Good one!
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2016)
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Good one!
While IU's chances may have gone down, I personally still believe that IU is in the lead. My guess was that Wilkes would commit before HH, so while there are reports/tweeets of all sort, I am still cautiously waiting to see what happens in the next 50+ hours and who actually shows up (or not) at the IU event.
It has been hinted that it will be the first week in November when Wilkes commits.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
If that's the case, it bodes well for us (and UCLA) and does not for IU. Note that am NOT saying it would be a death blow to IU.
As to the twitter "tells," haven't seen anything remotely convincing yet. Doesn't mean Wilkes hasn't decided yet, just that he and his family are keeping the decision (if there is one) very, very close to the vest.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
Just curious, by whom?
Not sure about that. I thought that was the case, and therefore HH was an inflection point. Yet, I did not expect that Wilkes would take another unofficial visit to IU and his father/brother would attend HH. Why would they do that? If Wilkes had an inclination towards a different school (UCLA or UI), why would he visit IU again and attend the practice (he has been to IU hundreds of times over the years)? And for crying out loud, why would his father/brother go to HH where they would be bombarded with "We want Wilkes" chants? Why?
I can understand if it was another regular recruit who did not care for the IU home fans. Or a person who does not care about the home school (we had plenty of those in the State of Illinois). But for a kid who has grown up an IU fan and has religiously attended all HH since freshman year that would be too cruel. Wilkes does not strike me as this kind of kid.
As I said, I am cautiously waiting to see what happens in the next 48 hours, and who actually shows up or not.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Maybe the kid is torn. Clearly, loves IU, loves IU hoops. Doesn't love Clappy. Tick tock...
I think you're right, and this is the reason that Wilkes' recruitment has been so drawn out. In the end, I think he'll succumb to the state school with hopes of leading them to an NCAA title and becoming a legend in Indiana hoops lore. He wants to play for Steve Alford and he wants to be a part of the Illini family, but he'll most likely end up at IU.
Fingers crossed that he chooses to play for Groce and join the Illini family. I have tempered my expectations a bit.
As expected...
For those paying attention to Nojel's Eastern's recruitment. I just dropped my 6th grader at Evanston Township High School and walked past Thad Matta. A minute later on my way out I ran into one of the sophomore coaches and he confirmed that Izzo was in to see him yesterday, that Painter was in last week, that Seton Hall is all over him, and that DePaul practically camps out at the school. When I suggested that he must be ready to commit soon, he intimated that he expected him to wait until the end of his senior season. FWIW
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[URL="https://twitter.com/BSnowScout"]Brian Snow @BSnowScout [/URL] 1h1 hour ago Brian Snow Retweeted Adrian Wojnarowski
Dirty secret, owners like the system and so do the players. Neither wants it to change
I'd say it's far from a secret and is rather obvious since it's happened over and over.
The biggest win over the years for the owners, and impact on college basketball, has been the rookie salary cap. Only first round guarantees with a sliding scale and cap. What used to be a multi-year, multi-million dollar mistake, is now comparatively peanuts. It encourages teams to take chances on young players based on potential (rather than results).
Maybe if OG and Bryant were staying, you could convince me Wilkes would be the piece to push them over the edge. Think all the other top prospects passing gives him a free pass. I think UCLA is the first choice. Partially because it will be the most understandable to the locals. I'm starting to suspect he wants to chose Illinois, but doesn't want to deal with any backlash.
I've talked myself into this narrative and I'll stand by it. Less than three weeks to go. Here's to hoping he picks us. Would be the cherry on top of a well deserved sundae for Illini fans.
Remember when we were comparing Wilkes' recruitment to JCL's. How they were both quiet, family oriented, no handlers, etc.
Well the past week or so it seems like a hell of a lot of people know what's going on. We've heard that he wants to go to UCLA, Illinois, and IU all by different posters. I personally don't think much has changed. People are just grasping at straws IMO.
Well the past week or so it seems like a hell of a lot of people know what's going on. We've heard that he wants to go to UCLA, Illinois, and IU all by different posters. I personally don't think much has changed. People are just grasping at straws IMO.
Also, I'm trying to remember how the JCL recruitment ended. I know leading up to the announcement most expected it to be ND. But was there a rush of crystal balls right before? Or was it quiet the whole time?
The problem with this line of thinking is that it is contradictory to his actions. If he really cares about backlash, why create more pressure on himself by taking additional unofficial visits to UI or sending your whole family to HH. That will create more expectations and backlash, no matter whether he chooses UCLA or UI. If he does not care about backlash, why not choose the school he really likes then (UI in your example)?
ND was the favorite earlier that summer but that recruitment went sour quite some time before his announcement. There were rumors about family and Brey not seeing eye to eye. ND was not a factor in the final decision.
So when things got heated up between UI and JCL, and JCL took his official visit, we were clearly the favorite and JCL announced upon his return. The only other school was UNLV in the final decision, not ND.
Picking UI early that summer over ND would have been a real surprise, but at the end, we were expecting a commitment. There was no real surprise. That recruitment had a different look and feel than Wilkes.
First CB pick for Illinois was 9/17/2014, Jerry Meyer's was second on 9/19/2014...he committed 9/23/2014...so less than 1 week.
http://247sports.com/PlayerInstitution/Jalen-Coleman-Lands-at-La-Lumiere-School-55380/CurrentExpertPredictions
IU, Michigan, and also MSU I believe all took a serious look at JCL earlier in that recruitment. For different reasons there was no match.
ND became the clear favorite and he visited multiple times, including official and unofficial visits. Then things broke off. There were the classic board rumors/stories about Brey driving JCL in his car etc., but the bottom line is that something happened there and the whole perceived engagement broke off.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
I'm assuming you meant "IU" and no one has been to HH yet.
Yes, thanks IU. I agree on HH, as said in multiple posts, I am cautiously watching what happens in the next 48 hours including who attends (or not) HH. Not sure I believe all these stories.
I would not be surprised if he makes an announcement before HH for whatever school, I would not be surprised if he attends HH himself, I would not be surprised if he does not make an announcement and nobody attends HH. But not making an announcement and sending his father/brother to attend HH? That IMO would be weird.
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ND took a commitment from Rex Pflueger on 9/12, that seemed to indicate they were out of the running for JCL.
so rational, it almost seems irrational!
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