Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#454      

coryfor3

C
coryfor3
CLEARWATERDAN said:
Huh. Where is he going?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't be surprised. He was a very high profile assistant at Kentucky. Known for his recruiting prowess and may have a bigger fish to come calling once he re-establishes himself following the South Florida issues.
 
#456      

DB11Headband

D
Chicago Burbs
DB11Headband
If you expected BU to come in here and land every single recruit that he was after, then you were setting yourself up for major disappointment. I understand the frustration of being the bridesmaid yet again, but I have no doubt in my mind that BU is going to get his guys. It started with Mark Smith in the spring, and it's only going to continue. Looking forward to Saturday, as I think that's when we'll add our next piece to the puzzle :thumb:
 
#457      

illiniCA

illiniCA
DC Area
illiniCA
Until we win more games and are playing in the NCAA tournament I expect to lose more battles than we win.
 
#458      

Illwinsagain

Illwinsagain
Cary, IL
Illwinsagain
winthiscentury said:
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.
Click to expand...

1st Round Draft Picks in last 15 years.

2003, B. Cook, 24th
2005, D. Williams, 3rd, L. Head, 24th
2012, M. Lenard, 11th

However, still too few.
 
#459      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
DB11Headband said:
If you expected BU to come in here and land every single recruit that he was after, then you were setting yourself up for major disappointment. I understand the frustration of being the bridesmaid yet again, but I have no doubt in my mind that BU is going to get his guys. It started with Mark Smith in the spring, and it's only going to continue. Looking forward to Saturday, as I think that's when we'll add our next piece to the puzzle :thumb:
Click to expand...

This.
 
#462      

itsJUPITER

I
itsJUPITER
this is a time where i wish i could pull up good ol youtube and watch Illinois 2005 national championship parade videos
 
#463      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
Illwinsagain said:
1st Round Draft Picks in last 15 years.

2003, B. Cook, 24th
2005, D. Williams, 3rd, L. Head, 24th
2012, M. Lenard, 11th

However, still too few.
Click to expand...

He was obviously wrong in his statement, especially going back 15 years. but his main point was correct, Illinois has not been a destination school wrt NBA draft. In the last 12 drafts, we did indeed only have 1 player drafted in the first round (Leonard).
 
#464      

Illiniblueorange

I
Pontoon Beach IL
Illiniblueorange
Before someone comments on this , yes, I have not posted before but could not sit quiet on this .

Are you kidding me , after pulling out this years class and having 2 recruits go elsewhere this is how you think ?

Whats next fire them before they even coach 1 Illini game ?

Give the guys a chance to build the Illini back to where we can get the respect again.
 
#465      

jmilt7

J
Waukegan
jmilt7
winthiscentury said:
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.
Click to expand...

Good points but there has to be more to it. How did we get Mark Smith? How did LSU get such a good recruiting class for next year?
 
#466      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
The recruiting season didn't end until April of last year when we landed 4 very good recruits. So I'm sure we will get some grad student bigs, transfer, and new 2018 that make the radar.


Recruiting will be much better when we play and win. Illinois has never been a big draw to out of state talent. BU is looking nationally and we will lose more than we land when we go out of state. 2018 isn't a deep class, some will argue that Ayo and THT are the only top 100 players. In the past we would really of pursued Ayo, THT, Conditt, Griffith and Finke. Historically land 2-3 of those type of instate players and we would be satisfied. That formula worked better when we landed the MCAA/Mr. BB type player but gave us borderline NCAA tourney results when we don't.
 
#468      

Deleted member 236589

D
Guest
Deleted member 236589
ChiefIllini said:
As do Brian Cook and Luther Head and perhaps Frank Williams?
Click to expand...



Ok, let me revise this.....


I did forget about Meyers Leonard. However, Let's go with a player drafted in the first round that any of these recruits could feasibly remember.


1)Williams has had a long, established NBA career.
2)In the case of Cook, most of these kids were probably four years old when he was drafted.
3)In the case of Williams and Head, they were probably six years old.
4)In the case of Meyers Leonard, they were probably 13 when he was drafted. However, he is still in the NBA and visible on TV.


We're not talking about 30, 40, 50 year old fans who remember these years fondly. We're talking about 16, 17 and 18 year old kids, many from out of state. They couldn't care less about Luther Head, Brian Cook and Frank Williams as they were in Kindergarten trying to color within the lines.
 
#469      

Deleted member 236589

D
Guest
Deleted member 236589
SescIllini said:
The recruiting season didn't end until April of last year when we landed 4 very good recruits. So I'm sure we will get some grad student bigs, transfer, and new 2018 that make the radar.

"Recruiting will be much better when we play and win."
Click to expand...


I agree 100%
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#471      

Captain Bubbles

Captain Bubbles
Fairfield, IL
Captain Bubbles
Underwood will get his players. He and the staff will not land every recruit that surfaces. I'm sure it's not easy when the coaches have practice with their players, flying/traveling to that recruit's home and/or gym, and juggling their personal family life on top of that. These guys put in countless hours and countless miles in, more than you do. Try being in their shoes for a day, you'll be surprised how much work goes into it.

Patience people. It will pay off. Let Underwood and his staff do their thing. This is when they're super busy. Recruiting is a focus of theirs now, but so is preparing for the upcoming season. November is a crucial month.
 
#472      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
Love people on here ripping the coaching staff for not getting more commits only being in on these guys for 6 months. Connections don't happen over night.
 
#474      

FollowTisdale

F
FollowTisdale
Kajagoogoo said:
This Illini staff is getting paid way too much to keep whiffing like this on the recruiting front. :tsk:
Click to expand...

The roller coaster some people put themselves through (voluntarily) is hilarious.

1.5 months ago - Who is Colin Castleton?
1 month ago - Oh, Colin Castleton is definitely going to Florida
2 weeks ago - Colin Castleton is ours!
Today - THIS STAFF IS AN OVERPAID FAILURE BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LAND THIS KID I DIDN'T KNOW IN JULY

The only whiff that will matter is Ayo, and even that statement has some caveats (landing THT, Nolley and somebody else not named Ayo is still a very, very good class, etc.). Any class that includes Ayo is a win and above expectations, so no need to worry until he says otherwise.

If you're ready to jump off the Underwood train, wait until at least April, because that's when we got big recruits last year.
 
#475      

IlliniMed

I
Lillington, N.C.
IlliniMed
My biggest dream is that Illinois will be in a position one of these days to just pound on these teams that recruits have left us for. Thats all I ask for pwetty pwees
 
Status
Not open for further replies.