Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (November 2020)

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#401      
Missing is part of recruiting, but I think the hard part for those of us that have followed it, is the frequency. The staff goes after, and seems to get pretty far with a large number of elite level recruits. Unfortunately, the closing rate on those has been low, and that's disheartening. It's also a rejection of the program, and testament to how far Illinois dropped during the Groce years, and even before that, the mediocrity with Weber. We may not like the reminder, but the program only recently made it back into national relevance, top-25 rankings, threatening for the conference title, etc.. The appeal isn't where it needs to be to overcome some of the competition.

It's a slow climb, unfortunately. Takes a lot of fan passion, a great coach, dedicated players, and an administration that supports all of those along the way. My only advice is patience --there's a long way between now and a final roster, and while we haven't hit on several top targets, it's a long way from done. Kind of trite, but these guys don't know the meaning of quit.
 
#402      
To be honest, it really doesn't take that long for a team to be relevant. It only takes a couple of solid years. For someone just leaving High School, you have a very small sample size. You're likely to care more about where a team has been over the last 5 years as opposed to it's storied past.
 
#405      
I was bummed when I heard the news about TyTY but then I had to ask myself how long I had even been aware of this kid? Maybe three or four weeks, tops?

I am old enough to have lived through more recruiting misses than I care to remember as an Illinois alum, but let's not panic over one recruit who most of us never even heard of more than a month ago.
 
#406      
What are our chances with him? Most of the sites make it look like Bama leads for him.

I will be surprised if Cardet is not an Illini come Spring. A lot has to do with if Antigua moves onto to a head coaching job. Cardet is a BU prototype player. He is positonless and maybe the best 2 way player in the country. We need Cardet a heck of a lot more than Tyty. There are more guys in the West Oaks pipeline too. Of course what do I know, I'm like 0 for 6 on our last 6 recruits. :) BTW, the West Oaks coach is also the AAU coach for Team Breakdown.
 
#407      
I was bummed when I heard the news about TyTY but then I had to ask myself how long I had even been aware of this kid? Maybe three or four weeks, tops?

I am old enough to have lived through more recruiting misses than I care to remember as an Illinois alum, but let's not panic over one recruit who most of us never even heard of more than a month ago.

We were not in Tyty's top 10 in early August.
 
#408      
I still remember being at the home game vs Iowa this past year and taking close notice of Mac being there. Back then and even now, in my head, I was going to be thrilled with a class of Mac and fillers. I'm extremely excited about the potential Goode will have in his career. I think he's a piece Underwood has wanted in his system for a while. That being said, If this class ends up being Goode, Mac, and literally anyone else I'm going to be very happy. After we have the amazing season we're about to witness, I have a feeling our 2022 class is going to look a lot more similar to our 2020 class (if not better). It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of these recruitments. I really wanted us to get Nesbitt. Shortly after we didn't, I realized Mac is the main prize. I really wanted Hopkins. Shortly after he didn't choose us, I realized Mac is the main prize. I really wanted us to get TyTy. The day after, again, I'm realizing Mac is the main prize.

TLDR; There are a lot of good recruits out there. Recruiting hasn't been kind to us of late. There's no way of sugarcoating that. But, at the end of the day, Mac is the main prize.
 
#409      
I still remember being at the home game vs Iowa this past year and taking close notice of Mac being there. Back then and even now, in my head, I was going to be thrilled with a class of Mac and fillers. I'm extremely excited about the potential Goode will have in his career. I think he's a piece Underwood has wanted in his system for a while. That being said, If this class ends up being Goode, Mac, and literally anyone else I'm going to be very happy. After we have the amazing season we're about to witness, I have a feeling our 2022 class is going to look a lot more similar to our 2020 class (if not better). It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of these recruitments. I really wanted us to get Nesbitt. Shortly after we didn't, I realized Mac is the main prize. I really wanted Hopkins. Shortly after he didn't choose us, I realized Mac is the main prize. I really wanted us to get TyTy. The day after, again, I'm realizing Mac is the main prize.

TLDR; There are a lot of good recruits out there. Recruiting hasn't been kind to us of late. There's no way of sugarcoating that. But, at the end of the day, Mac is the main prize.
I agree he is the main prize and a must get in my opinion. But he has not committed yet and signed. Unfortunately as Illinois fans we know how this goes. I really hope we get him though.
 
