Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#451      

WINT

Kewanee, IL
Gotta say, this is the first time I've ever heard "Barry Sanders* type player" mean anything other than "generational talent and one of the all-time greats"



*just for clarity, we are talking about the Barry Sanders that is a Heisman winner, a unanimous All-American, NFL Offensive ROY, two-time NFL Offensive POY, NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer? Not some other Barry Sanders that could plausibly described as doing "as much damage as help"?
Yeah, but he split carries as a junior.
 
#455      

DeonThomas

South Carolina
I think this is the typical Underwood coachspeak (aka BS). He (Podz) was labeled a SG by everyone coming out of H.S., so I'll go by that.
Or simply go by the optics.

Shooting guard based upon everything I've seen. I'm thinking he sees big minutes in 2022-23.

I'm seeing no signs of skills similar to Bruce Douglas, Deron Williams, Dee Brown, D. McCamey, Derek Harper, Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo or Kiwane Garris. I don't believe he has the handles nor the ability to distribute.
 
#459      

DeonThomas

South Carolina
When is the last time an Illini player developed a jump shot as a guard at his age? His form seems fine.
Kendall Gill is perhaps the last Illini I can recall. He went from strictly dunking (on fast breaks) as a Freshman to becoming an elite shooter in just one year --- which ultimately led to a 16+ year NBA career.

I guess Kevin Turner pretty much did the same a few years later.

Come to think of it, Lou used to have guys develop into big-time offensive contributors "out of nowhere" rather frequently (Guards, Forwards and Centers). The overall count is probably too many to name. Hopeful Belo can still do the same. He'd be unstoppable!!!!!
 
#461      

DeonThomas

South Carolina
6’5” guard who averaged 10/3/2 as a freshman…yes please
Top 100 out of HS
6'5 - big guard
10 ppg as a starter for a Top 25 LSU program
Baltimore (Chet) connection
43% FG shooter (34% from three)
68% FT shooter

He's gotta be one of our primary targets. (Not so sure teammate Adam Miller will speak highly of BU, however.)
 
#462      

DeonThomas

South Carolina
Utah Valley isn't even Fresno State, but a tad reminiscent of Paul George going #10 in 2010 while Sherron Collins went undrafted. Of course, the scouts ended up being correct on that eval.
Unfortunately, I think they're also right about Kofi and his game as it exists today. If he still aspires to the NBA, I think he needs to be able to face the basket from 12-17 feet and either hit the open shot or take 2-3 dribbles to create a better one for himself (not skills he often demonstrates at the college level).

Trevon Williams' passing skills would also be extremely beneficial.
 
#464      
Top 100 out of HS
6'5 - big guard
10 ppg as a starter for a Top 25 LSU program
Baltimore (Chet) connection
43% FG shooter (34% from three)
68% FT shooter

He's gotta be one of our primary targets. (Not so sure teammate Adam Miller will speak highly of BU, however.)
Don't think Miller had any issue with Underwood. He left because of his mom. Brad started him every game ffs

That said, Murray is basically exactly what this team is missing. Man he would have been helpful against Houston.
 
#465      
I think this is the typical Underwood coachspeak (aka BS). He was labeled a SG by everyone coming out of H.S., so I'll go by that.
There’s so much focus on positional naming…he’s a guard. We had a lot of guards on the roster ahead of him. We can nitpick the exact PG vs SG, but if you’re top 2 guards are PGs, you probably play both at the same time. Honestly, curbelo really looked like the only traditional PG on the roster, but it’s possible BU simply meant that PG was the shortest path for Podz to playing time. Heck, maybe they’ve been putting in hours for him to handle the ball more because of his court vision. Let’s not just assume it’s BS…
 
#467      
Pods appears to have good handles. Most B10 recruits are primary scorer on their team in HS so they have to adjust to different roles. He can become a PG if he wants to. We were dying for anybody to feed Kofi. Jayden Epps is big time HS scorer that will have to adjust at Illinois.

Interestingly the development of power programs like La Lumiere, Prolific Prep means we see more B10 recruits who were role players in HS. I think that is why Coleman does not look for his shot. Nimari Burnett was the big scorer on his HS team. Fears was not primary PG at La Lumiere. The kid who commited to ND is. However you could see Fears passing and ball handling skills. Unfortunately I never saw his outside shooting skills.

