Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (September 2016)

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#476      
618 Illini
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but could U of I engineering program having a highly regarded reputation come into play for Wilkes recruitment? I know this is a bit of a stretch but if Wilkes is a good kid that truly values his education I like the added bonus for us.

Although it was in an old article from 2015, Wilkes mentioned his desire to go to a good school with an engineering program. I would have to think we are a "blue blood" in the engineering world of recruiting and will take any edge(albeit nerdy edge) we can get.

Just trying to gather as many positive reasons for Wilkes to commit as possible :)
 
#477      
zpfled
Obelix said:
Recruiting is a business about relationships and there are many reasons why recruits and coaches say things to preserve image and goodwill, not only for themselves but also the other party. No different than when schools allow recruits to say they have "offers" when in many cases they are not committable, or schools telling recruits to say they are not considering their school anymore, when in reality they let recruits know they have gone another direction, or coaches dropping their name from consideration for job openings right before announcement. It happens all the time for both recruits and schools.

Coaches (and recruits) are not naive. They most often know their chances. And it is not lack of integrity either. Just because a recruit schedules a visit, does not mean every schools getting a visit has the same chances. Scruggs and Wilkes are examples of that. It does not mean that their visit (or planned visit) was not genuine. But that does not imply equal chances either.

Other than the coaches and recruits (and/or family) nobody really knows the exact communication during the course of their recruitment. But it was no secret that Scruggs (and Wilkes) were longshots. Groce is not naive. The most likely scenario is not that Illinois preferred someone else over Scruggs and said "no thanks.". But they did not want to take the chance of waiting for someone who was considered a long shot instead of getting a very good player (but lower ranked) with a guaranteed commitment.

I am sure Scruggs lost no sleep and shed no tears, and his family handled it perfectly. But it does not mean that is was a "preference" decision with everything else being equal, despite the respectful statement by the family. JMO.
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I think you're agreeing with me, right? Illinois said 'no' to Scruggs, not the other way around (even though chances are very high that Scruggs was EVENTUALLY going to say no to Illinois).
 
#478      
mhuml32
618 Illini said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but could U of I engineering program having a highly regarded reputation come into play for Wilkes recruitment? I know this is a bit of a stretch but if Wilkes is a good kid that truly values his education I like the added bonus for us.

Although it was in an old article from 2015, Wilkes mentioned his desire to go to a good school with an engineering program. I would have to think we are a "blue blood" in the engineering world of recruiting and will take any edge(albeit nerdy edge) we can get.

Just trying to gather as many positive reasons for Wilkes to commit as possible :)
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I know we talk about this when SAs mention an interest in engineering, but I think the sway of having a top-notch engineering program is minimal. Rarely do high school bball prospects understand the difference between engineering programs across the country and, even if they did, are likely going to weigh their decision heavily on the coaching staff and basketball-related topics.
 
#480      
WesterveltVictoryCigar
618 Illini said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but could U of I engineering program having a highly regarded reputation come into play for Wilkes recruitment? I know this is a bit of a stretch but if Wilkes is a good kid that truly values his education I like the added bonus for us.

Although it was in an old article from 2015, Wilkes mentioned his desire to go to a good school with an engineering program. I would have to think we are a "blue blood" in the engineering world of recruiting and will take any edge(albeit nerdy edge) we can get.

Just trying to gather as many positive reasons for Wilkes to commit as possible :)
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Probably just as much as our architecture program helped us with Corey Maggette. :)
 
#481      
coryfor3
618 Illini said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but could U of I engineering program having a highly regarded reputation come into play for Wilkes recruitment? I know this is a bit of a stretch but if Wilkes is a good kid that truly values his education I like the added bonus for us.

Although it was in an old article from 2015, Wilkes mentioned his desire to go to a good school with an engineering program. I would have to think we are a "blue blood" in the engineering world of recruiting and will take any edge(albeit nerdy edge) we can get.

Just trying to gather as many positive reasons for Wilkes to commit as possible :)
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All of that doesn't matter at the Big 10 level unfortunately. A guy like Wilkes isn't looking to be around for 4 years to get an engineering degree. And there is only so much time in a day for practice and other obligations and attending classes. At the recruit stage, guys say that stuff about having a strong program for whatever discipline. Then they all end up majoring in about the stuff...for a reason. Majors where the class times, work load, etc. are compatible with playing a revenue sport in a Power 5 conference. Oddly enough, engineering majors are few and far between on the basketball team. I recall Brian Johnson being an engineering major and a good student. But also was a walk-on. I'm pretty sure just about everyone is a communications major with a couple exceptions. Back when I went to UIUC, most of the team as majoring in speech communications specifically.
 
