Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (November-December 2017)
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BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Never thought I'd see those words linked together wrt the Illini:thumb:
Ha ha I had the same thought when I saw that. Chin was a good hire. :thumb:
Agreed....I'll take the Illini against the field.
In my humble opinion, it is not clear whether Ebo or Matic will every play significant minutes for the Illini. There is a reason that neither of them had other P5 offers. Hopefully one or both will pan out over time.
Yes, I was at the game today as well as Underwood, Tate and Sturdy. I have seen Okoro before and saw nothing to change my mind that he is a high D1 player for sure. For a visual think Shaun Pruitt type body but more athletic. He is an average shooter at best with a decent low post game that could use some development. He is a good passer and runs the court like a deer.
He is a game changer down low.
Deleted member 631370
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Mav Morgan was also a top-150 kid (#13 C in the 2013 class) who had offers from Iowa State, Minnesota, Xavier, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, VA Tech, USC, and Rutgers.
And I believe he was the Ohio Mr. Basketball for his class (albeit not the most competitive of Ohio's classes).
Ebo and Matic are extremely raw recruits with no comparable high-major offers. Not that rankings and offers are everything, but they're a pretty good initial indicator. And if trend lines mean anything, there's a good chance that they'll never get starters minutes at Illinois.
Way, way, way more athletic than Pruitt (though that's not saying much). Honestly there's very little similarity between them.
That was my question, how does Okoro compare to Pruitt. Okoro appears to have a similar body type to Pruitt. Although from comments and video it appears he is more athletic and better at passing the ball out of double teams. Pruitt always struggled with passing the ball out of the interior.
I'm more concerned about Matic than Ebo going forward. The problem isn't that we landed Ebo last year it is that we didn't land an Ebo type player 2-3 years ago. I'm concerned about Matic because he appears to never be a true big but more of a stretch 4. I would rather have more of a traditional 4 (Leron Black) to go with a center. But who knows, he has a good shot and passing ability.
I'm more concerned about Matic than Ebo going forward. The problem isn't that we landed Ebo last year it is that we didn't land an Ebo type player 2-3 years ago. I'm concerned about Matic because he appears to never be a true big but more of a stretch 4. I would rather have more of a traditional 4 (Leron Black) to go with a center. But who knows, he has a good shot and passing ability.
Illinois Basketball: Illini pitch to Francis Okoro is one of the strongest
https://writingillini.com/2017/12/28/illinois-basketball-illini-pitch-francis-okoro-one-strongest/
Pretty optimistic on Ebo and Matic. I'm hoping for Ebo to develop into a solid contributor. I'm not sure I expect much from Matic. If we are lucky enough to get Liddell and Okoro, I'm expecting at least 1, probably both to be starting over the guys currently on our roster in their first season.
Pruitt had almost no skill, it was pretty astounding actually. He was size and power and that was it. He got a lot out of that no doubt.
Okoro is raw, he runs and jumps better, but doesn't play with as much power.
The man difference is Okoro is raw and developing the skill game. Pruitt never had a shot further from 4-6 ft
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Dan
Admin
Top 30 2018 PF Taeshon Cherry recently reopened his recruitment... and Illinois is one of 5 schools he mentioned interest in.
https://twitter.com/UIHoopsRecruits/status/946503746225307648
https://twitter.com/ebosshoops/status/946500290618036224
https://twitter.com/UIHoopsRecruits/status/946503746225307648
https://twitter.com/ebosshoops/status/946500290618036224
Wait, what?
Is it just me, or did this come out of left field?
EDIT: ah, it's Ayo. Man, committed recruits are such good recruiters.
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Cherry was identified as the recruit involved in the FBI investigation of USC.
Mike the revelator may disagree.
Nick Irvin doesn't need to deliver anything.
Honestly your initial reasoning appeared angled at concern for depth ahead of him and you seem to be moving the goalposts.
We will have to beat out other very good schools for any of the 3 targets. We have a good chance with each.
Thanks for the insight/info...."hopefully" doesn't sound strong though. Text away Ayo, get him here! We need 2 bigs at least 1 for sure! Cherry could definitely be our next Leron with Flo on board!
Deleted member 649710
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Big story in yesterday's L.A. Times about Cherry being one of the players involved in the FBI sting of USC assistant Tony Bland. To summarize, "a person with direct knowledge of the college basketball bribery case" (I'm guessing someone at USC who was tipped by FBI to back off on the recruitment) says that Cherry is "Player #8" in the indictment. The indictment alleges that an undercover agent attended a meeting with one of "Player 8's" relatives, where the relative was passed $4000. Family obviously denies that Cherry is Player 8.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/la-sp-usc-cherry-fbi-20171226-story.html
I like the kid's talent, and he would fit Underwood's system wonderfully, but it is going to be awfully tough to get a So Cal kid to look beyond UCLA and ASU, and I question whether the recruitment of this kid will be worth the extra scrutiny that will come along with the allegations swirling around him.
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Wasn't his best game tonight...
But Adam Miller has IT
But Adam Miller has IT
Like programming skills? That's extremely valuable
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I'd say Okoro's athleticism most reminds me of James Augustine as far as any recent Illini big. If he was in an all out sprint, he could beat just about anyone down the floor. Augustine's basketball skills were a little more advanced (although I never saw him as a HS junior) but it seems like everyone marveled at JA's hands, agility, and general lack of awkwardness for someone so big from the get go.
I stopped at Pontiac on the way back to the burbs from Pekin yesterday and watched Currie play...they've got a couple long, bouncy string bean types who impressed me with how hard they play (I didn't even grab a program, so don't know their names). I was also impressed with how Currie was coached....with my real only knowledge of their program being around Cliff Alexander, they are far from a roll the ball out and let them play type of team. And I will admit, I was shocked when their coach told Marquise Walker to take a seat in a little more colorful language after he talked back to him in the huddle.
I stopped at Pontiac on the way back to the burbs from Pekin yesterday and watched Currie play...they've got a couple long, bouncy string bean types who impressed me with how hard they play (I didn't even grab a program, so don't know their names). I was also impressed with how Currie was coached....with my real only knowledge of their program being around Cliff Alexander, they are far from a roll the ball out and let them play type of team. And I will admit, I was shocked when their coach told Marquise Walker to take a seat in a little more colorful language after he talked back to him in the huddle.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Moving the goalposts? lulz!, Grand Master.
Whitney doesn't have as clear of a path to significant early playing time as Liddell and Okoro do. That is a fact.
The idea that we are the leader for Whitney seems to be borne from hope, not evidence.
He says his father handles all of his recruitment. I wonder which relative was handed the $4,000 and if that relative expects to be paid twice.
This one makes me too nervous.
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