Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[RabidDawgClassic]

OTOH if we add Storr, then it seems you could say (almost) categorically that he would start.

If we add Storr and he doesn’t start, you’d better call the janitor because that means we’ve got a really great team and I just made a big mess on the floor!

 

[madillini4]

If we add Storr and he doesn’t start, you’d better call the janitor because that means we’ve got a really great team and I just made a big mess on the floor!

 

[Frank]

 

[ChiefGritty]

Amani more likely than Morez?

Versus what I perceive the board's expectations to be, I take the over on Amani, Goode, and Rodgers' contributions next year and the under on DGL, Harris and Morez.

Age before beauty

 

[saleen970]

I take it the question is whether we would have been better with RayJ?

For one thing we would have been so different it's just kinda hard to picture.

For another, when you finish 6th in the country, how much better can you be? It's kinda all downside, I don't think we're UConn with RayJ.

But even though RayJ isn't a very good defender, paradoxically I think a more conventional lineup structure might have made defending a bit easier for us, given how much "switch everything" often lulled us into being way too passive.

Domask is a bit turnover prone (yikes, remember that argument?) and he's not much of a defender either, but he did a spectacular job as a secondary facilitator, then a sort of hybrid point forward, and finally by about February just a straight up point guard. As it all turned out, we kinda DID have RayJ, if that makes sense.

So my point is sort of twofold. The team without RayJ shouldn't have worked, and those who think otherwise are wrong, but it miraculously DID work, and I tend to think denying or downplaying that is also wrong.

I dont know that we would have done better in the tournament from the same seed with RayJ but think we may have won 2-3 more season games with him.

 

[Joel Goodson]

Maddox is visiting Louisville AND Illinois this weekend?

it's the afterweekend

 

[skyIdub]

 

[More3s]

Exactly, which is to say that declaring which players will or won't be starting in mid-April is totally premature even if the inside information is coming straight from Brad Underwood's mouth.

First, I want to make clear that I enjoy your posts, which is maybe why I've been responding to them often, but if you're on an internet message board expecting an appropriate amount of maturity then you and I have vastly different expectations and reasons for being here

But yeah maybe we need some sort of tag system or some other convention to separate the more serious insider or twitter news posts vs the fun speculation and predictions and general premature "interneting" posts.

 

[Monticello]

I'm glad you caught it. The local barista...ugh. Everyday, I order an espresso, and she literally writes expresso on the damned cup.

 

[NarrowJ]

I think that this conversation is moot at this point. I THINK what he's trying to say is that it's not the plays that Domask did make, but potentially the plays that he didn't make, which we'll never know. We know the turnover rate was good, we know that he was crucial in what he did for us from a scoring perspective and we know that the offense was productive. Those are facts and anyone disputing them is arguing just to argue.

If we want to really rehash a wildly successful season and try to see how it could have been better, it's a bit silly, but to chime in....

If you have a true PG on the roster, it automatically gives you more depth and maybe some guys wouldn't have been on the floor when they were. Ty was a violator when it came to missed bunnies. Maybe he's not playing in some critical minutes. Luke couldn't guard a statue and was in games late. Maybe it's another option for a better foul shooting option? We got caught in spots where we were in and either/or situation. It was the perceived bring Ty in for defense and Luke in for offense which more than a few times backfired.

You note 6 minutes without field goals, missed bunnies, not guarding the two man game, etc...I do think that personnel, not named Domask, might have been an issue.

Obviously, this is all pure speculation and Monday morning quarterbacking. You're also taking a protective stance with regards to Domask. He deserves no criticism. Without him, we're probably an above average team vs a great team all year. In the tournament, let's face it....TJ went nuclear, which was the driving force when it came to our run.

This is long winded, but I submit that instead of focusing on who was on the floor, we can focus on who potentially didn't have to be on the floor and it would have been one less decision for Brad.

I'm bothered by saying this because I feel like I'm throwing Luke and Ty under the bus, which is not the intention. They were good options, but with the true PG and moving Domask off the ball, we probably have great options.

This is just food for thought as we look at the post mortem, needlessly in my opinion.

Great post!

I certainly think the team would've been more successful overall with a true PG (and likely Ty is the odd man out as far as the starting lineup). I just have trouble with the positions of:

1. That true PG should've been RayJ
2. Domask prevented us from winning a National Championship

Which I feel are both perfectly reasonable thoughts to have.

 

[freddbird]

dead period ends soon

 

[Bert2022]

First 1 minute.....and then pick up again at about the 9:25. Whether you are a fan of Izzo's or not, you've gott appreciate that he appreciates the man/player that is Frazier. Love this spot.

