Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[SescIllini]

Any word on P. McCauhey, last I heard was he didn't want to play for a BIG team but only heard that on this board.
Of the teams mentioned, Illinois is really the only team that will give him 100% PG minutes, NIL, senior laden team, and shot at winning.
Have also heard Illinois was considered a front runner when he announced but that Illinois never pursued. So I'm not sure, unless they feel
strongly about Reeves and feel Reeves gives them a better shot along with J. Williams.

 

[BryceHopkins]

Any word on P. McCauhey, last I heard was he didn't want to play for a BIG team but only heard that on this board.
Of the teams mentioned, Illinois is really the only team that will give him 100% PG minutes, NIL, senior laden team, and shot at winning.
Have also heard Illinois was considered a front runner when he announced but that Illinois never pursued. So I'm not sure, unless they feel
strongly about Reeves and feel Reeves gives them a better shot along with J. Williams.

There are several pages of posts discussing this, but I can save you a lot of time and just sum it up by telling you he's not coming here.

 

[Tables@EddieMunster]

Any word on P. McCauhey, last I heard was he didn't want to play for a BIG team but only heard that on this board.
Of the teams mentioned, Illinois is really the only team that will give him 100% PG minutes, NIL, senior laden team, and shot at winning.
Have also heard Illinois was considered a front runner when he announced but that Illinois never pursued. So I'm not sure, unless they feel
strongly about Reeves and feel Reeves gives them a better shot along with J. Williams.

We don’t want him. Ty Rodgers is the point guard that was promised.

 

[WyattEarp]

We don’t want him. Ty Rodgers is the point guard that was promised.

 

[ptgrd23]

Our PG prayers are answered

Good Morning, Illini Nation: Walk-on transfer guard Max Williams picks Illinois

Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning

www.news-gazette.com

Max Williams - Illinois Fighting Illini Guard - ESPN

View the profile of Illinois Fighting Illini Guard Max Williams on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.

www.espn.com

 

[skyIdub]

Our PG prayers are answered

 

[Illini-Rule]

Our PG prayers are answered

Good Morning, Illini Nation: Walk-on transfer guard Max Williams picks Illinois

Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning

www.news-gazette.com

Max Williams - Illinois Fighting Illini Guard - ESPN

View the profile of Illinois Fighting Illini Guard Max Williams on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.

www.espn.com

Yep, those are some impressive stats.../s

 

[grue2]

... So now schools with large NIL programs/capabilities can basically have a taxi squad or JV team? ...

I don't think this will be an issue. Bench players are already transferring because they want playing time. Why would a player that is desirable want to sit at the end of an even longer bench? Why would a team want a bench of players no one else wants?

Maybe some players who know they will never go pro will take a payday to be part of a practice squad. Is that a big issue?

 

[foby]

Our PG prayers are answered

Good Morning, Illini Nation: Walk-on transfer guard Max Williams picks Illinois

Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning

www.news-gazette.com

Max Williams - Illinois Fighting Illini Guard - ESPN

View the profile of Illinois Fighting Illini Guard Max Williams on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.

www.espn.com

Bold Prediction. Max will score at least 1 point this season.

 

[amillini#2]

View attachment 26493

But, we love no other.

 

[LvilleILL]

Ty at point is not ideal. He looks to be a plus rebounder down low. He'll do lots less of that as point.

One other aspect about this that I haven't seen mentioned is what does he want? It's all well and good for him to do this for the team. But kids want to come here to develop for the next level. Playing out of position doesn't help that.

Ty is thrilled about playing point guard. He played a lot of point for team USA

 

[LvilleILL]

You're right, especially about Guerrier (brain cramp), but Williams is a guy that ISU didn't care about losing - we'll see if he's able to contribute anything prior to 2024-25.

(Edited). Doesn't change my main point though, that insiders have said it doesn't matter if we can land the right guy, they'll find a scholarship. They just haven't been able to land the right guy. Even Williams they were theoretically immediately recruiting over (at least for 2023-24 insurance)

This isn't true at all. While Williams is hurt, ISU did not want to lose him at all. He was their starting pg til he got hurt before the season

 

[skyIdub]

So, Ty passes his Advanced B1G Point Guard class, then Williams gets fully healthy by Jan.!! IT COULD HAPPEN!

 

[Illini92and96]

Please not Ben Simmons - could not get LSU to NCAA despite being #1 pick in NBA draft. Scared to shoot free throws in NBA playoffs. Sat out last 2 seasons for "mental health" reasons - still collected his paycheck. #2 reason why you don't give max contracts to people with character issues. Kyrie Irving is clear #1.

Has to be better example of low scoring PF with great passing rebounding and defensive ability.

What? In college he had 19 ppg, 12 rpg, and 5 assists on 56% from the field and 67% from the line? Give me three of those with two three point specialists and I would enjoy hoisting the national championship banner.

Or are you more concerned about how our Illini fare in the pros? His career stats are 15/8/7. First team all defense for two years. What drudgery it would be to have those metrics! I’m sure Ty will exceed those.

