Its majorly benefiting us this year, but there is something to be said about the excitement of watching young guys develop.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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sacraig
- The desert
That still happens. It's just not the whole team. Bread clearly has a strategy of mixing the two in approaches, so we have guys like Rodgers and Hawkins starting with Shannon and Domask.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I totally agree, and this is the last year of availability for those players, bar the occasional weirdo medical redshirt case in the future.
My impression is even that there are fewer 5th year guys in the portal this year than last year, though that's just an observation and might be wrong.
Interestingly, guys who have played 3 years and 4 both have only one year left to play. So on some level it makes sense to grab that extra year of experience while it exists.
I hope the portal settles down somewhat in the coming years just generally. But as the super-seniors exit the scene (and G League Ignite shuts down), I do think it's definitely true that the elite freshman (and young talent generally) will become a more important part of college basketball again as we move forward. Which is healthy and good for the sport.
But Underwood's Illinois will get while the getting is good, which is the smart thing to do. And hopefully we exit the super senior era with loads of accolades and banners and Morez Johnson and Jeremiah Fears to attack a more youth-focused era.
(To add one other thing, the portal will definitely continue to push productive mid-major players upward to major programs seeking NIL bucks, and I think the way BU is making us a destination for in-state and other local preps who have succeeded at lower levels to come home is really smart and will be a great advantage of being the University of Illinois in the future. All else being equal, let's keep targeting local kids in the portal.)
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I'm aware. That doesn't mean it's good for the game.
I am no fan of this revolving door of players. I'd much rather see Dee and Deron develop, or Chris Gandy and Warren Carter really become something their Sr year.
These past few years it has been, you need to be instantly good or we'll get a 23 year old to take your spot.
I felt the same way a couple years ago but two years of TSJ and one year of Domask and Quincy has been a lot of fun. Brad and staff have evolved and now we’ll never have to worry about a “rebuilding” year. I personally have come to enjoy Christmas in April. Coaches like Izzo who refuse to use the portal will only slip farther into mediocrity……and I’m fine with that.
I have told my friends that the last few years have been successful but have had some missing element for me as a fan. Yes the team is winning but I love seeing players develop in a program. I've coached lower level NCAA ball and seeing players grow is what keeps me doing that job. It's a great reward for hard work, trusting the process, and selfishly it gives me some level of good vibes too. I will say that i'm a teacher by trade and at heart so that skews my views 100%.
This last few years, in the "we have huge NIL and will go buy ourselves mercenary grown men" age, have been less "fun" for me to watch so I think I agree about the idea of not enjoying the revolving door of of players and feel that long term it does detract from the "game" some.
Now, if my entirely livelihood was coaching and I had millions of dollars on the line, I may feel differently haha. If you can go get grown men who have played 3-5 years of NCAA ball and have those same years of Strength and Conditioning too, you go get them because winning matters the most at that level. I have found myself filling roster holes via transfers (most JuCO still. I'm a JuCo bandit myself) the last two years. The game is changing and even if I do not enjoy it, you adapt or you die.
sacraig
- The desert
why not both?
I love the rosters where we have older dudes that can ball and be leaders that show the young guys how to win in high-major hoops. IMO it doesn't matter if we get those senior players through internal development or the portal, as long as they've bought in to the team mindset.
I love the rosters where we have older dudes that can ball and be leaders that show the young guys how to win in high-major hoops. IMO it doesn't matter if we get those senior players through internal development or the portal, as long as they've bought in to the team mindset.
I’m waiting on some federal judge to rule the 4 year playing limit is unconstitutional. I just wanna see some 30 year old YMCA guys on a low major beat the crap out of some phenom out of HS.
With the emergence of this free agency transfer portal with potentially unlimited transfers,I for one doubt that will happen with any kind of frequency again.
Bread
Obviously I meant Brad.
sacraig
- The desert
I'm sure it will. Look at pro sports. Some teams succeed via player development. some spend big in fee agency. Some mix it up.
We and the sport as a whole are just undergoing a major paradigm shift and it's hard to keep up. But I think we'll find a new normal that most still enjoy.
Lols at "plundering"
Best of Bread?Bread
Obviously I meant Brad.
Am not saying that it won’t happen, but what am saying is with frequency.
Agreed, mid majors are essentially farm systems, even power 5 players wanting paid more/promoted. Getting players ready to start out of the gate like TSJ, Domask and others are going to be available for the highest bidder.
Hell how many guys from the Valley received All B10 votes this year alone?
Am I the only one who’s never been super impressed by him?
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
One note of hope, when we talk about building through player development and continuity:
Last season was such a giant mess and it feels like we stuffed this year's roster with 5th year mercenaries as a sort of "never again".
But you look at the homegrown group in 2022-23, and you've got four true freshmen in Clark, Epps, Rodgers and Harris, a guy who has basically never played in Dainja, a sophomore in Melendez and an injury washout with Goode. There was no experience in that group.
In 2024-25 we have the opportunity to bring back a 5th year senior Dainja, a senior Goode, a highly experienced junior Rodgers, Sencire Harris has been with the program two years, it's a very different composition in terms of the guys we want to step up.
I hope we're thinking in those terms. We need to hit the portal for experienced scoring, and will be alive to opportunities for multi-year contributors (Oweh, for instance), but I think trying to pack on 4-5 new starters as 5th year mercenaries would be a mistake for next year and beyond.
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You stumbled into a great successor to the Lon Kruger Breakfast Club (which was awesome)..."Break Bread with Brad"Bread
Obviously I meant Brad.
EJ Liddell part 7
Also, after Brad kills it in the transfer portal this offseason, I need the official Illini social media accounts to publish a photo of Brad with yellow lab coat and lab goggles on, holding a giant beaker with the transfers' faces in the beaker, with the tagline "Breaking Brad". Social media W right there.
Fixed it.
DB11Headband
- Chicago Burbs
Things will materialize fairly quickly whenever the season ends. One or two legit possibilities might be later commits after going thru the draft process, but I’m expecting multiple commitments almost immediately. Let’s hope that’s not until mid April!
I'm as old-school as old-school gets and this is how I feel as well. Couple of years ago I'm sure I was railing about the death of development, these portal mercenaries were not true Illini, etc. And if we were losing I'd probably still be doing the same.
But winning cures all I guess, because I love the guys this season just the same whether they arrived this year or came out of high school. Turns out a 30+ game season is long enough to build an emotional bond. And my brain can rationalize that the Southern Illinois-es and Utah Valleys are indeed farm systems, so these guys are not mercenaries, just September call-ups.
QG's story may be my favorite. Declined the Illini not once but twice, yet we still brought him in to arguably his most successful personal season. Just look what we can do in the portal.
I will say I'm not ready to say we have permanently turned the corner, the scars of Clark and Epps are still fresh. There is no guarantee of success in a free agent world. But Brad and the coaches have certainly demonstrated an ability to navigate here and are due both respect and latitude.
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