Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

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#1,301      

mattcoldagelli

mattcoldagelli
The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
mattcoldagelli
Verified Insider said:
2005 was an epic recruiting failure. Absolutely epic. When you combine with the 2006 class and consider that those classes came in the midst of our 2005 run, it's incredible to see that we winded up with 2 classes consisting of Jamar Smith, Chester Frazier, Charles Jackson, Richard Semrau, and Brian Carlwell.
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I would go even further and make the argument that it was an unprecedented failure. Can you think of another instance where a team:

-was borderline wire-to-wire #1
-was pretty much the biggest story in CBB for the entire season
-tapped into a borderline insane, nationally distributed fanbase
-owned two significant media markets (Chicago and STL) for about 5 months

And come out of it with n o t h i n g to show for it in recruiting? I'm not talking about Georgia Tech making a surprising-ish run to a title game here. This was a generational opportunity served up on a platter, and not only did we not take advantage, we dropped the platter on our foot, broke everything, and gave ourselves a decade-long nagging injury.
 
#1,303      

Illini Beer 4 All

I
Illini Beer 4 All
HTT said:
It seems that Nolley's parents prefer VT but he likes Georgia himself. Why not each side takes a step back and settles on Illinois:p
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If you believe the rumors about the recruitment of Caleb Swanigan, Swanigan wanted to go to Cal, his family wanted MSU and he ended up at Purdue.

Stranger things have happened.

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#1,304      

illinitiger

I
illinitiger
Illini Beer 4 All said:
If you believe the rumors about the recruitment of Caleb Swanigan, Swanigan wanted to go to Cal, his family wanted MSU and he ended up at Purdue.

Stranger things have happened.

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Roosevelt Barnes swayed Swanigan to purdue I believe.

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#1,305      

Deleted member 10676

D
Guest
Deleted member 10676
Illini Beer 4 All said:
If you believe the rumors about the recruitment of Caleb Swanigan, Swanigan wanted to go to Cal, his family wanted MSU and he ended up at Purdue.

Stranger things have happened.

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I realize this is off-topic, but in the spirit of 'the more you know', Caleb's family was not involved -- think his father died when he was young and Caleb was homeless at one time growing up. But his guardian, Roosevelt Barnes, ex-Boiler bb and fb player, and our good friend Cuonzo, were involved along the way in Caleb's recruitment.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...ouch-column-caleb-swanigan-decommit/26984829/
 
#1,306      

Illini Beer 4 All

I
Illini Beer 4 All
illinitiger said:
Roosevelt Barnes swayed Swanigan to purdue I believe.

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I'm sure he did, but that didn't change the fact that he committed to MSU first and there was a lot of rumor he was joining Brown and Raab at Cal.

Like I said, if you believe the rumors that I listed, that's how it went down.

With Nolley it could be something like, he had Georgia 1, Illinois 2. His parents have vt 1, Illinois 2. When they talk they come to an agreement that they can all be happy with Illinois as the choice.

But since we're Illinois and we lose basically every major recruitment, he probably ends up at VT.

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#1,307      

UCantHideYer

U
UCantHideYer
We have spoken of Ayo possibly influencing Nolley's de-committment, but maybe Nolley might still have some positive influence over Ayo. If Ayo wants Nolley more than the Finn, staff should go back to showing the love. If they do, maybe enough to tip Ayo our way. Hopefully Ayo's decision doesn't hang on such trivia, but drama seems to abound. I'd like to say run with the Finn, but Ayo is too important to not get his say.
 
#1,308      

illinitiger

I
illinitiger
UCantHideYer said:
We have spoken of Ayo possibly influencing Nolley's de-committment, but maybe Nolley might still have some positive influence over Ayo. If Ayo wants Nolley more than the Finn, staff should go back to showing the love. If they do, maybe enough to tip Ayo our way. Hopefully Ayo's decision doesn't hang on such trivia, but drama seems to abound. I'd like to say run with the Finn, but Ayo is too important to not get his say.
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Nolley is great and if there is a package deal...fine. I hope staff stays focuses on their targets, including Fins visiting this week.

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#1,311      

BMo79

B
BMo79
miketherevelator said:
These are from summer of '16 but I'd say Valtonen could end up being the best outcome for us at wing if we were to land him.

https://www.ridiculousupside.com/2016/6/30/12070496/elias-valtonen-has-turned-heads-at-fiba-u17

https://www.ridiculousupside.com/20...al-prospects-from-the-group-stage-of-fiba-u17
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I watched the game VS China and I was impressed, I am guessing those games were before he hurt his Knee, as he looked to jump better then in the new clips.