#410      
Big Mac just tweeted that he is dropping a list soon. He didn't say how many will be on the list.
 
#411      
I agree he is the main prize and a must get in my opinion. But he has not committed yet and signed. Unfortunately as Illinois fans we know how this goes. I really hope we get him though.
Yep, no guarantees on Mac. There can be many excuses made for why we missed out on our prior priorities: the class-act that is DePaul stealing away Jones last minute (/s), Penny sacrificing his time at the golf course to convince Nesbitt of how bad he wants him (/s), Creighton having more opportunity for TyTy to play right away (while somewhat true, they definitely do have quite a bit returning in their backcourt), Hopkins going to his dream school of UK (we'll see if he made the right choice, but personally I won't fault a kid for choosing their dream school.), and Weston likely wanting a larger role than Illinois was willing to commit to him.

We can choose to believe these reasons/excuses or not, but ultimately every recruitment is different and the staff just didn't get them done. The one main difference in the Mac recruitment, imo, from the other targets we've recently missed on is the immediate positional need. Sure, Hopkins was a position of need too but we lost that one to a blueblood. Harder to sell the wing/guard targets on immediate playing time with what we likely have coming back (and the possibility of Damonte/Trent returning). With Mac we can use that sell to our advantage. We should have an amazing group of guards coming back and all the minutes he can handle at the 5 position. With him on board, we're likely looking at a top 15/20 team again next year. I'm sure he sees that and I would have to think that would be very appealing.

Mostly a lot of rambling in this post, but I truly think the staff's sell to Mac is much easier/better than to the recruits in these most recent recruitments. Obviously bigger names can get involved and then it's anyone's guess what can happen. Maybe he has a dream school and he's waiting on that offer. Maybe not. Just from following the kid on social media, he seems like a great kid and he doesn't seem to be one that seeks much attention. Maybe that's why these recruitment has felt so quiet. Obviously my opinion doesn't matter to the result, but I have felt along Mac would be more likely than any of the other recruits. I still feel that way. Only time will tell.
 
#412      
Losing on TyTy hurts, just like Nesbitt and Hopkins also hurt. On the upside, it feels good knowing that our ability to nab a given recruit is no longer determinative of the basketball we'll see on the floor. BU and Co. have shown they can find diamonds in the rough, can coach a team to be better than the sum of its parts, and can work the transfer portal well. I think I'm done biting my nails over each big name recruit and will sit back and enjoy what I the product on the floor from November to March (and April!).
 
#413      

GrayGhost77

Centennial, CO
I still remember being at the home game vs Iowa this past year and taking close notice of Mac being there. Back then and even now, in my head, I was going to be thrilled with a class of Mac and fillers. I'm extremely excited about the potential Goode will have in his career. I think he's a piece Underwood has wanted in his system for a while. That being said, If this class ends up being Goode, Mac, and literally anyone else I'm going to be very happy. After we have the amazing season we're about to witness, I have a feeling our 2022 class is going to look a lot more similar to our 2020 class (if not better). It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of these recruitments. I really wanted us to get Nesbitt. Shortly after we didn't, I realized Mac is the main prize. I really wanted Hopkins. Shortly after he didn't choose us, I realized Mac is the main prize. I really wanted us to get TyTy. The day after, again, I'm realizing Mac is the main prize.

TLDR; There are a lot of good recruits out there. Recruiting hasn't been kind to us of late. There's no way of sugarcoating that. But, at the end of the day, Mac is the main prize.
Agree. Mac, Goode, and anybody else is a good class IMO. Get Cardet, too, and it's stellar.
 
#414      
Yep, no guarantees on Mac. There can be many excuses made for why we missed out on our prior priorities: the class-act that is DePaul stealing away Jones last minute (/s), Penny sacrificing his time at the golf course to convince Nesbitt of how bad he wants him (/s), Creighton having more opportunity for TyTy to play right away (while somewhat true, they definitely do have quite a bit returning in their backcourt), Hopkins going to his dream school of UK (we'll see if he made the right choice, but personally I won't fault a kid for choosing their dream school.), and Weston likely wanting a larger role than Illinois was willing to commit to him.

