Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[ever]

The vast majority of players start out as role players and evolve into being "the guy". It's a little bit different to have a group of guys that we aren't super familiar with come in and be expected to make that leap, but considering the talent they have and the experience they have gained at previous stops, it is their time to step up.

Prior to his arrival in Champaign, TJ was a 22-25 minute a game guy. His role at Texas Tech was similar to that of Ty or Quincy last year. A significant role player, but no one would have been surprised to see him on the bench for long stretches. We gave him 7 more minutes a game and he averaged 7 more points a game his first year as an Illini compared to his last year at TT. We needed him to become that guy, and that opportunity helped him find the confidence and drive for tremendous growth.

I get it, there is a lot we don't know about these guys. What we do know is that we have a heck of a coaching staff, and they have a pretty good track record of inspiring growth in the guys who commit to our culture.

The guys we have added have all the raw materials to make a team that can compete with the best in the country. There's some work left to do, but Illini basketball isn't a difficult thing to sell anymore. We've got good players on the roster. We are going to get good players to take the rest of the spots we are looking to fill. Then we just let that dozen or so guys scratch and claw for PT. I think it's going to work out just fine.

In his three years at Texas Tech, Shannon played ~75% of starters' minutes with reasonably high usage (much higher than Ty, and a good step up from QG) and had very good metrics like true shooting, ORtg/DRtg, WS/40, etc. In his first year with us, he had starters' minutes and his usage went up a step, while his metrics were at the high end (but generally within) of their pre-Illinois range. He had already established himself before Illinois and performed about as expected in his first year. Then he took it to another level in his last year with us.

I'd be happy with one or two guys who were as good as TSJ was before he came here, but we haven't added anyone like that yet. So far, we've added guys with potential, but with more question marks about their performance so far than TSJ had. They might be great for us, but so far none are comparable to pre-Illinois TSJ.

I'm not saying anything critical about our outlook for next year since we're not done yet.

 

[Illinirog70]

Garrison, Maddox, Storr-- come on down!!!

 

[Heisenbobble]

Garrison, Maddox, Storr-- come on down!!!

In My Dreams!

 

[ever]

I’m not sure we can allocate it better though- if Johnell will come for $1.2M, pay the man!

He’s the best player in the portal IMO- size, efficient scorer, over 41% from three, good rebounder- he and Boswell would be one of the best backcourts in the country and he fills exactly what we need in a SG

We can get a legit C with the rest of the NIL and win a big ten title. It’s a no brainer in my eyes

I don't know the actual asking prices of all the available options, so I can't say for sure if I agree, but if we were willing to give Storr somewhere around $1m, then Johnell for $1.2m sounds doable (and a better value IMHO).

 

[One Man Fast Break]

What was the point of adding a backup center on a bad team from Notre Dame? Illinois needs a true big that it can feel comfortable starting. Frontcourt projects as a major problem as it stands now. Morez is only 6'9, a true freshman and not a big NBA prospect. You can't roll with Morez and the Notre Dame transfer and think you're OK there. Hansberry would have been a good keep, but hard to blame him, when Underwood doesn't believe in a guy it's super apparent (see Podz)

 

[LarryGotFouled]

Garrison, Maddox, Storr-- come on down!!!

if that happens, we'd be top 10 pre-season, maybe top 5.

 

[MoCoMdIllini]

I prefer a Bitchin' Camaro.

 

[sacraig]

View attachment 33893

There's a hotel I frequent for business and a train runs right by it. I think of this movie every time.

 

[aaeismacgychel]

Eh, I mean fans lost their minds last offseason too- people were down on Marcus, Guerrier was seen as a risk, and nobody knew why we signed Justin Harmon, and that's aside from the RayJ and Jeremiah Williams issues. And we still had a great season and an Elite 8 run. Just the nature of the portal- if you're looking for warts, that's often all you'll see.

Overall, this year's portal roster rebuilding has been going much better on paper than last year's though instead of going after 1-year Senior mercenaries exclusively, we're going after high ceiling multiyear talent who are still going to need development. So this isn't as much about next season's roster as it is trying to build for a title run in 2 years while still fielding a very competitive roster next year, and under that lens, I think we're doing quite well. And that's where I think the basis for comparison really needs to be, as having the perspective of we must replace one of the best 3 players in the country, a 1st team All-B10 player, a 3rd team All-B10 player, and 9 roster spots to make a Final Four next year just isn't a reasonable one. Compete for a B10 title in 2025 and fight for a couple wins in the tourney is success, then the all-in run for the 2026 championship who have a year of playing together and chemistry under their belt.

 

[FreshlySqueezed]

I don't want to argue, but here we go. The year before Shannon came here he took a fairly sizable step back. His ORtg as a junior was pretty mediocre. His minutes decreased significantly, his FT rate dropped, his TO rate increased. All could be perceived as bad signs, without the hindsight we now have.

Boswell's Ortg is higher as a sophomore than TSJ's was as a junior, for example. And his also dropped from freshman year to sophomore year. Boswell's TS% as a freshman was the same as Shannon's as a junior. Both had ups and downs at their prior stops, but I would contend that Boswell is on the level of TSJ (at the time of transfer). I'm not saying Boswell is going to be an All-American, but I don't think anyone saw 5th year TSJ being a top 5 player in all of college basketball.

