Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (October 2017)

[bombayIllini]

THT and the Fin are the best case scenario. Especially the Fin.

IMHO.

Fret not.

 

[Deleted member 10676]

This sucks. I have a feeling if we hadn't landed Mark Smith, this board would be in complete meltdown mode in response to our current misses. I do think this year will be a successful year for our current team and that we can use that success and the system to get great recruits in the future. But to same I'm concerned about this current recruiting class is an understatement. Nolley was definitely a priority. Not even making his final 2 is almost as bad as being a bridesmaid.

Well, we weren't in Conditt's final 2 either. Don't know if that makes anybody feel better or worse.
https://www.prephoops.com/2017/10/george-conditt-iowa-state/

When did he make his final call?

“It was last minute. I had two edits set up. The other was New Mexico.”

 

[Deleted member 236589]

Yep, he sounds like a really good prospect. Would be a very good get.

Now, I have no idea why Illinois and ASU are his schools. Maybe he didn't get a lot of looks by other schools, but these two really made an impression? Clearly geography has nothing to do with it.

On the surface, I'd say yes.....we should stand a good chance against ASU. We clearly have a better program and more to offer in basketball. But who knows. Has Bobby Hurley been on him for a while?

Clearly better? I thought that we were "clearly better" than Virginia Tech and Georgia. The recruit didn't think so.


I never thought that we'd lose two in-state recruits, possibly 3(THT) to Iowa State.


Just as well be open and honest about the current state of the program. These kids see us as a bottom tier Big Ten team, which is exactly what we've been for more than a handful of years. 17-18 year olds paid no attention to our good teams in the early/mid 2000's. They were either not born or were four or five.


Need to get past the viewpoint that we're considered anything more than mediocre....until the product is no longer mediocre and below average.


ASU and Illinois....as it currently stands.....are on level playing fields.

 

[Obelix]

Yep. O'brien told us, Henricksen told us, Werner told us, Piper told us, Crystal Ball told us, his comments yesterday told us, and the fact that he was announcing while at Georgia told us.

No offense to Werner and Piper because they are getting paid to do a job (sell subscriptions to promote Illini recruiting) and I do not pay for their premium, just often listen to them on radio (and their free stuff). But they are often quick with the positive (it helps sell subscriptions), holding their cards for too long, and way late with negative stuff, which by the time the report it, it is well known and too obvious. Same happened with Castleton, and especially with Nolley. They seemed way behind the curve. JMO.

 

[robjilla]

Obviously I could be all wrong, but an early Ayo commitment has always seemed like it would have/could have made a huge difference in how all this played out.

Nope you are right. There are exceptions, but players want to play with other great players. Just need someone to get the ball rolling. He would have been the big fish.

 

[Deleted member 186590]

Not even close.

But I agree it's been demoralizing. We've missed on a series of fringe top-100 players with good fit, that seemed potentially undervalued.

Fair point, I'm sure I'm reflecting recency bias, but it sure seems like the rapid fire losses is unusual. Particularly, to your point, it's not like we were shooting for the moon and some kid picked Duke over us. These were supposed to be "get able" recruits.

 

[Jack Ingram Ball Screen]

Clearly better? I thought that we were "clearly better" than Virginia Tech and Georgia. The recruit didn't think so.


I never thought that we'd lose two in-state recruits, possibly 3(THT) to Iowa State.


Just as well be open and honest about the current state of the program. These kids see us as a bottom tier Big Ten team, which is exactly what we've been for more than a handful of years. 17-18 year olds paid no attention to our good teams in the early/mid 2000's. They were either not born or were four or five.


Need to get past the viewpoint that we're considered anything more than mediocre....until the product is no longer mediocre and below average.


ASU and Illinois....as it currently stands.....are on level playing fields.

We are the top party school.

 

[Deleted member 10676]

No offense to Werner and Piper because they are getting paid to do a job (sell subscriptions to promote Illini recruiting) and I do not pay for their premium, just often listen to them on radio (and their free stuff). But they are often quick with the positive (it helps sell subscriptions), holding their cards for too long, and way late with negative stuff, which by the time the report it, it is well known and too obvious. Same happened with Castleton, and especially with Nolley. They seemed way behind the curve. JMO.

I do pay for it -- but won't when my year is up -- but you are 100 percent correct. Definitely especially with Nolley.

 

[NBB1979]

Of all the Euros we were after I liked Valtonen the most, and said as much way back when his name first came up. An article stated if they ranked Euro players he'd be in the Top 50 to 75 range. That's around where Noley is, too, correct? He's between Arizona State and us, and he's visiting both, with Illinois getting the last visit. He'd be one heck of a "consolation" prize. I like our chances.

i felt the same and I hope you are correct :thumb:

 

[FC Illiniman]

Ah, well. Let's go get the next one.

