Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#54      

Bigtex

Bigtex
DFW
Bigtex
ElGran said:
I think a good word is "moxie." Epps certainly has it. Not a run-jump athletic marvel, but just finds a way to get it done. In the videos I've seen of Hansberry, he also seems to fit that profile. Doesn't jump out of the gym, but is very skilled.

Morez Johnson might have both high-level athleticism and BB skills.
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For me it is high bbiq. Throwing the ball off of the back on the inbounds play for an easy layup wasn’t instructed from the bench.

Current Illinois team has some crazy good athletes but not all have high bbiq
 
#55      

21ChampaignSt

2
21ChampaignSt
Bigtex said:
For me it is high bbiq. Throwing the ball off of the back on the inbounds play for an easy layup wasn’t instructed from the bench.

Current Illinois team has some crazy good athletes but not all have high bbiq
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I know this is the recruiting thread but I can never pass up an opportunity to talk about Epps.

Kid is just a hooper. It seems like you see a lot of players these days who are athletes playing basketball. Epps is a basketball player playing basketball. Only way I know how to say it. He's going to be an Illini great.

Jr Feliz is a good comparison for Freshman Epps.

Jr Feliz per 40 stats: 15ppg, 5rpg, 4apg
Fr Epps per 40 stats: 15ppg, 3rpg, 3apg

Dawg.
 
#56      

Bbuck21

B
Bbuck21
hoopsfan47 said:
There is a sense among college coaches and athletes that the game needs to be played fast and furious. But few, if any, are able to play without myriad blunders at frenetic pace. As a grade school kid, I use to watch games snowy broadcasts from Indianapolis that covered Crispus Attucks High School and their boy wonder....Oscar ( if you need a last name, you truly are not a basketball fan). Then when he got to Cincinnati, I was able to see him in action occasionally on national TV. Subsequently, I marveled as he matured as a pro for the Royals. Oscar never played at a frenetic pace....but he ALWAYS played under control and knew what to do and executed in EVERY situation. Though he did not move like a hunted rabbit as many of today's players remind me, he could blow past just about anyone when he needed to do so, seldom took a shot that was not on balance and did not hit mostly inside the cylinder, and was never defended by a player who knew if he was going to shoot, drive, or pass.

The point is, knowing what and when the best reaction should be is a skill learned by smart guys playing the game and smart coaches communicating the game. And players do not need to move so fast that they cannot control their body or the ball. Having seen what both Felix and Curbelo could do inside 10 ft. should be proof that being under control and ready to react to opportunity is the key.

We have a group of freshmen (and I personally include DD) that show they have intrinsic knowledge of and comfort with the game not commonly seen in college freshmen. They have grown before our eyes and have all contributed to victories. Next year we will see a team that may have only one sr. and another group of frosh we will be eager to see. Let's hope they bring an understanding of the game much like "The Big O" and can maybe play more under control and with purpose and confidence with which this frosh class has been blessed...and let's hope they can double the FT% of the current frosh!!!
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Personally, I have always felt "Big O" was the greatest BB player of all time. Next would be Russell. Sorry to all you MJ, Kobe, LeBron fans.
 
#58      

Combo

C
Combo
Bigtex said:
For me it is high bbiq. Throwing the ball off of the back on the inbounds play for an easy layup wasn’t instructed from the bench.

Current Illinois team has some crazy good athletes but not all have high bbiq
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Crazy good is grossly exaggerating. Shannon is close, but that’s it.
 
#60      

Retro62

Retro62
North Bethesda, Maryland
Retro62
Bbuck21 said:
Personally, I have always felt "Big O" was the greatest BB player of all time. Next would be Russell. Sorry to all you MJ, Kobe, LeBron fans.
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My Dad wholeheartedly agreed with you.
 
#61      

Chukwuwumba

Chukwuwumba
Chukwuwumba
21ChampaignSt said:
I know this is the recruiting thread but I can never pass up an opportunity to talk about Epps.

Kid is just a hooper. It seems like you see a lot of players these days who are athletes playing basketball. Epps is a basketball player playing basketball. Only way I know how to say it. He's going to be an Illini great.

Jr Feliz is a good comparison for Freshman Epps.

Jr Feliz per 40 stats: 15ppg, 5rpg, 4apg
Fr Epps per 40 stats: 15ppg, 3rpg, 3apg

Dawg.
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Both got that dawg in them.

Feliz was a great rebounding guard, though. Hyperbolically speaking, by eye test one of the best fighting for rebounds at his size.
 
#63      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
Illinivek23 said:
Didn't the Big O average a triple double one year?

And he was also a huge cog on the Milwaukee/Alcindor team that won it all in the early 70s?
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correct sir01.gif
 
#67      

Mr. Tibbs

Mr. Tibbs
southeast DuPage
Mr. Tibbs
I still vividly recall in summer 1984, when the Bulls drafted MJ, saying to friends why in the world did Portland pass on him to get Bowie.
We all kinda understood Houston taking hometown guy Olajuwon as #1, but we were totally worried that Portland would take MJ next. But nope, they took injury prone Bowie who just continued to get hurt and underperform.

Jordan was clearly the #1 pick in the draft and he made his presence known.
Many Bulls fans wondered if the Bulls would have taken MJ, had they picked 1st or 2nd.
 
#68      

Combo

C
Combo
Mr. Tibbs said:
I still vividly recall in summer 1984, when the Bulls drafted MJ, saying to friends why in the world did Portland pass on him to get Bowie.
We all kinda understood Houston taking hometown guy Olajuwon as #1, but we were totally worried that Portland would take MJ next. But nope, they took injury prone Bowie who just continued to get hurt and underperform.

Jordan was clearly the #1 pick in the draft and he made his presence known.
Many Bulls fans wondered if the Bulls would have taken MJ, had they picked 1st or 2nd.
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Agreed. Olajuwon at #1, you could see the logic. But, Bowie, who was never dominant and injured more often than not in college, was absurd.

And yes, MJ is almost everyone's consensus all-time great with good reason. After that it gets difficult as to who is 2-10.
 
#70      

Heisenbobble

Heisenbobble
Heisenbobble
Please tell me this coaching staff will bring in a couple outside shooters via the portal to ease pressure on next season's squad.
 
#71      

Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler
Carl Spackler
RonC said:
Pistol Pete
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I loved both O and Pistol; couldn’t go wrong favoring either. My take, tho, is that Pistol as a college player was the best guy to sell game tickets; but to learn how to really play basketball, Big O was the man.
 
#75      

Eternal Optimist

E
Eternal Optimist
DGL seems to be kind of like a Curbelo that scores (a lot more). What I hope for is the attitude and confidence to carry him through the dry spells, and we know that will happen being a young player in the Big Ten. Some great things to like. Hope it all comes together.

dance celebrate GIF by Steve Harvey TV
 
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