Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

[ChicagoBoy11]

If we land AYO and then hear AYO is in town this weekend with his ol buddy THT you might see 2mill by monday lol

Even if we get Ayo, we have no shot with THT. He's ISU bound.

 

[BWilson25]

They are really enjoying the video of Cliff's hat move and the infamous, corresponding student reaction clip. I will not feel one shred of empathy for Wake fans if they don't get Ayo.

 

[Deleted member 631370]

Even if we get Ayo, we have no shot with THT. He's ISU bound.

I wouldn't say "no shot". The kid is visiting us, after all.

But yeah......we're almost certainly not the leader in this instance.

 

[TheGMan]

As has been talked about really for Ayo it is more about his instagram than twitter. Keep believing that this is 50/50 and you will be disappointed tomorrow night.

So what does his Instagram have to say about it? His account is private, and I draw the line at following any recruits social media accounts

 

[Priestspoets]

Idk man, Ayo has 85 Instagram posts and 10,400 tweets and retweets.

Did anyone watch his Snap Chat during his visits? He posted 10 times more on Illini visit. I have over 10,000 tweets come on. I am just stating this in no a coin flip by any measure.


I meant Snap Chat in my previous post.

 

[BMo79]

Even if we get Ayo, we have no shot with THT. He's ISU bound.

I didnt say any place we would get THT, we were talking about the amount of views on the page nothing more, and I was joking as I do not think AYO will come down if someone else is on a visit, unless the staff asked him to

 

[KrushCow31]

Did anyone watch his Snap Chat during his visits? He posted 10 times more on Illini visit. I have over 10,000 tweets come on. I am just stating this in no a coin flip by any measure.


I meant Snap Chat in my previous post.

Snapchat is obviously different, so my point wouldn't stand. He is obviously purposefully retweeting Wake Forest only things at this point. For what reason, we will probably never know unless he picks them, then it will be obvious.

 

[sacraig]

Even if we get Ayo, we have no shot with THT. He's ISU bound.

Hell of a first post.

 

[sdfidaho]

Even if we get Ayo, we have no shot with THT. He's ISU bound.

ISU "Insider"

 

[drewillini89]

His most recent IG post is all of the WF players and him.

 

[sacraig]

ISU "Insider"

 

[Priestspoets]

Snapchat is obviously different, so my point wouldn't stand. He is obviously purposefully retweeting Wake Forest only things at this point. For what reason, we will probably never know unless he picks them, then it will be obvious.

I can agree with that, I know what I think the reason is. But we will probably never know for sure.

 

[Priestspoets]

His most recent IG post is all of the WF players and him.

Snapchat

 

[Priestspoets]

I get that Illinois fans are confident. My question is what is the basis for this not being a coin flip? Is there a double secret commitment already on the books? Is there a family source that has already confirmed with you that Ayo is coming to Illinois? I get optimism, I even get confidence, but what I don't get is the idea that suggesting that Ayo is conflicted about that decision (since that is exactly what Ayo has said, and exactly what his actions in the past 2 weeks have demonstrated) is setting oneself up for disappointment unnecessarily.

I am not arguing necessarily, but am curious as what are the specific factors that lead you to believe that Ayo is overwhelmingly more likely to attend Illinois than Wake Forest. Can you give me a little insight?

Most Wake fans (other than one 'insider' on the board who has nailed some previous commits) feel like while Wake has a chance, we don't really know where he stands. We feel he likes Illinois and is torn between loyalty and opportunity. You are saying there is no dilemma. Please explain why because all the evidence speaks to Ayo being conflicted on the choice.

Chin Coleman Best Friends with his Dad. Since Grade school I believe
Underwood meeting with Irvins multiple times after being hired.
Proximity for Family to see Ayo play as he is very very close with his family.
The draw of Being the Man at the State School and be the Second Straight Mr Basketball to Commit.
Talk in and around that Ayo has had his mind made up since July, Wake opened his eyes but it never moved the needle.

 

[Kathy]

Even if we get Ayo, we have no shot with THT. He's ISU bound.

You might be right, but these kind of posts aggravate me. Your first post, and it's so matter of fact. I hope you're not a ISU fan trolling.

 

[Priestspoets]

So he has two social media accounts that are meaningless even though he is very active on both? That just doesn't pass the smell test. He is doing one of two things pretty intentionally in my opinion.

1. Setting up drama for Thursday by trolling Wake Forest and our coaching staff.

2. Giving Illinois fans some reason for pause before they enter Thursday so that they aren't caught in a Cliff Alexander scenario.

I don't think the posts are meaningless, but I also don't necessarily they are good for Wake Forest (could be, but no means a sure thing). Door #1 could very well be his plan.

My last post on this


He follows all Illini on Snapchat and during visit posted 10 times more things than when at Wake. He is very Active on Snap even more that Twitter. Just saying come to whatever conclusion you want but we shall see tomorrow.

 

[ChicagoBoy11]

Chin Coleman Best Friends with his Dad. Since Grade school I believe
Underwood meeting with Irvins multiple times after being hired.
Proximity for Family to see Ayo play as he is very very close with his family.
The draw of Being the Man at the State School and be the Second Straight Mr Basketball to Commit.
Talk in and around that Ayo has had his mind made up since July, Wake opened his eyes but it never moved the needle.

