Epps probably has some Feliz like tendencies to his game (dog mentality, scrappy) but he is a FAR superior shooter. Kind of the best of both worlds. Feliz was a 27% 3 point shooter for reference and never created his own shot off the dribble (that wasn't bulldozing his way to the rim). Epps creates off the dribble and pulls up from ANYWHERE, a-la Edwards or Frank Mason
But can he play defense like Felix? If so great get!
That's a great question, guessing he definitely won't have the immediate defensive impact that Feliz has/had but you do occasionally see him rack up 5 or 6 steals in a game so assume he has active hands. Epps certainly excels over Feliz in shot creation/overall offensive ability but I'm sure the defense/rebounding will take some time. But mentality is a huge part of defense and rebounding and he is definitely not afraid of anyone or soft.
The following is the scouting report published on Epps by Jerry Meyer of 247. The last two sentences certainly trend that he can project as a solid rebounder and defender.
I mentioned this in a thread a while back but I am getting serious Matt Doherty vibes from Hubert Davis. I think he will suck.I really, really wanted Dawson Garcia and am pretty sure staff did too. But with Hawkins on a serious rise, that loss almost seems like a win (granted, Kofi coming back helps a wee bit too).
Point is that recruiting is frequently looked at as a standalone, whereas it should be looked at as intertwined with player development.
Hopefully, Carolina will be exposed as a fraud (again), with a major over promise.
Final thought (not recruiting related): Hawkins current trajectory is flippin' awesome. He's gonna be a pro, the only question is which league.
I don't disagree, and am very excited about CoHawk this season, but I just thought this sentence was funny because pretty much every P5 scholarship basketball player can play pro ball somewhere. You'd be hard pressed to find a former Illini that didn't play pro ball. Heck, Maverick Morgan and Darius Paul played pro ball.
Coach did mention “a few guys to talk about” when asked about committed recruits in his pre-game press conference.
*that is still an option but the staff still thinks he will commit soon.
There are something like 70,000 pro/semi-pro basketball players around the globe. Only 360 of whom are in the NBA at any given time. (about 0.5%) It's crazy how good you have to be to make the NBA. The worst player in the NBA is likely better at basketball than any of us are at anything. lol
Alex Legion played pro ball. Enough said.
For sure. Even the NCAA is a high level of competition by global standards. You look hard enough, you can find guys getting paid to play basketball that couldn't make a low major rotation.
Guessing Epps and Harris.
I don't know big. I look at Tacko Fall. Yeah he is a giant, he can block shots, but I don't see a whole lot of skill. Cristiano Felicio. I didn't see nothing out of him. What does he do well? Set picks? Every now and then I see a player and wonder how in the world they are collecting a check.
Do you have to have a games played to misdemeanor ratio above 1 to be considered a former Illini player?
Signing day is tomorrow. I’m sure he will be talking about both (or more) once signed.
*that is still an option but the staff still thinks he will commit soon.
We have some absolutely ELITE GIF posters on this website. Like potential one-and-done-level GIFers. I think you're underestimating their talent.
I heard Harris flew to Japan to get a jump on things.
Okay, I give. What's BU's screen name?
While Hawk has played well in these expo games and he seems to have improved and gotten stronger. I still want to see him knock down at least a third or more of his wide open looks from three. He was unguarded out there for the most part and was dared to shoot. He will need to do that better or Jake will get most of the tick at the 4 spot. I hope we see more go in tonight. I think some of the new recruits we have and are after will be able to in the future.
I don’t think those numbers are representative of what guys on the team are seeing. I am not an insider; however, I with spoke with someone who knows that one of the team members got $45,000 in August.
But....he made numerous 3 pointers in practice.....must have impressed someone.