We can choose to believe these reasons/excuses or not, but ultimately every recruitment is different and the staff just didn't get them done. The one main difference in the Mac recruitment, imo, from the other targets we've recently missed on is the immediate positional need. Sure, Hopkins was a position of need too but we lost that one to a blueblood. Harder to sell the wing/guard targets on immediate playing time with what we likely have coming back (and the possibility of Damonte/Trent returning). With Mac we can use that sell to our advantage. We should have an amazing group of guards coming back and all the minutes he can handle at the 5 position. With him on board, we're likely looking at a top 15/20 team again next year. I'm sure he sees that and I would have to think that would be very appealing.

Mostly a lot of rambling in this post, but I truly think the staff's sell to Mac is much easier/better than to the recruits in these most recent recruitments. Obviously bigger names can get involved and then it's anyone's guess what can happen. Maybe he has a dream school and he's waiting on that offer. Maybe not. Just from following the kid on social media, he seems like a great kid and he doesn't seem to be one that seeks much attention. Maybe that's why these recruitment has felt so quiet. Obviously my opinion doesn't matter to the result, but I have felt along Mac would be more likely than any of the other recruits. I still feel that way. Only time will tell.
I hope your right. Great analysis.
 
#416      
That whether this class is a success or failure seems to hinge on one kid (Mac), is already a failure in a way. Successful schools don't live or die by one kid who's likely to be one of the last high level prospects to make a decision. Mac is getting interest from bluebloods now, so who knows where that's going to lead, but our history going head-to-head against Kansas and Kentucky for a recruit isn't great.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Underwood and his staff and think we're in a better situation than we've been in a long time, but this recruiting cycle is shaping up to be a dud. We can weather one bad cycle given the depth on this team, and BU hopefully can learn something from this and make sure we bring in a much stronger class next time. But if we get two of these in a row it would be concerning.
 
#417      
That whether this class is a success or failure seems to hinge on one kid (Mac), is already a failure in a way. Successful schools don't live or die by one kid who's likely to be one of the last high level prospects to make a decision. Mac is getting interest from bluebloods now, so who knows where that's going to lead, but our history going head-to-head against Kansas and Kentucky for a recruit isn't great.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Underwood and his staff and think we're in a better situation than we've been in a long time, but this recruiting cycle is shaping up to be a dud. We can weather one bad cycle given the depth on this team, and BU hopefully can learn something from this and make sure we bring in a much stronger class next time. But if we get two of these in a row it would be concerning.
I understand what you're saying. As an Illini fan since birth I get all of the frustration posts. I really do. We really only got Kofi from the 2019 class (time will tell on the other prospects from that class, but Kofi was the only highly recruited get from that class) and yet we're looking at a really deep and talented team. We got a shooter this class that we desperately need. We really need an impact 5 man. That's Mac. The class might not be earth-shattering but it perfectly fits what we need most. We can then address swinging for the fences again in the 2022 class after what is hopefully a stellar season with plenty of national publicity to sell to future high-level recruits.
 
#418      

sacraig

The desert
Missing is part of recruiting, but I think the hard part for those of us that have followed it, is the frequency. The staff goes after, and seems to get pretty far with a large number of elite level recruits. Unfortunately, the closing rate on those has been low, and that's disheartening. It's also a rejection of the program, and testament to how far Illinois dropped during the Groce years, and even before that, the mediocrity with Weber. We may not like the reminder, but the program only recently made it back into national relevance, top-25 rankings, threatening for the conference title, etc.. The appeal isn't where it needs to be to overcome some of the competition.

It's a slow climb, unfortunately. Takes a lot of fan passion, a great coach, dedicated players, and an administration that supports all of those along the way. My only advice is patience --there's a long way between now and a final roster, and while we haven't hit on several top targets, it's a long way from done. Kind of trite, but these guys don't know the meaning of quit.

If you don't hear "no" more often than "yes," that just means you are (a) Duke or Kentucky, or (b) you are probably targeting recruits that are lower than your ceiling.
 
#422      
I will be surprised if Cardet is not an Illini come Spring. A lot has to do with if Antigua moves onto to a head coaching job. Cardet is a BU prototype player. He is positonless and maybe the best 2 way player in the country. We need Cardet a heck of a lot more than Tyty. There are more guys in the West Oaks pipeline too.

This.
 
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