Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (November-December 2017)

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#901      
Oldtoysrock
ILL in IA said:
That's not how this works. Guys ratings drop after the commit to the beloved. Stick to the narrative.
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That hasn’t been the case with Illini football commits lately, as their rankings have been going up after they commit to the O & B. I know basketball is different, But it’s still nice to see . . . .



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#902      
Illini_1979
illinibballfan said:
Next year were could have the deepest back court in the nation.

1 Tejon/Trent/Ayo
2 Smith/Jordan/Ayo/Trent
3 Damonte/Kipper/Jordan/Smith

Getting another year of Underwood under their belts and we could be looking at a high scoring team with great D. Key will be Big E and Matic developing into rotation players or a big joining the 18 class that can contribute. I know you want to depend on them, but next year will be the perfect year to get a graduate transfer big.
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Wondering about everyone's thinking on how a transfer will adapt to the BU system? My concern is that, once BU gets it fully implemented, the system might be too complex for a transfer to come in and grasp right away. Might it be a wasted scholly to bring in a transfer?
 
#903      
BWilson25
Illini_1979 said:
Wondering about everyone's thinking on how a transfer will adapt to the BU system? My concern is that, once BU gets it fully implemented, the system might be too complex for a transfer to come in and grasp right away. Might it be a wasted scholly to bring in a transfer?
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On the other hand, maybe we can attract transfers that have played in a like system for a few years? Could be a plus too...
 
#905      
illini80
Illini_1979 said:
Wondering about everyone's thinking on how a transfer will adapt to the BU system? My concern is that, once BU gets it fully implemented, the system might be too complex for a transfer to come in and grasp right away. Might it be a wasted scholly to bring in a transfer?
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BU has been pretty clear that transfers are not his preference. We have a pressing need at the moment, so we certainly would look at one, but going forward I would not expect to see a lot of that. The system may be part of the reason he prefers to develop them in house.
 
#907      
GForce
illini80 said:
BU has been pretty clear that transfers are not his preference. We have a pressing need at the moment, so we certainly would look at one, but going forward I would not expect to see a lot of that. The system may be part of the reason he prefers to develop them in house.
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Also, he likes to play everyone, even guys who are clearly still developing. A transfer is just taking up valuable space on the bench for a year.
 
#908      
Dan
Just spoke with #Illini priority big man target Flo Thamba (@Flo_T3) about his OV. Good visit. Spoke highly of Underwood & his family. Said he could tell they really need a big to go with their strong backcourt. ILL will be out to see him again on Monday.
https://twitter.com/DPiper247/status/941865030043217920

Early January decision via
 
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#909      
illinibballfan
Illini_1979 said:
Wondering about everyone's thinking on how a transfer will adapt to the BU system? My concern is that, once BU gets it fully implemented, the system might be too complex for a transfer to come in and grasp right away. Might it be a wasted scholly to bring in a transfer?
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I know what you're saying, but next year we could be sneaky good by the end of the season. Give the big a summer and full season to learn and we could be looking at a team that could sneak into the second weekend in the tourney with all the talent in the back court. We have the guys that can put up 90 a game, but with Finke at the 5, we're a team that can give up 90 also like Underwood's team last year.
 
#911      
ivwilsoniv
soupy17 said:
Not sure if it's actually yielding results or not, but Jeremy Werner is at 247 as of relatively recently I believe.
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Jeremy Werner has always been Scout, and Scout just merged with 247. Not sure who bought whom (I'm assuming 247 bought Scout?), but everything is merging between the sites.
 
#912      
Dan
Pretty eye opening game out of EJ Liddell. Level of skill and timing I didn’t realize he had. Toughness and explosion was known. Has to have a triple double factoring in blocks.
https://twitter.com/ebosshoops/status/941870525873295360

Belleville West (IL) F EJ Liddell (@EasyE2432): 30 PTS, 7 REB, 8 BLK in a win over East St. Louis @BWestAthletics
https://twitter.com/PrepCircuit/status/941887714940502017

TV Photogs Dream- 1st 3 possessions I Shot tonight for Normal West! Okoro! Okoro! Okoro!
https://twitter.com/hoijim/status/941884667023839237
 
#914      
mdonsbach
Is it Lidddell and Okoro or bust?

Feels like we are already building towards that.
 
#916      
yeahyeahyeah
Illini_1979 said:
Wondering about everyone's thinking on how a transfer will adapt to the BU system? My concern is that, once BU gets it fully implemented, the system might be too complex for a transfer to come in and grasp right away. Might it be a wasted scholly to bring in a transfer?
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look at Alstork, it's not been a slam dunk .... you might have an individual case where it could work. One of the problems this year is that everybody is learning the system.
I'd rather pull in a high school recruit. After next year we have Eboigbodin and Vesel... no one else. Bring in a SR transfer for next year and he's gone and we still have just two. Bring in a HS recruit and he learns the system, then the next year he's able be a part a solid rotation with Eboigbodin and Vesel, with another
FR or two to help down the stretch.
 
#919      
OWWDig
TCTORNADO said:
OA @ Stevenson/Libertyville game tonight.
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Wonder why. Just developing relationships?? Can't think of any big prospects at SHS right now.

*Edit*
Saw tweet that he was watching Drew Peterson...didn't know he was from Libertyville. Wish I knew, I'd have gone to the game...
 
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#922      
Deleted member 631370
mdonsbach said:
Is it Lidddell and Okoro or bust?

Feels like we are already building towards that.
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Man, that's a high bar to set.

Liddell is working his way up to being a top-50 recruit, and Okoro is already a 5* in some services. To say it's a bust if we don't get both is pretty demanding.

Granted, these are the kinds of battles we SHOULD win and probably NEED to win if we going to get back into the national conversation within the next 3 years. Downstate kids are the kids we need to nail down. But Okoro already has some blue blood interest, and Liddell will probably be attracting a lot more national interest also.

I do agree that we need to get at least one of them.
 
#924      
PJD86
If we get Flo (I think probably not likely but who knows)

I'll take one of these two guys, Liddell or Okoro, and be ecstatic. Two would be absolutely stunning and completely unlike our luck lol

I think we all agree we cannot afford to keep missing on bigs
 
#925      
Calvin
mdonsbach said:
Is it Lidddell and Okoro or bust?

Feels like we are already building towards that.
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Never in recruiting. There are times you can swing for the fences, but you must have back-up plans to your back-up plans. And anyone who's followed recruiting can tell you, you just never know who's going to be better down the line. Great players get injured, have personal problems, hit a personal ceiling, etc., and plan B guys sometimes have the light go on or had break through something that was holding them back. For sure, these guys are priority.

We are building a really strong case. We aren't winning enough because we're playing freshman, are too thin up front, haven't got the system down yet (especially defensively), and just haven't turned the corner on putting together 40 minutes of bball. But our freshman are getting better, and we will keep getting better. This is going to be an upper-tier BIG backcourt sooner rather than later. Smith isn't going to struggle indefinitely, for example, and Trent's natural speed and pace is helping him come on quickly.

I'm super impressed with what Underwood's doing and how he's staying focused. Really need to get a couple bigs though.
 
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