Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#426      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
Johnny Lawrence said:
This cannot be overstated. If/when there is a fallout is when guys like OA can earn his keep. And at this point last year Mark Smith didn't even had a major offer (I didn't look up exact timelines) yet. Let's let this play out.
Click to expand...


Last year at this time Mark Smith was on OV's to NIU and SIU-E.:thumb:
 
#427      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
miketherevelator said:
Jake Weingarten‏ @jakeweingarten 2m2 minutes ago

Illini have showed interest in ‘18 Anfernee Simons, yet to offer, could expect more interest in next few days. #Illinois

dreamin' but dreamin' big.
Click to expand...

I mean our Safeties coach Donnie Abraham was the defensive coordinator at IMG. I'm sure he knows the basketball coach and could connect Underwood with Simons.
 
#428      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
PlayAZ said:
I still think going Flyin Illini 2.0 is the way to go. The game is changing, bigs are less needed/lesser valued now more than ever, unless they are stretch bigs.

Stay 6-2 to say very mobile 6-8 or so, and I like our chances against every team, as long as they are all athletes.
Click to expand...

The Flyin Illini had tremendous talent, we do not have anywhere near that talent level. Three McD AA (Anderson, Hamilton, Liberty), a 20ppg transfer who ended up the best PF in our history, in addition to other multi-talented players (e.g., Gill, Small).

People try to isolate the lack height and make a claim to Flyin Illini, just because we missed on recruits. Unless the you have exceptional talent like the Flying Illini, the lack of height is really a negative.
 
#429      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
Obelix said:
The Flyin Illini had tremendous talent, we do not have anywhere near that talent level. Three McD AA (Anderson, Hamilton, Liberty), a 20ppg transfer who ended up the best PF in our history, in addition to other multi-talented players (e.g., Gill, Small).

People try to isolate the lack height and make a claim to Flyin Illini, just because we missed on recruits. Unless the you have exceptional talent like the Flying Illini, the lack of height is really a negative.
Click to expand...

That is exactly my point....get that size in talent. Wasn't isolating based on misses, simply would rather recruit to this and skip the bigs altogether.

Of course we don't have it yet. The pool is far greatly looking for athletes that fit that (sheer numbers or better/very good) criteria than B1GS that we are constantly missing on.
 
#431      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
PlayAZ said:
That is exactly my point....get that size in talent. Wasn't isolating based on misses, simply would rather recruit to this and skip the bigs altogether.

Of course we don't have it yet. The pool is far greatly looking for athletes that fit that (sheer numbers or better/very good) criteria than B1GS that we are constantly missing on.
Click to expand...

We can't close on bigs in a position of need with plenty of PT available, who are not even top 100 players and are projects at best. and you think we will all of a sudden start closing on multiple 5* athletic studs in the 6'2" - 6'8" range to make up for it? So we can be Flyin Illini 2.0. Are we crazy here? :D
 
#432      

BMo79

B
BMo79
Obelix said:
The Flyin Illini had tremendous talent, we do not have anywhere near that talent level. Three McD AA (Anderson, Hamilton, Liberty), a 20ppg transfer who ended up the best PF in our history, in addition to other multi-talented players (e.g., Gill, Small).

People try to isolate the lack height and make a claim to Flyin Illini, just because we missed on recruits. Unless the you have exceptional talent like the Flying Illini, the lack of height is really a negative.
Click to expand...



I agree, they didn't have a tall Center but also didn't have a short PG, all in all I would say if you took the height avg of them and any other team it would have still been about the same. but they had very athletic guys with very high motors playing all over the court, Smith and Da Will are the most flyin Illini like players we have Black and Kipper close as well
 
#433      

Illinilosch

I
Illinilosch
TCTORNADO said:
Last year at this time Mark Smith was on OV's to NIU and SIU-E.:thumb:
Click to expand...

Last year at this time I had not even heard of Mark Smith's name before... and I follow college bb recruiting pretty closely. And now he's being talked about as not only one of the best freshman in the Big Ten, but maybe the best player on this team. It's quite remarkable! I haven't been this excited about a freshman since Dee and Deron!
 
#434      

Ball Press

B
Ball Press
Overrated

I am actually glad Illinois did not get him. He was way OVERRATED. Saw him quite a bit last spring and was not impressed at all. I didn't think he could play in Big Ten than or now. We need guys that will play hard all the time and can dominate kids 1/2 his size which I never saw out of him. I truely believe we will look back and be thankful he did not come to U of I. I really think BU was just trying to get an inroad into Chicago area.
 
#436      

IlliniJim20

I
IlliniJim20
Ball Press said:
I am actually glad Illinois did not get him. He was way OVERRATED. Saw him quite a bit last spring and was not impressed at all. I didn't think he could play in Big Ten than or now. We need guys that will play hard all the time and can dominate kids 1/2 his size which I never saw out of him. I truely believe we will look back and be thankful he did not come to U of I. I really think BU was just trying to get an inroad into Chicago area.
Click to expand...

Conditt??
 
#438      

DB11Headband

D
Chicago Burbs
DB11Headband
PlayAZ said:
Ayo, Nolley, THT and a Euro is what I think...Simons/Simmons only makes sense in this class if no Ayo...
Click to expand...

Simons makes sense regardless of who we land. Obviously an EXTREME long shot, but we are not in the position as a program (and hell, no program out there is) to turn him down if he for some reason was interested in coming.
 
#443      

tpbradley

tpbradley
tpbradley
HTT said:
I guess you mean everyone who did not commit to us. And I agree:D
Click to expand...

Yes, this is our new template response for anyone who commits elsewhere. Can also include:
- Growth plates were already closed
- Didn't truly fit BU's system
- Was ranked highly too early
 
#447      

DB11Headband

D
Chicago Burbs
DB11Headband
Kajagoogoo said:
I've not heard that, but the way things are going, I'm not sure it matters. The biggest recruits Illinois is after are local (Ayo, Okoro, Liddell, Whitney, Miller). What's Antigua bringing to this staff? Maybe coaching bigs?!?
Click to expand...

His pedigree of being the bigs coach at UK and "developing" guys like Davis and Cousins would be a big draw for a guy like Okoro.
 
#448      

drewillini89

D
drewillini89
So what happens when Nolley commits to VT on Saturday?

Do we just hope we land Ayo and somehow get THT on board?
 
#449      

Deleted member 236589

D
Guest
Deleted member 236589
It's been a long time since I've posted. This board is fascinating and everybody here seems to have great insight and ideas. Here's my thought on this whole recruiting saga. You have to put yourself in the player's shoes. What is the goal of each of these recruits:

1)Go to the NCAA Tournament
2)Be on National TV playing in meaningful games.
3)Be in a predictable environment(regarding their roll, their expectations and with the coaching staff that recruited him.
4)Go to the NBA

As we sit here today:

1)Illinois hasn't been to the NCAA tournament for what, 4 years?
2)We haven't been a primetime game for ESPN or CBS is a long time.
3)We've had 4 different head coaches since 2000(Self, Weber, Groce and now Underwood)
4)We've had one player drafter in the first round in the last 15 years(Williams)
All Underwood can sell any of these kids right now is his vision. That's it. That's a really tough sell. We, as fans, feel that Illinois is still a destination school. It's not.

We've lost two recruits this week to Iowa State and Michigan. One person degraded Xavier. These schools carry a lot more weight right now than an Illinois program that has been stuck in the mud for 12 years. The only remedy is to win. That turns his vision into reality.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.