 

[sacraig]

dead period ends soon

 

[NarrowJ]

The last thing I want to do is jump into *this* debate, but is this true? I had no idea. I looked at some of the better Big Ten teams and some of the good lead guards on better teams. I'm not sure if Tominaga is really a lead guard but I used him for Nebraska.

KP has his turnover rate as 16.4.

Braden Smith - 21.1
Chucky Hepburn - 13.7
Tyson Walker - 9.1 (ELITE)
Keisei Tominaga - 11.9
Boo Buie - 13.7
Zakai Zeigler - 18.2
Tyler Kolek - 18.9
Mark Sears - 15.3
Jeremy Roach - 12.5
Tamin Lipsey - 16.4

Based on this small sample size, I wouldn't say one of the lowest turnover rates in the country. I would say he's closer to the middle of the pack, which is still good for playing out of position!

Yeah, 16.4... hmm... I can admit when I'm wrong about something.

He was around 12 all season... I see his game logs and the turnovers were like 1,2,2,0,1,2,2,1,0 and so on... but then end of season we played a bunch of tough competition and you saw that number go up. So only 1 or 2 guys in that list were actually better than he was prior to the final several games (which we won all but 1, though). Some in the list way higher/worse. But that's my error, I didn't look up the final #.

So not elite, but he certainly was very good and probably not the reason we didn't beat UConn / win a NC.

 

[ChiefGritty]

First, I want to make clear that I enjoy your posts, which is maybe why I've been responding to them often, but if you're on an internet message board expecting an appropriate amount of maturity then you and I have vastly different expectations and reasons for being here

But yeah maybe we need some sort of tag system or some other convention to separate the more serious insider or twitter news posts vs the fun speculation and predictions and general premature "interneting" posts.

I think the world of our insiders as posters.

To me the key to not letting it drive you crazy is understanding that even if you're inside the program you only know so much about what's going on, and nobody can see the future.

A lot of people here are seeking a certainty about the future that simply does not exist.

Probabilistic thinking will set you free.

 

[jamarvelous31]

The player to Trent's left is wearing uniform number 22 and according to the 2018-2019 basketball roster, number 22 was worn by Anthony Higgs.

Anthony Higgs didn't have any stats according to the Fighting Illini.com website and doing a search on the Internet I didn't see much for Anthony Higgs as far as basketball was concerned.

Here's all I could find for Anthony Higgs basketball career after college:

View attachment 33482

Here's his information from the Fighting Illini.com website.

View attachment 33481

!!! That makes sense. I was wondering why the number didn't match..

 

[mysterio2525]

What does dead period even mean? Didn't we get a commit from tre white during said "dead period"?

 

[Bigtex]

dead period ends soon

EST, CST, MST, or PST?

 

[ChiefGritty]

What does dead period even mean? Didn't we get a commit from tre white during said "dead period"?

Well, dead period means no contact at all with recruits, but I'm pretty sure it has been a "quiet period" rather than a "dead period", and that just means you can't meet in person with recruits or go off-campus to evaluate them.

 

[Illwinsagain]

What does dead period even mean? Didn't we get a commit from tre white during said "dead period"?

It was explained to me last week that you cannot see people in person. Zoom or phone calls are permissible.

Edit: I was a bit slow.

 

[Captain Bubbles]

Agreed. There are very few 7'+ quality guys in college basketball. You can generally do fine with a guy like Hawkins at the 5. Lots of National Champs have had lineups with their tallest guy 6'8-6'10. While I would love a 7' beast on our team, it's not as vital as some are making it out to be.

BTW, what's the news on Edey and Clingan. Are they coming back. I really wish Edey would leave.

Zach Edey is the single greatest basketball player to ever travel the earth, and boy does he travel.

 

[mysterio2525]

Well, dead period means no contact at all with recruits, but I'm pretty sure it has been a "quiet period" rather than a "dead period", and that just means you can't meet in person with recruits or go off-campus to evaluate them.

Ok I get in theory. I'm sure pretty hard to enforce it but I guess nothing stopping a recruit from reaching out themselves

 

[More3s]

I think the world of our insiders as posters.

To me the key to not letting it drive you crazy is understanding that even if you're inside the program you only know so much about what's going on, and nobody can see the future.

A lot of people here are seeking a certainty about the future that simply does not exist.

Yep, agreed, and I think if you keep those things in mind then it makes it easier to find the right balance between enjoying the fun speculation and predictions while still recognizing the limitations of that as we wait to see how it ACTUALLY shakes out.

 

[ILL21]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1778454845088842117

 

[john1952]

Barrista - pretentious sounding word used by dejected art history and drama majors that describes their employment in order to make themselves feel better about serving coffee.
-So what have you been up to since you graduated?
- I'm a barista at the Coffee Bean, but only until I get a sitcom.