 

[WyattEarp]

So, Ty passes his Advanced B1G Point Guard class, then Williams gets fully healthy by Jan.!! IT COULD HAPPEN!

 

[TampaToo]

Ty is thrilled about playing point guard. He played a lot of point for team USA

Ty = Steven Bardo 2.0?

 

[CasualObserver05]

I'll come back and eat as much crow as I know this board will love to serve so someone hang onto this for February-March '24. If we stay relatively healthy with the current roster as it sits, the FLOOR for this group is another 20 plus win season, top 5-7 seed team. If TSJ is the player I believe he will be this season (Vegas TSJ from this past year), our ceiling is so incredibly high. Too much talent for them to not have multiple guys who can run the offense.

Our defensive metrics will be, "elite!"

 

[pruman91]

So, Ty passes his Advanced B1G Point Guard class, then Williams gets fully healthy by Jan.!! IT COULD HAPPEN!

 

[illiniballknower]

I remember watching the U-18 tournament last year played in Mexico, where Whitmore was the MVP and super-stud scorer.

Rogers was the point guard the whole tournament and the coach said he might have been their most valuable player. He did great even though he didn't shoot well from the outside. He was certainly the "glue guy" that held that team of super scorers together and pointing in the right direction. I watched every game just to see how he played and thought how lucky we were to be getting him. I still feel that way about his potential contributions.

Could that U-18 tournament be a harbinger of next year?

No, he was not the point guard at the U18s last summer.

 

[Illinini]

I'll come back and eat as much crow as I know this board will love to serve so someone hang onto this for February-March '24. If we stay relatively healthy with the current roster as it sits, the FLOOR for this group is another 20 plus win season, top 5-7 seed team. If TSJ is the player I believe he will be this season (Vegas TSJ from this past year), our ceiling is so incredibly high. Too much talent for them to not have multiple guys who can run the offense.

Our defensive metrics will be, "elite!"

I could see 22ish wins with a 3rd or 4th place big ten finish and a 5 seed if things go pretty well. If shannon can be Vegas shannon for a whole season then we’re like a 1 or 2 but im gonna need to see that to believe it. Id be shocked if we don’t win at least 20 tho, Must’ve been some injuries or something if that happens

 

[Govoner Vaugn Fan]

Illini HQ podcast....."Mulcahey still in play. Williams not yet on scholarship... waiting on admissions clearance and health (recovery) evaluation. Rodgers interested in playing point."
Don't blame me....just what podcast reported...

 

[WhiteHorseWings]

Ty = Steven Bardo 2.0?

Wait, Ty hates UI now?

 

[grue2]

I remember watching the U-18 tournament last year played in Mexico, where Whitmore was the MVP and super-stud scorer.

Rogers was the point guard the whole tournament and the coach said he might have been their most valuable player. He did great even though he didn't shoot well from the outside. He was certainly the "glue guy" that held that team of super scorers together and pointing in the right direction. I watched every game just to see how he played and thought how lucky we were to be getting him. I still feel that way about his potential contributions.

Could that U-18 tournament be a harbinger of next year?

This certainly is not how I remember it, and I watched most of the games. Rogers was likely the 2nd most valuable player on the floor. Whitmore was the clear star. Rogers role was "person with a clue." They were in short supply.

When Rogers wasn't on the floor, the US team looked very disorganized and was winning off of sheer physical advantages; a sloppy track meet where the US could finish better. When Rogers was on the floor, he tried to act as a floor general on defense. Not everyone listened. It was still good enough that the opposing teams struggled (other than one with an outside shooter on fire).

On offense, I don't recall Rogers ever being the PG. He did make a number of nice passes from his forward position. He was often up the floor quickly on breaks, and made many nice assists. He would receive the ball at the free throw line and make a "one touch" pass. His quick catch/release generated easy shots for teammates. That is a rare skill at the U18 level.

At the time, I thought his passing up open shots was his wanting to make his teammates look good. It may have been his lack of shooting skills. Some of the time the teammates ended up taking worse shots. (Think Damonte.)

Rogers as a point SF. Sure. Rogers as a PG? That would require some skills that I did not see 2 years ago. I'm always skeptical of PGs who can't keep teams honest -- 33%+ 3s. If his shooting and ball handling have improved (he struggled to bring the ball up in the few tries last season), great.

 

[Oldskoolkoach]

Seems odd they didn't mention Mizzou legend Michael Porter Jr.

Or legendary Mizzou recruiter Michael Porter Sr.

 

[NarrowJ]

No, he was not the point guard at the U18s last summer.

I'm unsure if you could call him the U18 team's "primary" point guard, but he played it a ton in that tournament. Ty played a lot of point guard for us last year. I'm honestly not sure why everyone's memory seems to be so foggy on this.

How Ty Rodgers at point guard encapsulates Brad Underwood's vision for Illini basketball

Ty Rodgers is bigger than most point guards, and he's now playing there out of necessity for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team.

www.stltoday.com