Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#178      

The Galloping Ghost

The Galloping Ghost
Washington, DC
The Galloping Ghost
theNewGuy said:
Not everyone has that kinda time to read 7 whole pages on their lunch break lol
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The info you were seeking was on page 1 of this thread. It would have taken you less time to scroll down than it did to post...
 
#179      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
#182      

DAM1298

D
DAM1298
LvilleILL said:
There is significant interest with David Jones. Get him and a solid big and we are at the top of the big ten again next year
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If we end up with Jones do you think he and Melendez start at the 2/3?
 
#189      

DAM1298

D
DAM1298
LvilleILL said:
which is why I think we only look to add a guard or two along with a big. RJ is starting at the 3 next year, he's going to be a stud
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If we need to tread lightly, we should do it. In full agreement with you. I've said this before, but I was all in on him from his first minutes in our first preseason game last season. Kid is super legit. Losing him would be pretty disastrous IMO.
 
#192      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
HensonHall71 said:
I honestly don't understand this take - on the surface you can say we haven't had tourny success the last two years so let's completely revamp the roster, but that is not really analyzing the issues we had. To say we don't want the most dominant center in college basketball because it makes us too one dimensional is crazy talk - we are a much worse team without him and it's not even close

Yes - we got completely shut down offensively in the 2nd round two years in a row - maybe Porter Moser and Kelvin Sampson are defensive geniuses who figured out how to stop us with just a couple of days to prepare - or we just played horribly offensively two years in a row - I think it's more the latter. Kofi was 6-11 and 7-7 on FT's for 19 points and 8 rebounds against a Houston team that completely collapsed on him and doubled him on every pick and roll leaving our shooters wide open. He was are only bright spot outside of RJ. Plummer was 2-10 and Frazier 2-7 (granted he could only see out of one eye), Jake wasn't healthy enough to play, so we really became one dimensional, but Kofi was that dimension and the only reason we were still in the game in the second half.

To suggest Kofi was holding back the success of this team is insanity - we would have been a much, much worse team without Kofi the last 2 years and we will be a much worse team without him next year - it's as simple as that

We will move on and others will step up and we'll have a lot of young talent on the team - the future is bright indeed, but it's not because Kofi is leaving
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We obviously want Kofi - he’s possibly been the best big man in America for what would have been three straight seasons - BUT … I’ll play devil’s advocate for him.

In both 2021 and 2022, there was a clear best player mixed with a lot of good players who did “glue guy” stuff like defend and rebound. This made us look elite when Ayo/Kofi were hot and practically unstoppable when a third guy joined them (e.g., Trent taking over or Grandison getting hot from 3) … but it also led to spurts where - to a mere casual fan like me - it looked like we forgot how to play or at the very least were totally out of our groove.

Absolutely no disrespect to guys like Trent (in my top three favorite Illini ever), ‘Monte, Grandison, etc., but I think we are now entering the final phase of Underwood and Co. bringing us “back,” and that’s stacking the roster with top 100 talent and better. This team is filled with so much talent, and even if we have a rebuilding year and some hiccups, it’s going to be so fun to watch! I at least kind of get what this poster is saying about being “ready” for the new era to begin.

Let’s say we get the DePaul transfer, for example. Does anyone think he’s as good as Kofi?? No! However, who’s to say the sum of our parts come the Second Round of next year isn’t more effective? That doesn’t really have anything to do with Kofi, specifically (again, any team should want him in a heartbeat!), it’s more about how differently our other guys might play without the King to rely on … there’s at least a chance we see Melendez, Hawkins, etc. have even better years without Kofi in the middle, and even if that means more losses and not repeating as Big Ten champs, it might also mean a hotter team built for a better run in March!

Either way, nothing to do now but thank Kofi for some irreplaceable memories and move on to being optimistic about the future!
 
#195      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
LvilleILL said:
which is why I think we only look to add a guard or two along with a big. RJ is starting at the 3 next year, he's going to be a stud
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I haven’t been this excited about a freshman AFTER his first season in my lifetime. I already knew Dee and Ayo we’re gonna be awesome, but RJ impressed me in such an awesome way down the stretch.

I’m fine if the national pundits and our conference rivals sleep on it, because a core of Hawkins, Skyy and Melendez is conference championship tier, period.
 
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