Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May-June 2018)

[illiniguy24]

Yup. Randolph & Liddell attend Belleville West. No idea how close they are. Would be phenomenal if the Randolph ties help us with Liddell. Same with Okoro (assuming he's coming here).

Close enough they’ve talked about being roommates in college.


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[Joel Goodson]

Close enough they’ve talked about being roommates in college.

Didn't have the benefit of Werner's article when I wrote that. Anywho, that certainly augers well.

Dream class: Okoro reclasses & commits, Whitney, Liddell and a VG very big.

 

[illiniguy24]

Didn't have the benefit of Werner's article when I wrote that. Anywho, that certainly augers well.



Dream class: Okoro reclasses & commits, Whitney, Liddell and a VG very big.

Wasn’t meant to be a jab - was saying it looks good from that small standpoint. Would certainly be a dream come true to get EJ.


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[ivwilsoniv]

Okoro is going to reclassify, and i feel really really confident we get him.

There is growing confidence that he will be able to reclassify and take that opportunity. I believe that would be a good sign for Illinois. Not a guarantee that if he reclassifies he is Illinois' to lose, but it seems like the chances are better if he does change to 2018.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Even assuming Okoro is eligible to play the entire upcoming IHSA season, what's the point? There is literally no upside to continuing w/HS ball. Reclassing requires the requisite college test score, meeting HS graduation requirements and meeting the NCAA's core curriculum requirements. Clearly, he has the test score. Am assuming with summer classes, Okoro will satisfy the remaining requirements.

Final visit, we have tons of minutes, we have the scheme. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[sacraig]

In a totally stupid world that is perfect and undoes a decade of Illini failures, Liddell and Okoro -could- be committed a week from today. Let’s enjoy this and show these guys love. EJ this weekend, Okoro early next week. #whynotus

Liddell is not committing any time soon.

 

[LibertyIllini]

Not talked about much, but I appreciate Antigua more than most. Guy is plugged in nationally with the recruiting scene and I gotta imagine his ears are very valuable to Underwood. Antigua probably gets honest information about where recruits stand and what they’re looking for in a school. Key for helping Underwood understand his main priorities in recruiting.

 

[Greensboro]

Even assuming Okoro is eligible to play the entire upcoming IHSA season, what's the point? There is literally no upside to continuing w/HS ball. Reclassing requires the requisite college test score, meeting HS graduation requirements and meeting the NCAA's core curriculum requirements. Clearly, he has the test score. Am assuming with summer classes, Okoro will satisfy the remaining requirements.

Final visit, we have tons of minutes, we have the scheme. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Henrickson made an argument on Werner show this week that Okoro was a better 2019 prospect, thought he was still raw and could use another year of high school ball & development before starting college. You could counter he would be better off going to college & red shirting under those conditions, but I think it is at least debatable.

Good listen & it may temper some expectations on Okoro next year if we land him.

 

[TCTORNADO]

Henrickson made an argument on Werner show this week that Okoro was a better 2019 prospect, thought he was still raw and could use another year of high school ball & development before starting college. You could counter he would be better off going to college & red shirting under those conditions, but I think it is at least debatable.

Good listen & it may temper some expectations on Okoro next year if we land him.

The trend is towards 5th year prep school. The level of play has gotten very high and they are doing it on a national basis.

 

[Captain Bubbles]

I think it's gonna come down to Purdue and Illinois for Okoro. Would love to see him come to Illinois, but wouldn't be surprised if he picked the Boilermakers.

 

[coachk1979]

I think it's gonna come down to Purdue and Illinois for Okoro. Would love to see him come to Illinois, but wouldn't be surprised if he picked the Boilermakers.

I would.

 

[Ga65]

Henrickson made an argument on Werner show this week that Okoro was a better 2019 prospect, thought he was still raw and could use another year of high school ball & development before starting college. You could counter he would be better off going to college & red shirting under those conditions, but I think it is at least debatable.

It seems to me that Okoro, Kane, and Ebo would all be defensive improvements over Black and MF. However they don't seem ready offensively. Can we get by playing two of them at the same time or do we need to play Kipper or GBez with one of them. If they aren't a threat from outside the lane will be difficult to drive.

 

[IlliniBrave75]

For anyone who might care, the Dr. DJ posted this from Roy Schmidt...

Dariush Takhtehchian‏ @takhtehchianmd 12h12 hours ago


Per my discussion with @prepbullseye .....

looks to be in a great shape.pic.twitter.com/T1dumgkvv5

 

[IlliniBrave75]

Jake‏Verified account @jakeweingarten 12h12 hours ago
Rumors are that Francis Okoro has officially reclassified to 2018 class and will take official to Illinois. Nothing confirmed yet.

Jake‏Verified account @jakeweingarten 11h11 hours ago
To echo this tweet, @pjstar reported these rumors. Awaiting confirmation, nothing is happening as of now. Okoro is still a junior and is apart of 2019 class. No change has been made, report is false right now. Illinois visit also hasn’t been made i’ve been told.

 

[IlliniBrave75]

2019 PF - 6'7" 215lbs - https://247sports.com/Player/Romeo-Weems-94252

Ryan Easterling Retweeted
Romeo Weems‏ @romeo_weems_0 15h15 hours ago
Blessed To Say I Have Received An Offer From The University Illinois

 

[Dan]

Honored to receive an offer from the University of Illinois
https://twitter.com/KeionB_12/status/992206181027516417

 

[nwebb1]

2019 PF - 6'7" 215lbs - https://247sports.com/Player/Romeo-Weems-94252

Ryan Easterling Retweeted
Romeo Weems‏ @romeo_weems_0 15h15 hours ago
Blessed To Say I Have Received An Offer From The University Illinois

Is this kid related to Sonny Weems?

He played at Arkansas and had some serious athletic ability.

 

[Greensboro]

Okoro has said he is tired of being double and triple teamed. He is physically developed and will be turning 20 years old. Why not get good coaching from Antigua and Underwood compared to playing for some Prep School coach. Practicing everyday vs Samba Kane, Ebo and Georgie would develop him. He probably will not stay 4 years anyway.

The trend is towards 5th year prep school. The level of play has gotten very high and they are doing it on a national basis.

This is the argument, he needs to play more & at a high level. I'm not sure it is obvious either way & definitely not convinced he will be gone early.

 

[rtbritt]

Even assuming Okoro is eligible to play the entire upcoming IHSA season, what's the point? There is literally no upside to continuing w/HS ball. Reclassing requires the requisite college test score, meeting HS graduation requirements and meeting the NCAA's core curriculum requirements. Clearly, he has the test score. Am assuming with summer classes, Okoro will satisfy the remaining requirements.

Final visit, we have tons of minutes, we have the scheme. Keeping my fingers crossed.

For basketball reasons, I agree with you, but maybe the kid (young man/grown man) wants to enjoy his senior year of high school and graduate with his friends?

We tend to think only the 'business' side of things with these kids, but they have to weigh the personal side as well.

Knowing that he probably has professional aspirations, the business side of things probably outweighs the personal, but he'll still need to consider it.

 

[ivwilsoniv]

I think it's gonna come down to Purdue and Illinois for Okoro. Would love to see him come to Illinois, but wouldn't be surprised if he picked the Boilermakers.

Have you been to West Lafayette? Yuck. It's not even main Lafayette, it's west of there. :tsk:

 

[OskeeGirl]

Have you been to West Lafayette? Yuck. It's not even main Lafayette, it's west of there. :tsk:

Hey now, it’s not the worst place in the world. (Says woman who is terrified she’s going to have to don a “Purdue mom” shirt in a few years.)

 

[Deleted member 654622]

I think it's gonna come down to Purdue and Illinois for Okoro. Would love to see him come to Illinois, but wouldn't be surprised if he picked the Boilermakers.

Last report I heard was he was not impressed with Purdue's style of play.

 

[Tevo]

Okoro has said he is tired of being double and triple teamed. He is physically developed and will be turning 20 years old. Why not get good coaching from Antigua and Underwood compared to playing for some Prep School coach. Practicing everyday vs Samba Kane, Ebo and Georgie would develop him. He probably will not stay 4 years anyway.

Remember, we can't use the "practicing" logic, because then Purdue looks better than us. Please try to stick to the prescribed arguments: playing time, our ace in the hole is playing time!

 

[FC Illiniman]

Remember, we can't use the "practicing" logic, because then Purdue looks better than us. Please try to stick to the prescribed arguments: playing time, our ace in the hole is playing time!

Wrong deck of cards, Ace=Ayo , outstanding guard needs the good big man to work his magic.

 

[Newman]

Wrong deck of cards, Ace=Ayo , outstanding guard needs the good big man to work his magic.

Carsen Edwards and Payton Pritchard are damn good so I wouldn't even give us the edge in that area specifically.