#487      
Obelix
zpfled said:
I think you're agreeing with me, right? Illinois said 'no' to Scruggs, not the other way around (even though chances are very high that Scruggs was EVENTUALLY going to say no to Illinois).
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They did not say "no thanks," that implies more preference and choice.

I think the most likely scenario was that Scruggs and family were pretty transparent throughout the recruitment in letting Illinois know were they stand, without leading them to false expectations. At the same time, Illinois was likely pretty open in their communications with Scruggs and family in that they had a good chance to get a commitment from Frazier (the whole world pretty much knew that Frazier was likely to commit on his visit) and Scruggs did not object. I do not think the Frazier commitment caught anyone by surprise, including the Scruggs family.
 
#493      
coltjames03
How many scholarships does Indiana have for 17? Seems like they have a shot with 5* Preston. Say Preston and Smith commit do they have room for 3? I know he will probably crean some guys but without doing that do they even have the scholarships for them
 
#495      
zpfled
Obelix said:
They did not say "no thanks," that implies more preference and choice.

I think the most likely scenario was that Scruggs and family were pretty transparent throughout the recruitment in letting Illinois know were they stand, without leading them to false expectations. At the same time, Illinois was likely pretty open in their communications with Scruggs and family in that they had a good chance to get a commitment from Frazier (the whole world pretty much knew that Frazier was likely to commit on his visit) and Scruggs did not object. I do not think the Frazier commitment caught anyone by surprise, including the Scruggs family.
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I guess I'm assuming that getting Scruggs AND Frazier was an impossibility (probably because Scruggs and/or Frazier thought the backcourt in Illinois' 2017 would be too crowded*)

The bottom line, I think, is that Frazier && Scruggs was not going to happen, and Illinois took Frazier, thus de facto eliminating Scruggs from the equation. Scruggs was going to take an official visit, then it was cancelled after a "difficult conversation, but a good one" according to the Indy Star. According to the Champaign Room, Illinois cancelled the visit rather than Scruggs cancelling the visit.

I read this as Illinois quitting a (probably doomed anyway) recruitment as a show of faith to Trent Frazier. Illinois had basically nothing to lose, because Scruggs was probably not coming here and we already have one and a half PGs in the 2017 class anyway (counting Williams as a 1/2 PG).

Illinois preferred and chose the commitment of Frazier over the slim chance of a commitment from Scruggs. They weren't saying 'no thanks' to Scruggs, IMO, they were saying 'no thanks' to being eventually told 'no thanks' by Scruggs...and they freed up time and resources to recruit players at positions of need by doing so.

I don't know, obviously. I'm just trying to explain a cancelled visit, especially when reports say it was the school that cancelled the visit.

* and I'm guessing it would more likely be Frazier than Scruggs to think that things would be too crowded, because why would an elite talent like Scruggs be concerned about that?

EDIT: I'm pretty sure we're not arguing at all, and if we are, it's over word choice:)
 
#496      
Newman
OWWDig said:
Don't feel bad for him...I've been preparing him for this for quite some time. Even before I told everyone JS's final four a few days ago. :D

And no, I'm not being a negative fan. I wish as much as TC that this wasn't the case. Alas, here we are. I was just passing along the info I knew.
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Your information might have come from credible sources, but let's be real, Justin Smith not seriously considering Illinois could have been predicted correctly by even the donut bros.
 
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#497      
7yearillini
bobbob said:
I agree, I think a lot of people on this board read way more into that quote than reasonably should have been. I don't know where everyone got the idea that Groce had to say "you are not welcome here". I think it was just a frank and open discussion about what Scruggs was looking for, what the Illini had to offer, and how that under the newest circumstances Illinois was not going to be the best fit for him. Groce didn't dump him, they discussed the relationship and decided to just be friends.
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I believe Scruggs said something like he wasn't deciding any time soon; JG said well you understand I have to take a commitment from Frazier if he's ready; Scruggs said I understand but I won't be interested if you do; and JG said I get it, but I can't turn him down if you're not onboard yet.

At bottom, I believe said do what you have to do, but if you accept his comitment, do so knowing I'm out.

That's my belief of what the "difficult conversation" was in words or substance. I have less than zero inside info. Just my belief. I think most disagree because self-awareness is not our fanbase's strength.
 
#500      
TCTORNADO
miketherevelator said:
And now it's a Mich St run, including Meyer, for J Jackson. Purdue boards are probably imploding. I'm wondering when Bowen is going to commit. For a guy who's been considered a lock for Izzo all summer, he's taking his time.
http://247sports.com/PlayerInstitut...umiere-School-180950/CurrentExpertPredictions
http://247sports.com/PlayerInstitut...umiere-School-156190/CurrentExpertPredictions
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Alford was into see Bowen yesterday, so Tugs to UCLA is not out of the question. If that is the case than that would have some effect on UCLA and Wilkes.
 
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