Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (Week of April 12th, 2021)

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#1,001      
Why are insiders continuing to push that Kofi is more likely to return than to leave? That just seems opposite of common sense. He hasn't even officially declared yet. I'm sure that will happen shortly. He declared last year as an extremely raw player, and was probably 50/50 or worse on returning. This year he showed polish and flashed a big man game rarely seen at the college level. I think its like 90/10 he's gone. That doesn't mean 1st round NBA grade, just means he'd go play professionally somewhere if he goes undrafted. He turns 22 this year, is a powerful inside force that isn't miraculously going to change into a stretch 5, and his best friend, roommate, fellow international player is not returning.

Wishful thinking perhaps? I agree with you that he's most likely gone. I can make some arguments that he might benefit from staying, but my opinion is irrelevant.

OTOH, maybe he sees how much money Ayo made by staying another year. Still, once most kids get it in their head to leave, they leave.
 
#1,003      

Deleted member 747671

D
Guest
Question for anyone, but maybe more so the "insiders," if you had to bet something more valuable than a Loyalty beach house (I know, what could possibly be more valuable than a Loyalty beach house?) what would happen first? A re-commitment from Adam Miller or a commitment from a transfer guard?

I am of the belief that this is an either/or situation, so if a transfer guard commits, no more pursuing Miller, and vise versa. I also think this will happen sooner rather than later.
 
#1,004      
Question for anyone, but maybe more so the "insiders," if you had to bet something more valuable than a Loyalty beach house (I know, what could possibly be more valuable than a Loyalty beach house?) what would happen first? A re-commitment from Adam Miller or a commitment from a transfer guard?

I am of the belief that this is an either/or situation, so if a transfer guard commits, no more pursuing Miller, and vise versa. I also think this will happen sooner rather than later.
I will bet my 1984 model Ping Eyez 2 irons (SW - 3) that he does not come back! I am only an insider rom 730 until 4 however, I spend the majority of my time outside after that.
 
#1,007      

RedRocksIllini

Morrison, CO
Question for anyone, but maybe more so the "insiders," if you had to bet something more valuable than a Loyalty beach house (I know, what could possibly be more valuable than a Loyalty beach house?) what would happen first? A re-commitment from Adam Miller or a commitment from a transfer guard?

I am of the belief that this is an either/or situation, so if a transfer guard commits, no more pursuing Miller, and vise versa. I also think this will happen sooner rather than later.
Schrodinger notwithstanding, is it possible to be both an insider and someone who wagers more than a beach house?
 
#1,008      

Deleted member 747671

D
Guest
Schrodinger notwithstanding, is it possible to be both an insider and someone who wagers more than a beach house?
I am under the impression everyone here has as many beach houses as they want at any time. It's Loyalty's Monopoly money.
 
#1,010      
I continue to be more comfortable with taking Plummer and letting AceWolf walk the more I think about it.

I think if Plummer can give you 80% of what you were hoping from Ace, you jump on him. If you were hoping for 15 from Ace (quite the jump), I think Plummer can easily give you 12. He got over 13 last year playing in the PAC-12. 12 drama free points >15 points +drama and headaches IMO.

The biggest issue is defense, adding a third smaller guard. But if we only have 2 out of AC, AP and TF on the floor at the 1-2 and then some combination of Hutch/Grandison/DMW(hopefully)/Coleman/one of the freshmen at the 3-4 I think that can work. Plummer only has one year of eligibility so he is a stopgap and provides you with some competence while the Freshmen get their feet wet. Then you go into the following year with 3 sophomores and 2 freshmen at wing, none smaller than 6’4.

Plummer looks to be a better shooter, and if he’s drama free that more than makes up for anything you give up on defense IMO.

Lets get Plummer and, if anyone else leaves, scoop up Ntambwe and I think we are in good shape!
I’m not convinced there will be any real “drama” if AM comes back. I don’t remember hearing much about drama during this season. Sure there were some saying he looked disengaged at times on the bench, but I didn’t see it as more than a guy wanting to be in the fray rather than on the bench. And he looked engaged when on the floor against Loyola when he was one of the more effective players that day. If he comes back, it will happen only after much discussion and if BU and team are comfortable there won’t be drama during the upcoming season. So we can trust BU to identify players and build a culture, but not to maintain that culture? I trust that BU will make the right decision about taking Miller back if he indeed wants back in.

As to Plummer, I do worry about the impact a small backcourt will have on D. But the Illini could do worse offensively. Though I will point out the last 3-point sharp shooter from the Pac 12 the Illini took didn’t work out too well. 😛
 
#1,011      
I continue to be more comfortable with taking Plummer and letting AceWolf walk the more I think about it.

I think if Plummer can give you 80% of what you were hoping from Ace, you jump on him. If you were hoping for 15 from Ace (quite the jump), I think Plummer can easily give you 12. He got over 13 last year playing in the PAC-12. 12 drama free points >15 points +drama and headaches IMO.

The biggest issue is defense, adding a third smaller guard. But if we only have 2 out of AC, AP and TF on the floor at the 1-2 and then some combination of Hutch/Grandison/DMW(hopefully)/Coleman/one of the freshmen at the 3-4 I think that can work. Plummer only has one year of eligibility so he is a stopgap and provides you with some competence while the Freshmen get their feet wet. Then you go into the following year with 3 sophomores and 2 freshmen at wing, none smaller than 6’4.

Plummer looks to be a better shooter, and if he’s drama free that more than makes up for anything you give up on defense IMO.

Lets get Plummer and, if anyone else leaves, scoop up Ntambwe and I think we are in good shape!
Where is the “dislike” button? Ace assumed a supporting role on an objectively great team and made his mark on the defensive end. There are layers to his game that we barely got a glimpse of because we had, by acclamation, two of the best ten players in college basketball and one of the best freshman in college basketball taking significant spotlight away.

