Good points. Hope he does well. Of course, there are obviously things that we don't know about that he was going through while here. He's got a game. That's for sure.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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He said we would know in about a week. It is the middle of the week. Some of you guys have given half the time that he said it would take. He also said he would come back to Illinois this week, it is Wednesday.
Not in this business
It must be the amazing diversity of the state that is the real draw
ILLINIShox24
Orange Krush '04 & '05
Friendly reminder that there is an Ignore function available when you click on a user's name. Fortunately have not used it much over the past 12 years, but I can confirm its still functional this morning.
Friendly reminder that there is an Ignore function available when you click on a user's name. Fortunately have not used it much over the past 12 years, but I can confirm its still functional this morning.
Yes, I helped test this feature this morning as well and can confirm it is fully operational lol
Well, look at that, the button does work. Have a feeling it is gonna be a good week.
"Thriving" would be a stretch given every second round pick isn't expected to thrive - but he's projected to go before TSJ and CoHawk in every Mock I've seen, which is crazy to think about, based on his limited game action here. He's athletic, can shoot, and there is something the scouts see which cause his profile to be better based on the analytics the teams run these days
The same people who fold in poker and after the hand exclaim, "I knew I should have stayed in!" when they get an improbable hit on the river.
Does RayJ change his mind on coming here (assuming he is planning on it) if Terrance and Coleman both don’t come back?
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Podz made a great decision and had a great season. I respect him and like his game. But guarding guys is going to be very challenging, to say the least. If he sticks, I think he's destined to be a specialist.
I totally wanted to recruit Skyy. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have kept or played Podz more. BU is a very good recruiter and a solid coach but he isn't perfect. No one is. Clearly Podz is better than BU thought. Podz has proven that once he was allowed time to play. If he wasn't would he be being evaluated by NBA scouts as highly he is? Goode, RJ, and Damonte all played ahead of him. BU may have made an incorrect decision doing that just like he most certainly did counting on freshmen PGs, switching everything, and others. He has shown the ability to change when he made errors. I don't blame Podz for leaving. We certainly could have used him had he stayed. He clearly has talent and is a good athlete. I also have faith in BU's ability to recruit and make far more good decisions than mistakes and learn from them or change when he does.
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Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
tired of the Podz rehash? found this data point interesting:
Podz 3 year high school stats.
P/G 28.7
Ast/G 4.1
Reb/G 9.7
Stls/G 3.7
Blk/G 1.2
Doesn't matter to me where he played. When you average close to 30 pts a game for 65 games, you know how to score. Personally I was excited when we got this kid. Told my wife and kids (big illini fans) this kid is going to fill it up. Couldn't wait to see him play. Wife made sure to get a photo with him. Why he didn't play I don't know. Defense? In hindsight what would our record be if RJ left and Podz stayed.
P/G 28.7
Ast/G 4.1
Reb/G 9.7
Stls/G 3.7
Blk/G 1.2
Doesn't matter to me where he played. When you average close to 30 pts a game for 65 games, you know how to score. Personally I was excited when we got this kid. Told my wife and kids (big illini fans) this kid is going to fill it up. Couldn't wait to see him play. Wife made sure to get a photo with him. Why he didn't play I don't know. Defense? In hindsight what would our record be if RJ left and Podz stayed.
I don't think you really need to have faith in him staying a long period of time.
It was an upside move. Clark was top 10 recruit that was being compared to Kyrie at one point pre acl injury. If Clark panned out it was either going to be a one and done or two and done type player.
It didn't work out and in hindsight Podz would have been way better since they needed shooting with Goode injured and Melendez playing poorly for most of the season.
All that being said when the decision was made Podz had been outplayed by both Goode and Melendez as a freshman, was smaller than both, and didn't have the athleticism of RJ.
I agree. Unless the films I saw was in slow motion, I don't like his potential in terms of guarding people in NBA. If you read those mock drafts, they have concerns, too.
In agreement on Podz lack of quickness being a liability at the next level. I see him as a Strus/ Duncan Robinson type specialist, and neither of those guys were drafted. But it seems that shooting is one of the more valued traits in the NBA these days and Podz can certainly shoot. So who knows.
He will be a useful part for the right team. I am thinking a smaller version of Duncan Robinson. He is a scrapper who can get buckets. Playing Williams over Podz is Brad’s biggest error here but good coaches sometimes misjudges talent.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
It's been an Ancientsend for me............It really really has been.............................................
This! This is why we can’t have nice things any more!!
The world is fluid. !!!! evolves. Even the most accurate info will be proven to be wrong about something in hindsight. Take the quality info you are getting (for freaking free) and move on with life.
*free to you that is. Hopefully the guardians have the insiders beer tabs covered…
The thing that gets me is that Brad Underwood preaches his #EverdayGuys mentality, but couldn't bother to follow his own mantra with Podz who was the absolute embodiment of it
What do you mean? Kid worked hard....doesn't guarantee playing time.
I don't know what Podz lane drill results were but he is a better athlete than most are giving him credit for. We saw that he out vertical jumped Hawk by 7 inches and Shannon by 2 at was 9th at the combine with 39.5. I saw NBA.com's and its rankings for what they are worth and Hawk was at 50th, TSJ 41 and Podz at 18. That seems high but Podz certainly causing some buzz this week and has shown to be a better athlete than most thought. It seems Podz is more likely to be selected ahead of anyone off the team he left where he basically rode the bench.
Now Ray J sign with the Illini already!
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Agreed that hard work doesn't guarantee playing time, but according to BU, the # of stars a player has shouldn't either. I think if we celebrate BU's successes we have to acknowledge his misses, and I think he missed on this one. Do I think BU should be fired over it? Absolutely not. However, I think there's something to be said about sticking to your philosophy in a situation like this, and I think BU got distracted by the Skyy hype and strayed away from his core beliefs.
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