Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (March 2021)

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#301      

trtl

T
trtl
EyeoftheIllini said:
I believe 24/7 has Melendez top 100 too. In fact, don’t he and Goode have almost identical rankings? But I get your point. I’ve basically given up trying to figure why recruits pick one school over others or why BU hasn’t reeled in a top 50 recruit for 2021. I have faith he’ll put together at least a very good class when all is said and done. I do wonder if it has anything to do with the style of the team — strong emphasis on D and except for the alpha dog(s) it is D that earns you playing time (and no, I’m not saying Ayo and Kofi aren’t good defensively). I do think that the 3 games without Ayo might benefit recruiting. Large part of the emphasis on offense this year has been Ayo and Kofi — and rightfully so. When Ayo was out, it might be easier to see how the offense could work without Ayo and that it could be effective.
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I don’t know, Baylor’s a D-first team and they have 2 Top 35’s for 2021 and really if a Top 50 doesn’t pick us because he doesn’t want to play defense, then why would we want him? It might hurt that Meyers is our only player in the Association, but again, I don’t know anything besides the fact that if I were a Top 50 player I’d choose us and aggressively recruit my friends who, in this scenario, are ranked 2 through 5.
 
#302      

aaron2108

aaron2108
aaron2108
After seeing Krutwig with the stache today I can’t be the only one that sees the resemblance. Good footwork, but looks soft, but everyone does compared to Kofi.
 

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#303      

mikeyo

M
mikeyo
aaron2108 said:
After seeing Krutwig with the stache today I can’t be the only one that sees the resemblance. Good footwork, but looks soft, but everyone does compared to Kofi.
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He looks like a really smart player. Definitely more finesse than strength.
 
#304      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
blackdog said:
The good news is there is a culture and expectations already in place of working your butt off and attention to detail. I saw a quote from him talking about he takes pride in his defense and we already know what BU can do to get players motivated on that end.
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Exactly. I feel like players know what they're signing up for at this point. Want to be coached and pushed really hard? Play your butt off on D or sit? Well then, come on down! All upside here (as a team and individually) if you're willing to work for it. If that culture means we'll occasionally see a couple talented players walk (or just not come here), I'll take that tradeoff every day of the week.
 
#305      

OldYeller

O
OldYeller
aaron2108 said:
After seeing Krutwig with the stache today I can’t be the only one that sees the resemblance. Good footwork, but looks soft, but everyone does compared to Kofi.
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Dude. Spitting image. Actually finding it hard to root for that face.

I don’t think he’s soft unless you mean soft body. Also he can actually hit his free throws.
 
#306      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
EyeoftheIllini said:
I love the culture that has been developed, and certainly the coaches are huge in instilling that but I do wonder how much of that culture is player led. Considering we’ll be losing potentially four players who have been a huge part of developing that culture — Ayo, Trent, DMW and Kofi — just hope the younger players like Miller and Curbelo as well as Giorgi and Grandy can keep moving that culture forward. They certainly won’t have the same gravitas as the older group. I’m sure BU takes buy-in into consideration when recruiting and the first two recruits seem to fit the mold, so hopefully won’t be an issue. But while this team is talented, I think it is that “culture” that has truly made the difference. And the last 3 games have really shown that. Just hope the young guys can step up and be leaders not just in games, but in weight room, practices and meetings next year. If they can then Illini basketball will truly be sustainably back.
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I like our prospects for sustaining what we have for a couple reasons: 1) Underwood was vocal in years 1 and 2 about having to force the culture on our players, so while Trent and DMW embody Illini as well as anybody, it didn't just arise from them. It was a concerted effort to jettison those that didn't have the same mentality and bring in and cultivate those players that would embrace the BU mentality, and 2) our freshmen have been critical to our team while also getting to learn how to be leaders from great leaders. They are well positioned to inherit that mantle and repeat the process when they move on, which seems to be a big difference from the 05 run (the next guys in line weren't contributing much). and 3) most importantly, the guy that built the ship is still here running it. Big difference from 05, where we were playing with the product of Self's team building.
 
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#308      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Good morning :coffee: Some posts were recently moved to a new thread, linked below. Go Illini

Let's talk about Bruce Weber

Hoping we can leverage this year's success (and hopefully a long NCAA tourney run) over the course of the next recruiting year. I recall waiting and waiting in 2005-06 and Weber never could deliver a big class. As of right now, we're essentially "missing in action" when it comes to the Top...
www.illinoisloyalty.com www.illinoisloyalty.com
 
#309      

AirNeezy

AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
AirNeezy
IMO, the biggest need we have to keep this train rolling for the next several years is a solid presence down low. That's tough though as there just aren't enough solid, skilled big men at this level. Nimari would be the cherry on top.
 
#310      

Deleted member 747840

D
Guest
Deleted member 747840
AirNeezy said:
IMO, the biggest need we have to keep this train rolling for the next several years is a solid presence down low. That's tough though as there just aren't enough solid, skilled big men at this level. Nimari would be the cherry on top.
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Of course we wont get another Kofi off the street, but there will be at least a few guys pop up who can give us a presence down low.

It's nice to have a guy who's gonna give you 60+ dunks every year, but you dont need that in todays college basketball to win games. Plenty of different flavors of 5's that'll suffice. That being said, I agree it's a crucial position.

Like more credible sources have pointed it, if Kofi leaves, this team will find a grad transfer to help. I find it incredibly difficult to not see us being able to recruit a difference maker down low, given the success of Kofi, Giorgi, the team, and how many pieces we already have in place next year. Nothings easy in recruiting, but getting a solid 5 transfer should be the tee-ball equivalent of recruiting next year (should Kofi leave).
 
#311      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
AirNeezy said:
IMO, the biggest need we have to keep this train rolling for the next several years is a solid presence down low. That's tough though as there just aren't enough solid, skilled big men at this level. Nimari would be the cherry on top.
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Boakye would be awesome, particularly if Kofi leaves and he can reclassify (or, if Kofi stays, then the following year). I think we have several frontcourt role players (Hawk, Giorgi) or guys that can become role players (BBV, Lieb, Hamlin) with varying degrees of skill/finesse, but we need a guy that can play at least 25 min at the five and be a bruising presence/shot blocker when the matchup calls for it. As @Austin said, doesn't need to be a guy like Kofi, just a guy that can play hard D and throw his body around -- even someone Liddell-like would do. If Hutch can come back in good form, Trent returns, and/or we nab Nimari, then "just" a lob threat/good defender/shot blocker is all that's really needed (a target for Curbelo that can dominate the defensive end, in other words) -- we'd have plenty of offensive firepower in the backcourt/wings otherwise.
 
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