I still think we get Ayo, it just worries me that he waited so long to commit if it was always a lock. He may be thrown off on the idea of a 1 man recruiting class.

 

[Old Number 51]

This


But cup is firmly placed for trauma likelihood

 

[ILLHangOut]

So, IF Ayo commits tomorrow we are looking at a realistic ideal class of Ayo, THT, and BPJ or another surprise big.

If Ayo picks Wake, then which players can we realistically add to the class, that fit the system, and our projected style of play. There is no way we roll over 3 schollies.

If we take a 2/3 star PG, which skills does this staff prioritize?

 

[Deleted member 631370]

So he has two social media accounts that are meaningless even though he is very active on both? That just doesn't pass the smell test. He is doing one of two things pretty intentionally in my opinion.

1. Setting up drama for Thursday by trolling Wake Forest and our coaching staff.

2. Giving Illinois fans some reason for pause before they enter Thursday so that they aren't caught in a Cliff Alexander scenario.

I don't think the posts are meaningless, but I also don't necessarily they are good for Wake Forest (could be, but no means a sure thing). Door #1 could very well be his plan.

If he is picking Illinois, I sincerely don't believe he's trolling WF fans.

I really do think there's a decent chance that he's showing the WF fans some love and respect before he bolts for good. Once he commits to Illinois, it would be odd and inappropriate to continue to engage with WF fans on social media -- and WF fans will want nothing to do with him. So, he's making nice now before he becomes scorned tomorrow.

Now, is that the best way to handle it? No. Because inevitably, people get too emotionally invested in this stuff and feel as though they're being intentionally misled. But a 17-year-old isn't always thinking about that.


Just trying to offer up a plausible option #3. A nut punch for sure. But not intentionally so.

 

[BMo79]

So he has two social media accounts that are meaningless even though he is very active on both? That just doesn't pass the smell test. He is doing one of two things pretty intentionally in my opinion.

1. Setting up drama for Thursday by trolling Wake Forest and our coaching staff.

2. Giving Illinois fans some reason for pause before they enter Thursday so that they aren't caught in a Cliff Alexander scenario.

I don't think the posts are meaningless, but I also don't necessarily they are good for Wake Forest (could be, but no means a sure thing). Door #1 could very well be his plan.

I have seen this said a lot, and who knows if AYO hasn't already told both coachs his decision and for ever thing he retweets on twitter his family is retweeting 3 or 4 times as much Illini stuff. this is just 2 fan bases looking to see what they can find for themselves and anti the other. Just once it would be nice if a young man could just do it all how they wanted and no one give them any grief over it all

 

[Deleted member 631370]

I get that Illinois fans are confident. My question is what is the basis for this not being a coin flip? Is there a double secret commitment already on the books? Is there a family source that has already confirmed with you that Ayo is coming to Illinois? I get optimism, I even get confidence, but what I don't get is the idea that suggesting that Ayo is conflicted about that decision (since that is exactly what Ayo has said, and exactly what his actions in the past 2 weeks have demonstrated) is setting oneself up for disappointment unnecessarily.

I am not arguing necessarily, but am curious as what are the specific factors that lead you to believe that Ayo is overwhelmingly more likely to attend Illinois than Wake Forest. Can you give me a little insight?

Most Wake fans (other than one 'insider' on the board who has nailed some previous commits) feel like while Wake has a chance, we don't really know where he stands. We feel he likes Illinois and is torn between loyalty and opportunity. You are saying there is no dilemma. Please explain why because all the evidence speaks to Ayo being conflicted on the choice.

I'm going to let you in on a secret.

Wake Forest has a legitimate chance. Most people who come here and proclaim declarative statements aren't in the know.

 

[sacraig]

So, IF Ayo commits tomorrow we are looking at a realistic ideal class of Ayo, THT, and BPJ or another surprise big.

If Ayo picks Wake, then which players can we realistically add to the class, that fit the system, and our projected style of play. There is no way we roll over 3 schollies.

If we take a 2/3 star PG, which skills does this staff prioritize?

Why on Earth would we do that? This feels really strange to write, but PG is perhaps our strongest, deepest position right now. Don't burn a scholarship on someone like that. I'd be a lot more willing to burn a scholarship on a 2/3 star big man, which we actually need.

 

[Deleted member 631370]

Is it possible that he told both staffs that he's coming to keep the hard sells to a minimum before Thursday, then he's telegraphing his pick to fans via twitter so they aren't as caught off guard by the time he announces?

Very, very, very, very unlikely.

The moment he tells the staff, that's when it leaks. And the decision hasn't leaked to the types of people who have Crystal Ball picks.

Yes, there are message board "insiders" who claim to have information. But listen to what the paid writers say. When they start suggesting that Ayo is going to School X, that means that info is probably beginning to leak.

No way in hell this kid is telling both schools he's committing to them.

 

[NBB1979]

:thumb:

Tomorrow is date night with the GF - she's a mizzou grad. I told you that I really am surrounded by them. Might confuse her when I sneak out to the "bathroom" and come back to order a bottle of champagne

You might confuse her even more if you sneak out to the "bathroom" and come back with a brand new girlfriend...

This is fantastic
Great job Ob :thumb:

:clappy::hail: