Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2017)

[Adnarel]

I feel like if Tilmon were going to Miznoz, he would've done it already...

It's a valid point. He may have no choice but to resign with Illinois if he waits too long here. Scholarships don't hang around forever. I'm sure the Tilmon camp is tapped into the Porter conversation and is an active party in the discussion as well.

Don't get me wrong, people, I still would love to see him in O&B. I just don't see a path here besides one of exclusion.

 

[HR217]

We are not out of the Tilmon sweepstakes. Mark Smith really helps with that. But right now, no one can say where's he's going. No one knows. Radio silence on that front.

 

[coryfor3]

Sorry if I've missed this but I've seen a lot of lists of the offers the coaches have out to players for 2018-2020. I haven't seen Tim Finke on the list. Does he have an offer from the current staff?:huh:

 

[illiguy85]

Sorry if I've missed this but I've seen a lot of lists of the offers the coaches have out to players for 2018-2020. I haven't seen Tim Finke on the list. Does he have an offer from the current staff?:huh:

My understanding is that Finke has a standing offer that's carried over from the previous staff. Going to be a good one.

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

Exactly how MANY Fire guys are going here so far...or is this an omen for good things yet to come?

I took it as the latter and I don't usually read too much into what teenagers say in the moment. That seemed like a pretty indicative statement that the players on the Fire are at least seriously discussing among themselves Illinois as a viable destination.

 

[IlliniJim20]

Cool, but since we should be a recruiting force in the future years, are they even needed any longer?

Oh you poor, naive soul

 

[RichBradIllini]

I personally am not expecting much this coming year with the roster that was left for Underwood. What I am hoping for is a better blueprint than the last staff to build something sustainable through the high school ranks. Most bigs are going to take a couple years to reach their potential at this level. I wouldn't mind a 5th year player early on to fill a gap, but my focus is more long-term and building a foundation. For me personally, I would like to see our guys get better and play smarter next year, but our position balance (most notably a lack of bigs) may not be there for a couple years. If Underwood can turn it around sooner that would be great, but I'm going to have a little patience.

:clappy::clappy::clappy: Right there with you. My thoughts exactly.

 

[Illini B-Ball Fan]

Oh you poor, naive soul

Cool, again, for #3000, go Illini. : )

 

[FC Illiniman]

Knox= Duke. J T = who knows. Might be reason we not making any moves. Graduation times coming. Wait and see game.

 

[Burt Toast]

Here's my humble take on JT. He decided he had an opportunity to get out of his commitment to chack out some other opportinities, so he did. BU and staff said 'yes' but we still want you and here is what we offer. Up tempo, lots of minutes, close to home and home state team.
He starts checking out other schools and gets more offers, but doesn't know where to go because he was not as excited about Misery as he thought and maybe some of the others. He keeps a low profile, trying to figure the best situation for him. IL staff and MS stay in touch. He is probably waiting for 1 or 2 other players to decide then he makes his decision. I think the longer it goes the better it is for us. If the younger Porter commits for 2017, Misery is probably not an option. If he decommited because he was really ready to go somewhere else it would have happened. Doesn't mean it won't but time may be on our side.

I think he is a Mizzou commit, unofficially. Just waiting to see where Knox commits. Once that happens, a domino effect will take place. Mizzou will either crean an existing player to make room for Tilmon & Knox or Tilmon will take the last spot if Knox chooses another program.

It just doesn't make sense that he decommits from us, starts playing the recruiting game, and then abruptly stops visits and drops off the face of the earth. Maybe some of the delay is PR - driven, given the tampering accusations of a committed player of a rival and fresh concerns of more NCAA scrutiny via the academic scandal. Whatever the case may be, it appears to me that Tilmon might already know where he is going. He is simply just waiting for all of the cards to be played out and the roster finalized before he makes it official. ?




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[rockillini]

I think he is a Mizzou commit, unofficially. Just waiting to see where Knox commits. Once that happens, a domino effect will take place. Mizzou will either crean an existing player to make room for Tilmon & Knox or Tilmon will take the last spot if Knox chooses another program.

It just doesn't make sense that he decommits from us, starts playing the recruiting game, and then abruptly stops visits and drops off the face of the earth. Maybe some of the delay is PR - driven, given the tampering accusations of a committed player of a rival and fresh concerns of more NCAA scrutiny via the academic scandal. Whatever the case may be, it appears to me that Tilmon might already know where he is going. He is simply just waiting for all of the cards to be played out and the roster finalized before he makes it official. ?



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Completely agree. Buying time (advised to do is my believe) while waiting on Knox, and that other Porter kid, to decide. It cools down the time between the decommitment from Illinois and the official commitment to MO (to come soon after Knox and Porter decision). Imagine if Tilman would of immediately committed to MO after decommiting from IL - OMG!

Not a good look for MO and Cuonzo.

This is the strategic approach that they are taking I believe, but it's easy to see what's going on here.

Otherwise, why the silence?

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

Completely agree. Buying time (advised to do is my believe) while waiting on Knox, and that other Porter kid, to decide. It cools down the time between the decommitment from Illinois and the official commitment to MO (to come soon after Knox and Porter decision). Imagine if Tilman would of immediately committed to MO after decommiting from IL - OMG!

Not a good look for MO and Cuonzo.

This is the strategic approach that they are taking I believe, but it's easy to see what's going on here.

Otherwise, why the silence?

So you think Martin sales pitch was telling JT that he is the third option for their final scholarship and it worked?

 

[HC Illini]

Exactly how MANY Fire guys are going here so far...or is this an omen for good things yet to come?