Good luck, LN. Unfollow, move to next targets .:thumb
He stayed south, too cold for him.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

No offense to Werner and Piper because they are getting paid to do a job (sell subscriptions to promote Illini recruiting) and I do not pay for their premium, just often listen to them on radio (and their free stuff). But they are often quick with the positive (it helps sell subscriptions), holding their cards for too long, and way late with negative stuff, which by the time the report it, it is well known and too obvious. Same happened with Castleton, and especially with Nolley. They seemed way behind the curve. JMO.

Yeah, glad you said it. The Illinois-affiliated guys definitely did not tell us. Just the opposite, really.

 

[Thor015]

Man...What would we be saying if Henson never came and coached here??

 

[TownieMatt]

Good luck, LN. Unfollow, move to next targets .:thumb:

That's exactly what I do. And I've been doing that a lot lately.

 

[Deleted member 631370]

Clearly better? I thought that we were "clearly better" than Virginia Tech and Georgia. The recruit didn't think so.


I never thought that we'd lose two in-state recruits, possibly 3(THT) to Iowa State.


Just as well be open and honest about the current state of the program. These kids see us as a bottom tier Big Ten team, which is exactly what we've been for more than a handful of years. 17-18 year olds paid no attention to our good teams in the early/mid 2000's. They were either not born or were four or five.


Need to get past the viewpoint that we're considered anything more than mediocre....until the product is no longer mediocre and below average.


ASU and Illinois....as it currently stands.....are on level playing fields.

Well, VA Tech and Iowa State are pretty good. Buzz Williams is a legitimately strong recruiter and has a long track record of high-major success. Iowa State has been better than us for years.

Arizona State, in contrast, has been bad for a while. Worse than us -- by quite a wide margin.

But yes, kids don't commit solely based on which school is better. They commit based on a range of factors to include relationship with the staff, playing time, location, family pressures, etc.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

It begins:

@JWernerScout:. @joehoopsreport: Ayo Dosunmu is under extreme pressure with his recruitment to go to Illinois. Wake Forest has done great job.

Do you want me to save you guys a month of your time? Here, I'm quoting from November 2017:

Well this one is certainly tough to take. The staff did everything they could - were in early, made him a priority, had Chin leading the way; but ultimately Ayo didn't want to be a one-man class and when the momentum to Illinois cooled Wake just felt like home

 

[drewillini89]

Bring on Valtonen!

 

[americanoutlaw11]

Who is he under extreme pressure from?

 

[Dvick217]

Who is he under extreme pressure from?

That Joey guy !! Lol

 

[winorlosewestillbooze]

Well this one is certainly tough to take. The staff did everything they could - were in early, made him a priority, had Chin leading the way; but ultimately Ayo didn't want to be a one-man class and when the momentum to Illinois cooled Wake just felt like home

I missed the November 2017 part of this and it was so believable that I thought it was real.

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

Welp, sucks to suck.

Yep.

 

[Deleted member 10676]

It begins:



Do you want me to save you guys a month of your time? Here, I'm quoting from November 2017:

And don't forget this one.

Jeremy Werner‏Verified account @JWernerScout 1h1 hour ago

. @joehoopsreport: Iowa State "front and center" with Talen Horton-Tucker. Always felt like they had a slight edge.

 

[drewillini89]

It's rough to say, but Illinois is no longer an elite program. We haven't been for some time now. We need to start winning again before we'll get recruits consistently.

 

[bigruss22]

It's rough to say, but Illinois is no longer an elite program. We haven't been for some time now. We need to start winning again before we'll get recruits consistently.

People keep saying this, but schools CAN recruit really well without winning first. Examples: Missouri (ouch), LSU

Fact is, this staff has been a disappointment on the recruiting front. The Mark Smith win was big, but the 2018 class has been rough (thus far). They have a chance to come out with a good class still but they really can't afford to lose Ayo now.

Winning should help with recruiting in the future, but let's stop pretending that it's a necessity when others don't need it.

 

[Obelix]

It's rough to say, but Illinois is no longer an elite program. We haven't been for some time now. We need to start winning again before we'll get recruits consistently.

The problem with this statement is that it assumes that "recruiting" is dependent on "winning," whereas "winning" is independent of "recruiting." Winning, and winning consistently, definitely helps a lot, but good recruiters should be able to get better recruiting results than the program deserves at its current state.

 

[KrushCow31]

I mean people need to realize we aren't really a destination school in the Big Ten let alone the nation.

We haven't made the tournament since 2012-2013.

Every team in the B1G has made it to the NCAAs in that time except Illinois, Penn State, and Rutgers. Not exactly good company to be in.

We've produced 1 draft pick in this decade, unrelated to our coach.

Out coach has produced 1 NBA 2nd round draft pick, who he coached for his final season.

Our coach (innocent or not) is recently tied to the FBI investigation and I guarantee other coaches are using that against us.

Our coach is still unproven in Power 5 regardless of his good turn around last year at OSU after the bad start.

I love Illinois. I think Underwood will bring us back to prominence. But I am also biased. Look at us from an outside viewpoint. A good season this year will go a long way with recruiting, but we have work to do to earn that respectful destination title back.