Certainly seems like there's a decent chance. IMO the Frazier recruitment shows the evolution JG has made with his recruiting at Illinois. When he first got here, he was clearly going after the best possible players he could find with interest. He swung, he missed. Now he's employing a strategy that seems more effective for a program like ours. Some principles he seems to be employing:
- Only go hard after the big fish if there's a real tangible reason he would pick us over the blue bloods. Obviously it's easy to make these judgments in retrospect, but it's clear now that pursuing guys like Bragg, Evans, and Thomas was a mistake. Those players had no tangible reason to pick us over the traditional power programs. However, I don't fault Groce in going after guys like Brunson and Cliff Alexander. Those kids did have real reasons to come here, and both nearly did. Those are the big fish we should be after. Tilmon is now the epitome of this strategy. A kid who had a long standing relationship with UI and the staff, and a clear desire to play close to home.
- If a talented player has a strong interest in playing for Illinois, don't pass them over while hoping a bigger name picks UI. In this class, I think Pickett is an example of this. He may turn out to be a good player here, or he may not, but the potential is there. Groce didn't pass up on him to save a scholarship for one of the bigger name wings in the class. Conversely, Glynn Watson is an example of a player I think Groce passed on before learning this lesson.
- Don't get blinded by the Chicago prep hoops circus. There's so much pressure on the UI coach to recruit every decent prospect in Chicago, but doing so means the staff can't invest resources elsewhere. Perhaps it makes things easier that in 2017 the best players in the state aren't in Chicago, but never the less, Groce is casting a wide net and developing strong connections in places like Milwaukee.
- Finding players that are under-recruited. It might seem obvious, but if we can be a kid's best offer, even if only for a while, it's a big bonus. Going hard after players like Lewis and Frazier is a perfect example of this. I think Groce has realized that even if a kid is in-state or has some interest in UI, recruiting battles with 5-10 P5 schools are always tough to win. Charlie Moore is an example of this. I think Groce knew that there would be 5-10 schools in play for Charlie until late in the process, so instead of throwing his hat in the ring and hoping, he locked up a very good alternative in TJL.