After what I have watched, if this kid wants to commit you take him in a heart beat, no matter what it does to the chances of getting Nolley or even AYO( no clue why it would effect Ayo since the players Ayo will be going against for playing time are already here) but you have to get players who want to be here 1st and foremost, BU isnt going to be everyones buddy and tell them what they want to hear. He is going to be their coach and tell them what he needs them to do to get better as a player and a team
 
#1,313      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
MonteGoesWeGo said:
+helps with the recruitment of Liddel and Okoro if we have as many elite guards as possible. A backcourt of sophomore Smith, Junior Tejon and Ayo would probably end up one of the best in the big ten if not the country if Smith and Tejon pan out to be as good as we hope.
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And Trent and DaMonte...

Most likely not all of these guys are gonna work out, but I like that we have a lot of potential. Increases the odds that at least one works out. Hopefully more!!
 
#1,314      

ILLINIShox24

ILLINIShox24
Orange Krush '04 & '05
ILLINIShox24
UCantHideYer said:
We have spoken of Ayo possibly influencing Nolley's de-committment, but maybe Nolley might still have some positive influence over Ayo. If Ayo wants Nolley more than the Finn, staff should go back to showing the love. If they do, maybe enough to tip Ayo our way. Hopefully Ayo's decision doesn't hang on such trivia, but drama seems to abound. I'd like to say run with the Finn, but Ayo is too important to not get his say.
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If Ayo wanted to be at Illinois with either one of them, he could have committed a long time ago and helped recruit.

Ayo is taking his time and that's fine, but he passed on any opportunity to influence his potential teammates here. The implication that he has that power given his current status is a bit much.
 
#1,315      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
Also, while I don't think we will get Nolley, but there's always the possibility that we would take both him and the Fin.

If we were supposedly willing to take two wings with Nolley and THT, I don't know why we wouldn't be open to taking Nolley and the Fin. Or really any combination of Nolley, the Fin, and THT
 
#1,318      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
MonteGoesWeGo said:
+helps with the recruitment of Liddel and Okoro if we have as many elite guards as possible. A backcourt of sophomore Smith, Junior Tejon and Ayo would probably end up one of the best in the big ten if not the country if Smith and Tejon pan out to be as good as we hope.
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Frazier and Williams an afterthought here? Not eggin you on, but those two will be huge for us before it is all done.:chief:
 
#1,319      

tpbradley

tpbradley
tpbradley
Love how everyone's discussing Nolly/Ayo/Finn strategies as if we have any impact on any of it, haha!
 
#1,322      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
tpbradley said:
Love how everyone's discussing Nolly/Ayo/Finn strategies as if we have any impact on any of it, haha!
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It is kinda why we all (yes you too) are on here afterall....should we talk about injustices in the world or the deficit....not on this board...ILL all the way in a good way...the other stuff is ILL as in it is how it makes me feel.:cool:
 
#1,324      

robjilla

R
robjilla
Verified Insider said:
Any class with Ayo is a success, IMO.

He would be the most talented kid on our roster from day 1, and would probably start right away. Heck, he'd probably be the most talented recruit since Richmond (at a minimum).

Program changing? Eh, I don't know. With or without him, our backcourt is in very good hands going forward. For once, we're loaded at PG/combo guard, so he doesn't really fill a position of dire need the way Jawun Evans or Brunson would have done a few years back.

However, Ayo helps us for a few additional reasons: (1) one would think he'd help us with Adam Miller and other elite recruits in future classes, (2) he immediately gives the staff that top-tier Chicago victory which we've lacked for years, and (3) he probably helps us attract a quality player or two in the 2018 class.
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All great points. True to the T!
 
#1,325      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
Illini Beer 4 All said:
I'm sure he did, but that didn't change the fact that he committed to MSU first and there was a lot of rumor he was joining Brown and Raab at Cal.

Like I said, if you believe the rumors that I listed, that's how it went down.

With Nolley it could be something like, he had Georgia 1, Illinois 2. His parents have vt 1, Illinois 2. When they talk they come to an agreement that they can all be happy with Illinois as the choice.

But since we're Illinois and we lose basically every major recruitment, he probably ends up at VT.

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Our fans only think this way because we (rightfully) expect a lot from this program. We have more resources at our disposal than the vast majority of college basketball programs, and we expect to capitalize on it, especially because we have for the better part of our history; the evidence is there, under multiple coaches, that you can win big here. However, the fact is a lot of programs aren't even IN "major recruitments" to start with, and we do more than alright in recruiting. Even during our darkest years of late, our complaint is not being able to land a five-star to really set us apart; we've had "meh" reactions to top 20 classes that Iowa and Minnesota rarely sniff.

It's really not THAT bad being an Illini fan. Not that I haven't done my fair share of complaining since 2008. :thumb:
 
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