Kofi was the exception - they never passed him the ball in HS but he adapted very quickly to being option 1 (tied with Ayo first 2 years) at Illinois.
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We have two recruits who can play 2G - Sencire and Jayden plus Pods and maybe even RJ. I can see taking senior PG or PF in the portal. 2G is not area of biggest need.
 
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#468      

illini80

Forgottonia
. Let’s not just assume it’s BS…
Well, I’m to the point of assuming that most comments like this from Underwood are not worth the ink to print them. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him as a coach and don’t enjoy listening to him talk about his players. It’s just been proven enough times that he overhypes to the extreme. Last fall Payne was being described as an elite shooter and he was going to be on the floor with Kofi. Believe what you will, it all works out like it’s going to in the end regardless of how much we like to speculate.
 
#469      
Well, I’m to the point of assuming that most comments like this from Underwood are not worth the ink to print them. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him as a coach and don’t enjoy listening to him talk about his players. It’s just been proven enough times that he overhypes to the extreme. Last fall Payne was being described as an elite shooter and he was going to be on the floor with Kofi. Believe what you will, it all works out like it’s going to in the end regardless of how much we like to speculate.
I think part of it is the amount of questioning he faces and how things develop. I am sure he TRIED to see how Payne and Kofi worked on the floor together.
 
#470      
Kofi has a very high motor. Always fighting for position and calling for the ball.

Omar seemed distracted at times. I fell out of my chair when he did a spin move from the free throw line and dunked the ball. Why can't he do that more often. He has similar build to Coleman but justs floats around.

Coleman is not perfect but he is constantly trying to do something. I would love to try Coleman at the 5. See him outquick the other centers in the lane.
 
#471      
Interestingly the development of power programs like La Lumiere, Prolific Prep means we see more B10 recruits who were role players in HS. I think that is why Coleman does not look for his shot. Nimari Burnett was the big scorer on his HS team. Fears was not primary PG at La Lumiere. The kid who commited to ND is. However you could see Fears passing and ball handling skills. Unfortunately I never saw his outside shooting skills.
Also had Jalen Green on that Prolific team.
 
#472      
Well, I’m to the point of assuming that most comments like this from Underwood are not worth the ink to print them. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him as a coach and don’t enjoy listening to him talk about his players. It’s just been proven enough times that he overhypes to the extreme. Last fall Payne was being described as an elite shooter and he was going to be on the floor with Kofi. Believe what you will, it all works out like it’s going to in the end regardless of how much we like to speculate.
Huh? Plummer was the transfer being called an elite shooter. I’d say he lived up to it.
Payne has never attempted a 3 & never made 60% of his free throws. You don’t need advanced stats to see he isn’t a shooter.
 
#473      
Kofi has a very high motor. Always fighting for position and calling for the ball.

Omar seemed distracted at times. I fell out of my chair when he did a spin move from the free throw line and dunked the ball. Why can't he do that more often. He has similar build to Coleman but justs floats around.

Coleman is not perfect but he is constantly trying to do something. I would love to try Coleman at the 5. See him outquick the other centers in the lane.
one of the most impressive moves the entire year, in my view
 
#474      

Missouri forward Trevon Brazile hit the portal on March 22 and this time around, 247Sports is going to go all in on the 6-foot-9 forward from Springfield, Mo. We were intrigued by Brazile high school but with limited viewings had to be on the conservative side with his ranking (right outside the top-150). Now is the time to be aggressive.

He is as good as anybody to hit the portal thus far and an argument could be made that long term, he’s the best to hit so far.

Once Brazile hit the floor for Cuonzo Martin, it was obvious that he was improving rapidly and had a bright future. He’d grown to 6-foot-9, he had added some strength and it was apparent that he had freaky good potential as a defender and offensive upside. Averaging 6.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game say that he held his own as a freshman. SEC coaches who have faced him and some NBA scouts say that those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

Sources have told 247Sports that programs like Arkansas, Illinois and Kentucky are among those to inquire early and he’ll have many more checking in. He is no sure thing and still has a lot of developing to do, but it is obvious that he’s got a high ceiling and could develop into a big-time player.
Isn't this our player to be named later in the Smith trade.
 
#475      
Spot on. Nicely captured!
Not sure I agree. Had Belo hit 15 instead of 6 of his last 30 shots (and a lot of the misses were layups), no one would be dogging him about his TOs. He was sloppy at times, but his biggest problem lately was that his shot has been off. The fact that he was not making shots allowed the defenses to sag off him when outside and in the PNR, and it made it more difficult for him to make passes into the interior.
 
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