I’m of the mind you don’t give that type of effort on the defensive end if you have a bad attitude. I hope he comes home.
 
#1,012      
Where is the “unlike” button? Ace assumed a supporting role on an objectively great team and made his mark on the defensive end. There are layers to his game that we barely got a glimpse of because we had, by acclamation, two of the best ten players in college basketball and one of the best freshman in college basketball taking significant spotlight away.

I’m of the mind you don’t give that type of effort on the defensive end if you have a bad attitude. I hope he comes home.
I don't think that's true. Effort on the defensive end isn't a bulletproof sign that a player has a good attitude. Dennis Rodman is a great defensive player, but had off the court issues. I don't see the connection.

Disclaimer: I'm not claiming to know who is the source of the issues - whether it's Ace himself, his camp, or our staff
 
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#1,013      
Where is the “dislike” button? Ace assumed a supporting role on an objectively great team and made his mark on the defensive end. There are layers to his game that we barely got a glimpse of because we had, by acclamation, two of the best ten players in college basketball and one of the best freshman in college basketball taking significant spotlight away.

I’m of the mind you don’t give that type of effort on the defensive end if you have a bad attitude. I hope he comes home.
Ace may not be the source of the drama and headaches, but someone is clearly unhappy enough with role/usage/whatever to put his name in the transfer portal. Those thoughts on and expectations for role/usage likely won’t change next year.
 
#1,015      

Loyalillini10

Urbana, IL
I don't think that's true. Effort on the defensive end isn't a bulletproof sign that a player has a good attitude. Dennis Rodman is a great defensive player, but had off the court issues. I don't see the connection.
Sure. But this whole “bad attitude” notion is purely fan base conjecture. This is something that was started here and we have absolutely no idea if there is any merit to it; none. But it keeps getting repeated so many times that it has become reality to so many on this board. Ffs...
 
#1,016      
I would love to know the coaches true feelings on Adam Miller. Are they putting on a full court press to keep him, or telling him the facts and if he leaves it hurts a little, but overall they are okay with it? We have no idea what chemistry he brings to the team, only the coaches and fellow players know that.

I will say he played hard on defense, but seemed to become a spot up shooter. He has some big deficiencies to work on. He was soft driving to the hole and resorted to mid air pump fakes. Which is odd, because of is hard nosed defense. Did he receive a charging foul all year on offense? He doesn't have much of a right hand, either. Those things can be corrected with coaching and Adam's desire to be great.

I guess what I'm saying is...I trust the coaches to handle this and whatever the result turns out to be...I'll assume it's for the best of both parties! (and yes, I know what happens when you assume!)
 
#1,019      

The Galloping Ghost

Washington, DC
Sure. But this whole “bad attitude” notion is purely fan base conjecture. This is something that was started here and we have absolutely no idea if there is any merit to it; none. But it keeps getting repeated so many times that it has become reality to so many on this board. Ffs...
This is what's bugging the heck out of me. Someone points to one clip of Ace not celebrating and numerous posters run with it and say he has a bad attitude. First, it discounts the numerous videos of him both smiling and all jacked up (including pouring Gatorade on BU during a celebration). Second, there's no actual reporting confirming he was anything less than a standout teammate. If anything, the fact that we saw him embrace his rather unglamorous role on the court proves that he's a willing team player.

Humans are extremely complex. More often than not we don't know the full extent of why someone does something. Just let the process play out and we'll see what happens.
 
#1,020      

sacraig

The desert
I would love to know the coaches true feelings on Adam Miller. Are they putting on a full court press to keep him, or telling him the facts and if he leaves it hurts a little, but overall they are okay with it? We have no idea what chemistry he brings to the team, only the coaches and fellow players know that.

I will say he played hard on defense, but seemed to become a spot up shooter. He has some big deficiencies to work on. He was soft driving to the hole and resorted to mid air pump fakes. Which is odd, because of is hard nosed defense. Did he receive a charging foul all year on offense? He doesn't have much of a right hand, either. Those things can be corrected with coaching and Adam's desire to be great.

I guess what I'm saying is...I trust the coaches to handle this and whatever the result turns out to be...I'll assume it's for the best of both parties! (and yes, I know what happens when you assume!)

I think we need to once again remind ourselves he was a freshman. I'm not expecting any freshman not named Zion Williamson (or similar) to be a world beater and put a team on his back.
 
#1,022      

sacraig

The desert
Sure. But this whole “bad attitude” notion is purely fan base conjecture. This is something that was started here and we have absolutely no idea if there is any merit to it; none. But it keeps getting repeated so many times that it has become reality to so many on this board. Ffs...

Notably, several current players expressed surprise that he put his name in the portal. To me that indicates that the people on the team with him saw no indication he was unhappy here based on their interactions in the context of the season.
 
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#1,024      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
As to Plummer, I do worry about the impact a small backcourt will have on D. But the Illini could do worse offensively. Though I will point out the last 3-point sharp shooter from the Pac 12 the Illini took didn’t work out too well. 😛

Plummer >>> Starks

[ directed at everyone ] Just because we've had mostly poor results with transfers, doesn't mean new guys are destined for similar results. Independent variables something something and our staff knows what they're doing.
 
#1,025      
Just because we've had mostly poor results with transfers, doesn't mean new guys are destined for similar results. Independent variables something something and our staff knows what they're doing.
To be honest, I don't think we've had poor results with transfers?
Alstork & Adonis are the only ones who didn't pan out. Both of them were from our first 2 seasons. More roster fillers if anything. Adonis was also injured

Grandison, Feliz, and Hutch. We still haven't seen Hutch so I'll wait to judge, but I like our track record so far.
 
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