Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (September 2016)

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#952      
OldGreg
Pretty strange this whole J. Smith thing. I know Clappy has had some pretty legitimate success recently but I feel like a true blue blood coach to match the school's history never would have let Scruggs or Wilkes even think about another school.
 
#953      
blackdog
jrichisamazing said:
Uh yeah. Smith isn't a guy every coach will make room for like Wilkes. He's a good player but he's not on Wilkes' level. Many coaches slow play guys like Justin Smith. Groce will probably have to slow play guys like Justin Smith next year because we don't have much space.
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Nobody slow plays 4 star top 100 talent unless you are Kentucky or Duke.
 
#954      
Obelix
blackdog said:
Nobody slow plays 4 star top 100 talent unless you are Kentucky or Duke.
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Exactly, especially if this player is willing to commit despite existing talent on the team.

The surprising thing is not Crean, or Groce, or whoever at that level, be willing to have both Wilkes and Smith on the same team. Of course they would. The surprising thing, if that scenario materializes, is that Smith would be willing to commit to the same school as Wilkes (and vice versa).
 
#955      
SescIllini
I think IU just like Illinois has had recent struggles keeping in-state players at the flagship school. Unlike Illinois, IU has 3 other top tier programs to contend for in-state talent ( Purdue, Notre Dame, and Butler) and still has to fend off the Dukes, UNC, MSU, and Kentucky.

That being said, Indiana has been producing a lot of talent the last 10 years. Crean has gotten some and added out of state recruits. Kind of what Groce is doing, and his coaching is not that bad.

But even IU fans will admit that he is perceived as having a personality quark. I've heard it been said by IU fans that players come to play for IU in spite of Crean. Not saying that Wilkes will not attend IU but his recent comments along with the addition of Smith in this class it doesn't appear so.
 
#959      
Illiniguy13
I'm not fond of clappy or his creaning, but I will give credit where credit is due. Crean does a great job developing his players & Smith will probably fall in line nicely. His pro prospects go up with Crean quite a bit IMO.
 
#960      
fan17
Saturday, Feb 4th at O' Fallon shootout will be littered with committed illini and top 3 targets for 2018. Williams and Pickett will battle eac other. Finke in action. Top 3 2018 targets go against each other as Morgan park plays Webster groves. See the illini have a 3 pm game at home that day. Can groce be there for the 7:15 tip of Webster-Morgan park game? The state police should bring him or get a helicopter and land on the ofallon football field. I guarantee the little rat to the west is cooking up something. By the why althoff plays Evanston at 8:45.
 
#961      
Obelix
combes said:
Smith is #105.
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Oh c'mon, combes. You pick the lowest ranking from all the major services you can find when all other services including 247, scout, espn, rsci, etc. have him listed higher and in their top-100.
 
#962      
Joel Goodson
fan17 said:
Saturday, Feb 4th at O' Fallon shootout will be littered with committed illini and top 3 targets for 2018. Williams and Pickett will battle eac other. Finke in action. Top 3 2018 targets go against each other as Morgan park plays Webster groves. See the illini have a 3 pm game at home that day. Can groce be there for the 7:15 tip of Webster-Morgan park game? The state police should bring him or get a helicopter and land on the ofallon football field. I guarantee the little rat to the west is cooking up something. By the why althoff plays Evanston at 8:45.
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Come hell or high water (great flick, BTW), Groce will be there.
 
#963      
SescIllini
I'm sure Groce will be at the event, it seems like we have some recruiting momentum and his name is getting out there. Who is the "rat" to the west (Kansas?)
 
#966      
combes
Obelix said:
Oh c'mon, combes. You pick the lowest ranking from all the major services you can find when all other services including 247, scout, espn, rsci, etc. have him listed higher and in their top-100.
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Yeah, I admit to not researching it much. I have a Rivals subscription and used the one at my fingertips. He is a good player. I have seen him a number of times. He did not wow me, but I am sure he will hurt us at some point.
 
#969      
Obelix
combes said:
Yeah, I admit to not researching it much. I have a Rivals subscription and used the one at my fingertips. He is a good player. I have seen him a number of times. He did not wow me, but I am sure he will hurt us at some point.
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I agree, I have also watched him in a few games. Pretty athletic, good player, fairly high ceiling but (so far) not a difference maker "wow" kind of player. He needs to work on his consistency, so much will depend on his rate of improvement and desire to improve. The SG/SF positions are the most difficult IMO to differentiate.
 
#970      
Joel Goodson
If Wilkes commits, JGood did us an enormous favor (in hindsight, obviously). Not that he was looking to do us a solid, but very ironic if it comes to fruition.

Some parallels between Wilkes' & JCL's recruitments: excellent students, strong family guidance, relatively quiet recruitments. Think Groce is the strong leader in the sincerity department. Really thinking we have more than a puncher's chance here.
 
#971      
coryfor3
Joel Goodson said:
If Wilkes commits, JGood did us an enormous favor (in hindsight, obviously). Not that he was looking to do us a solid, but very ironic if it comes to fruition.

Some parallels between Wilkes' & JCL's recruitments: excellent students, strong family guidance, relatively quiet recruitments. Think Groce is the strong leader in the sincerity department. Really thinking we have more than a puncher's chance here.
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I like optimism. Unfortunately we see this with so many recruits. We reach the stage of hopefulness in a recruitment where we have a "puncher's chance". Of course there is at least some chance- he's visited, the staff is spending time on the recruitment, he narrowed his favorites to include Illinois. It will turn out however he chooses. Sadly, a puncher's chance is also a chance for a nut punch.
 
#972      
IllinoisFan733
coryfor3 said:
I like optimism. Unfortunately we see this with so many recruits. We reach the stage of hopefulness in a recruitment where we have a "puncher's chance". Of course there is at least some chance- he's visited, the staff is spending time on the recruitment, he narrowed his favorites to include Illinois. It will turn out however he chooses. Sadly, a puncher's chance is also a chance for a nut punch.
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Now that Justin Smith has committed to Indiana, can somebody provide a quick recap on IU's 2017 scholarship situation? TIA.
 
#973      
Newman
IllinoisFan733 said:
Now that Justin Smith has committed to Indiana, can somebody provide a quick recap on IU's 2017 scholarship situation? TIA.
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The situation is that they have have anywhere from 2-3 scholarships opening up depending on how individuals perform this season. If they decided to stay, necessary creaning will take place. They will take Wilkes if he wants to be a Hoosier. Sure, Smith committed, but if there's room for another wing at Illinois, there's certainly room for a 5 star wing at Indiana.
 
#975      
Combo
IllinoisFan733 said:
Now that Justin Smith has committed to Indiana, can somebody provide a quick recap on IU's 2017 scholarship situation? TIA.
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Scholarship situations don't matter much (and this is doubly so with Crean) when dealing with a prospect at Wilkes' level.

All coaches recruit as if rides will open up (because they virtually always do). You can't wait until the schollie actually does open up to start recruiting. At that point, it's likely too late.
 
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