Monte and Ayo....oh wait

 

[Illini B-Ball Fan]

Hopefully we should know soon. Knox is expected to make his decision Saturday. When will anyone know about Porter the Younger, that is, is there a different date when someone decides if they want to reclassify as a '17. Does May 17 still apply to him for that? If so, then we may still have to wait this out some more. This is almost as bad as the Mark Smith soap opera.

Most on this forum would agree that Mark Smith was not playing out a soap opera. He was rather diligently working a methodical plan along with his family's assistance and going through a process of taking his time in determining where he really wanted to go to college without any drama along the way. Good for us, his head and heart was/is for UI.

 

[CARPET]

Most on this forum would agree that Mark Smith was not playing out a soap opera. He was rather diligently working a methodical plan along with his family's assistance and going through a process of taking his time in determining where he really wanted to go to college without any drama along the way. Good for us, his head and heart was/is for UI.

MARK SMITH IS A TOUCH OF CLASS

 

[Jiminy Cricket]

I think he is a Mizzou commit, unofficially. Just waiting to see where Knox commits. Once that happens, a domino effect will take place. Mizzou will either crean an existing player to make room for Tilmon & Knox or Tilmon will take the last spot if Knox chooses another program.

It just doesn't make sense that he decommits from us, starts playing the recruiting game, and then abruptly stops visits and drops off the face of the earth. Maybe some of the delay is PR - driven, given the tampering accusations of a committed player of a rival and fresh concerns of more NCAA scrutiny via the academic scandal. Whatever the case may be, it appears to me that Tilmon might already know where he is going. He is simply just waiting for all of the cards to be played out and the roster finalized before he makes it official. ?

This, think you hit the bullseye.


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[Jiminy Cricket]

Tilmon may be waiting to make sure his grades and ACT scores are all in order. Not sure if he has qualified for sure.

 

[TCTORNADO]

Tilmon may be waiting to make sure his grades and ACT scores are all in order. Not sure if he has qualified for sure.

Spot on.:thumb:

 

[helppitch]

Tilmon may be waiting to make sure his grades and ACT scores are all in order. Not sure if he has qualified for sure.

I think this is much more plausible than he is waiting to commit to make Cuonzo's recruiting of him look better. IMO, that theory is way out there.

 

[Illini B-Ball Fan]

I wasn't saying he and his family were playing out a soap opera. I meant the waiting and wondering and wishing and hoping etc., on this board was like a soap opera. Sorry if that got misinterpreted.

Better interpretation, no problem.

 

[Greensboro]

I think he is a Mizzou commit, unofficially. Just waiting to see where Knox commits. Once that happens, a domino effect will take place. Mizzou will either crean an existing player to make room for Tilmon & Knox or Tilmon will take the last spot if Knox chooses another program.

It just doesn't make sense that he decommits from us, starts playing the recruiting game, and then abruptly stops visits and drops off the face of the earth. Maybe some of the delay is PR - driven, given the tampering accusations of a committed player of a rival and fresh concerns of more NCAA scrutiny via the academic scandal. Whatever the case may be, it appears to me that Tilmon might already know where he is going. He is simply just waiting for all of the cards to be played out and the roster finalized before he makes it official. ?

I don't Tilmon or Martin are worried one bit about tampering, that seems to be a myth created here. Speculation by jilted Prom dates is way different than anything that can be proven. There seemed to be a lot more teeth to Anthony Davis's dad trolling for offers & that went no where.

 

[Deleted member 8213]

Tilmon may be waiting to make sure his grades and ACT scores are all in order. Not sure if he has qualified for sure.

What difference does any of that make? If he doesn't qualify then they use the scholarship elsewhere. There's no reason not to commit due to grades or ACT scores. That's the theory on the tigerboard but it does not make any sense.

 

[StateFarmCenter]

His qualification status is perfectly fine. There's something else amiss, not that anyone knows what.

 

[Burt Toast]

Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

So you think Martin sales pitch was telling JT that he is the third option for their final scholarship and it worked?

No. Not at all. The theory is that Tilmon has already committed unofficially and cuonzo has asked him to hold off on announcing until Knox makes his decision. (Nothing kills your chances for a coveted recruit greater than offering a scholarship that doesn't officially exist.) I am sure Cuonzo could persuasively assure JT that he will have a guaranteed priority spot on the roster regardless of Knox decision. If Knox picks Mizzou- then porter pays own tuition or somebody gets creaned. If Knox picks someone else (the most likely scenario In this case), JT commits right away without any roster adjustments.

Also, JTs inaction gives Mizzou some PR cover for Cuonzo's curious ESL HS visit that some perceived as tampering with a signed recruit. The fact that JT reaffirmed his Illinois commitment 24-48 hrs prior to the visit only to mysteriously decommit 2-3 days afterward adds to the suspicious nature of the event. Add the fact that the Mizzou program is just coming off NCAA probation for previous basketball infractions only to face new allegations of academic impropriety and a subsequent NCAA investigation that is currently underway, Cuonzo's flimsy reasoning for his trip probably didn't sit well with new University leadership and a damaged Athletic Dept! Already reeling from a Football player revolt, student safety issues, strained race relations, an alienated fan base, declining booster support, and a 24% plunge in enrollment, the last thing Mizzou and its leadership needs is this momentum killer!

Just a theory...not an insider...hope I'm way off and JT re commits to the Illini.

 

[Adnarel]

There's something else amiss, not that anyone knows what.

Maybe he wants to play baseball instead.