewis. Smith's hi-lights from that camp are big time.
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I would agree if it comes down to those two. Seems like first priority will be Goodwin, then pg-SCruggs or Frazier-Maybe both?? Although unlikely. And one more big man. Then maybe one of those two.
 
#645      

LuckyLefty8

L
LuckyLefty8
Obelix said:
Not much of a ground breaking thought, most close to Goodwin/Tilmon on HS/AAU circles know that they will likely end up playing together. So there are higher chances that they will end up together at Illinois than Goodwin deciding to take his game elsewhere. Tilmon/Goodwin have always been the cornerstone of this recruiting class.
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Except for the fact that I cited this domino effect back in January or February when I first heard....but hey, keep patrolling message boards...geesh....why I typically avoid these.......
 
#647      

aluma

A
aluma
Henrickson doesn't sound incredibly optimistic about our chances with Finke and Ayo right now. Sounds like they will be a long shot...
 
#649      

illininks

I
Shawnee, KS
illininks
miketherevelator said:
Derek Piper ‏@DPiperScout 17m17 minutes ago Derek Piper Retweeted Dave Wischnowsky
My source (JEREMIAH TILMON) told me Jamall Walker was HUGE in this decision. Wouldn't happen otherwise, in his words
Dave Wischnowsky ‏@wischlist
FYI, source tells me that Tilmon is committing to Illinois, and not just committing to a coach. If true, that's very good news. #illini
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Dave Wischnowski wants nothing more than for Groce to get 0 credit for anything successful. He is jonesin' harder that anybody I've seen to see Illinois have a terrible season so that Groce can be fired. Controls his entire narrative. His 'sources' are always very accurate since they always seem to chime in after the breaking news...
 
#650      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Obelix said:
Justin Smith has upside, but he is no PF. He will not play that position in college. If Goodwin commits, I seriously doubt that Smith will end up an Illini.
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Disagree. 6'7 and long/athletic is just fine for a college PF. Another inch or two would be nice though. I think Groce would love to finish the class with Goodwin, Smith, and a PG.
 
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