Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Sucks. Pretty much a fait accompli, based on recent news. Thanks for the update.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2018)
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Sucks. Pretty much a fait accompli, based on recent news. Thanks for the update.
"Our other big is Lahat Thioune ranked higher than Kane by everyone. But as a coach, I would take Kane 100 times out of a 100 over Lahat."
Kane never played AAU, so no visibility. Lahat offer list according to 247: Utah, Louisville, New Mexico, UNLV, Pittsburg, Texas Tech, UCF plus others.
Just to put coaches comments in perspective.
Appreciate the info. This season will hinge heavily on if Kane is Abel to play at a high level and if Ebo has improved enough to play 20+ minutes solidly.
Still would like a 5th year guy, though pickings are slim. Underwood's got until the end of '19 to make noise in my book.
Well if they transfer then no harm done. They get a year experience in a program that may have been a level too big for them and we get a body to practice with the potential to contribute.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
2018 or 2019?
I appreciate that this was a slow trickle rejection rather than a swift kick in the teeth.
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Thanks for the confirmation, Stu, but moved on already once the recent noise about Braun started. That seems to make it pretty clear they know Okoro isn't coming.
Love to hear it but anyone else find it odd how unconditional the coach seems to be in taking one of his players over the other? Especially since they're both already signed so it's not like he's trying to pump up one's stock to generate buzz.
The choice may well be down to another project or an empty scholarship. I wish we had recruited a few project bigs somewhere between Finke/Black class & Ebo/Matic, any big with a pulse that was an upperclassmen likely starts next year as the roster currently stands.
Braun also looks more like a tall stretch 4 at this point, not sure that is the same as a project 5...not asked to cover other 5's where fouls/strength would be more of an issue.
Why not a 5th year this year?
Plenty of reasons to think it was already over with Okoro, but I think it is just as likely Braun offer is because Golden/Calloo just came off the board and staff seems to be willing to use both open scholarships this year.
Yeah, that was kind of funny. Clearly the coach is making the comparison to complement Samba, but the quote is pretty back-handed. He's a hs coach, and probably not a "player" in terms of influence, so I can forgive his lack of PR skills.
Recruits are always talked up in the offseason, but getting an impact big is incredibly rare. The stuff the coaching staff and fans say should be completely discounted, although the coaching staff does give you a vision or aspirational look at a player's progress.
Having only looked at his highlights, he reminds me of a less athletic Meyers. Meyers was a lottery pick, so that's meant as a compliment. Also, when I say less athletic, I don't think that's necessarily true of his ceiling. Kane hasn't been lifting weights, and he will benefit GREATLY from a guy like Fletcher. Kane looks to be very disruptive defensively, and the NBA loves bigs like that. I think the pro potential is there, although I wouldn't expect him to progress as quickly. Should be fun to see what they can do with him. His defense will be usable right away.
Most freshmen are projects to some degree. Braun looks to be athletic and long. Underwood is looking for length. Braun is possibly someone who can fit into more than one spot. I think it's worth a shot.
Hadn't given up all hope, but Braun offer did same for me. We have a g
Hadn't given up all hope, but Braun offer did same for me. We have a good class, Parker will only help, hope we get commit.
Chris Yates
Recruiting Correspondent
- Michigan
KamsBartender84
Illiniorange on TOS
- Los Angeles
If we define "success" for a project player as developing into a potential starter for a NCAA tournament level team, I'm guessing the "success" yield on project bigs is fairly low. As such, the coaching staff's strategy seems to be to go after top big recruits (i.e. Okoro, Liddell, etc.) and if that doesn't pan out, use available scholarships for projects then see if any develop into a player we can use. Those players that don't develop, will leave / be counseled out, which means we're still going to have scholarships down the road to offer.
Assuming our coaches are pretty good judges of "projects", it seems like a decent strategy given the alternative is sitting on rides and having no bigs or pipeline of bigs. Looking specifically at next season, I'd rather take three bets on three new project bigs next year and hope one of them develops rather than pine after lost recruiting battles. If the gusy don't develop, as recent history has illustrated for us, they will leave. We'll always find room for a top player to come aboard if they want to.
Whatever man, did you see all that was accomplished in 6 days in Genesis. Underwood is behind schedule.
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