Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (Week of July 5th, 2021)

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#726      

the juiceman cometh

T
the juiceman cometh
mycitymytime said:
I don’t know. That is tough. Is it ”not even close?”
I think you have to think of the relative position of the program at the time and the team that is left. IMO, that loss set the program back for 5 years. Maybe Kofi leaving would do the same, but not so sure about that. I think we have a pretty good team and some solid recruits coming in. We need a big, yes, but….worth some discussion.
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Yeah, it was a tough time, but in hindsight it's not even clear to me Alexander and Snider would have changed that. Alexander didn't even play a full season for KU, and Snider was good for Louisville, but I don't believe he ever achieved all-conference honors, much less All-American honors like Kofi already has. We would have been better with Snider, maybe even made a tournament, but I'm not sure it would have been a ton better, and fairly certain he wouldn't have led us to the heights that Kofi could by returning.
 
#727      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
the juiceman cometh said:
Fair, but if you could pick either junior Kofi or freshmen Cliff Alexander and Quentin Snider on your team, which are you taking? I'm taking Kofi all day, every day, and it's not even close.
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I 100% agree with you if the question is simply which would you rather have, but if the question is which was (would be) more depressing, would you still say Kofi leaving? Up until 2-3 weeks ago, I would say that 98% of us would've guessed that Kofi would not be on the team this fall, so while his leaving would be depressing, our expectations were already set that he wouldn't be here (I know I personally have felt surprisingly ambivalent about this saga -- relative to the WTF that was the Miller transfer -- b/c I already didn't think he'd be back) Had he withdrawn from the draft and then entered the portal, I think this would be way worse -- momentary euphoria followed by a huge letdown.

We're also in a very different position than we were in the fall of 2013. There was very little to be optimistic about after Cliffmas other than a vague belief in Groce's charisma and coaching ability. While it would be upsetting to see an Illini legend wearing a different college uniform, we'll be a very good B1G team next year either way and are well positioned for the future.
 
#728      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
sacraig said:
Were you even around for Cliffmas or IDKWTI? Those were complete curve balls involving lying liars. This is not the same level of nut punch (though still obviously a nut punch).
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Everything is fine..............goodnight....................................................
 
#729      

LongLiveTheChief

L
LongLiveTheChief
TheFameProtector said:
I 100% agree with you if the question is simply which would you rather have, but if the question is which was (would be) more depressing, would you still say Kofi leaving? Up until 2-3 weeks ago, I would say that 98% of us would've guessed that Kofi would not be on the team this fall, so while his leaving would be depressing, our expectations were already set that he wouldn't be here (I know I personally have felt surprisingly ambivalent about this saga -- relative to the WTF that was the Miller transfer -- b/c I already didn't think he'd be back) Had he withdrawn from the draft and then entered the portal, I think this would be way worse -- momentary euphoria followed by a huge letdown.

We're also in a very different position than we were in the fall of 2013. There was very little to be optimistic about after Cliffmas other than a vague belief in Groce's charisma and coaching ability. While it would be upsetting to see an Illini legend wearing a different college uniform, we'll be a very good B1G team next year either way and are well positioned for the future.
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I do think time can quickly change that. If we collapse, then Kofi leaving would become a massively bad moment. But in the moment it won’t hurt as much
 
#730      

dwpittman

D
dwpittman
217sports said:
Epps would be a huge get. One of the top scoring guards in the class. The ball would be in his hands from day 1 (Assuming Belo is gone)
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I've seen a lot of posts about Curbelo going pro after this year or next. Is there anyone else that isn't so sure Curbelo won't be a 4-year player? He wasn't even a starter as a freshman, and hasn't shown a consistent 3-point shot yet. I agree he has potential should he start burying the deep shot, but folks have to remember that Ayo might not even be a first rounder.
 
#732      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
dwpittman said:
I've seen a lot of posts about Curbelo going pro after this year or next. Is there anyone else that isn't so sure Curbelo won't be a 4-year player? He wasn't even a starter as a freshman, and hasn't shown a consistent 3-point shot yet. I agree he has potential should he start burying the deep shot, but folks have to remember that Ayo might not even be a first rounder.
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Curbelo is magic. All he needs is to hit his outside shot. If he does, one very lucky team is gonna make him a multi-millionaire.
 
#750      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
If there was any doubt about our desire to land Epps, it's been put to rest.

I haven't watched many of his clips. Know he's a great scorer. Listed as a CG, but am assuming he'll take the keys, no?
 
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