And the OP was replying to a post from someone who is worried about the state of our team before the portal closes when we know we are adding 3 more bodies. It's absolutely insane to be worrying about this now. And frankly, it's exhausting and completely worthless to read.

 

[skyIdub]

Sitting in car waiting on boom…

 

[gibb52]

David Jones, please

I'm a believer.

 

[TheodoreRex]

I don't think we need to pursue Storr either way ...

They have our final offer ... Take it or leave it ... Or wait and watch us give it to someone else ...

is this recruitment turning into one of those situations where it's getting to the point of annoying?

 

[mysterio2525]

Edey was the best player in college basketball. Sorry but it’s true. Without him purdue is a bubble team.

Love me tsj and I would go as far as second best player last year with stretches at the end that were crazy good but agreed Edey was no question the best player in all of cbb last year.

 

[WyattEarp]

That's an unfortunate story and sad ending for Pontiac. But my question is -

- - - has the nephew of Blackdog entered the Portal? He sounds like an excellent choice to replace Harris, our former dawg.

I see only two possible options:

 

[Keene-4-3]

In My Dreams!

dokken in my dreams - Google Search

 

[Vinegarben]

Ammani was all the talk prior to coming here. He is going to be a superstar, he can rebound, shoot the 3 he is going to be great! What happened? It seems to staff is so hyped on some of these guys but when they get here they don't play. Seems to me the staff announces a portal in and a portal out almost every other day. What is the deal with Butler? Did he try to hijack the farm?

 

[WyattEarp]

I'm a believer.

A daydream believer? Or just a believer in general?

 

[Kendall Gill’s Uncle]

No ... But frankly, I am a little disappointed we are not even pursuing Conwell ... I think the kid is an absolute bucket and difference maker ...

Agree!

 

[Dawgss4life]

I don't disagree in full, which is why I pointed out that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a substantial addition to be implemented into the roster.

Regarding last year, let's call it what it is and apologies to Purdue fans in advance...we had the best player in college basketball on our team. TJ put that team on his shoulders for over two weeks. Hawkins was also a proven scorer and I'd put Guerrier into the category of a proven, high level "known" going into the year.

If you tell anyone on this board that we have a first team All American going into next season....you're going to have 25 pages of celebrations and "booms".

If I come at this objectively and if we're just looking at the numbers, we have to replace:

70 Points Per Game
30 Rebounds Per Game
12 Assist Per Game

If I look at the subtractions and I look at the additions, TO DATE, the math doesn't come close to adding up. It is going to take two bonafide scorers to make up for what we lost.

An area of weakness for us last year was strength on the interior. As the roster sits right now(understanding that the portal is alive and well)... we're in a worse spot than we were last year at this time.

We're not going to get into the age of that roster, the experience, the leadership, etc. That'll just have to evolve.

We can't compare last year to this year because last year, we had answers, big ones(Hawkins and TJ) coming into the season. We don't have that right now

This was way too long, but the takeaway here is that you can't blame anyone for feeling anxious, ESPECIALLY if they want this upcoming year to be comparable to last year. Unless a dynamic player(s) like Storr(doesn't have to be Storr) is added to the roster....the expectation level of this team will have the floor of a bubble team with a ceiling that's TBD.

Again, you're 100% right with the fact that we still have three transfers to hop aboard, so making any sort of prediction on the future is utterly ridiculous. That said, that gentleman's statement about the roster being role players right now is not untrue.

Did you hear about a kid named Morez. I disagree with every bit of this But I’ll let you drown in your Cheerios

 

[Da88]

The car I drove while at home in high school and when home from UI was my great aunt's 1972 Buick Skylark. A 350 cu inch V-8. A beast and it was no muscle car. I recall flooring it into a headwind on an entrance ramp to I-74 once to test its acceleration. The aerodynamics were so poor that it felt as if it were going to become airborne. Eight miles to the gallon city, 14 highway if I was lucky. AM radio with an FM converter. Massive chrome bumpers. Weighed 3600 lbs. Good times.

Am fully aware that this belongs in a separate cheese/car thread.

So... where do we stand with Storr... er... Maddox?

My first car was a 72 Skylark.
.89 gas was a very good thing with that car. I once had 12 people in it. Who needs a minivan?

 

[201154JC]

My first car was a 72 Skylark.
.89 gas was a very good thing with that car. I once had 12 people in it. Who needs a minivan?

1951 Plymouth, flathead six with three on the tree.
My fellow HS students really liked it. Class of '72.

 

[OB positive]

Why are some on Loyalty still obsessed with Storr? Based on insider comments, we’ve backed off due to drama with his team and he likely isn’t committing. Everyone assuming we need him for a successful season seems to forget there’s several elite players yet to enter the portal. According to Indy and others, Brad is playing chess behind the curtain. Be patient, no need for doom and gloom.

Well I don't know about obsession but it was like having a carrot dangled in front of you the way everyone was saying he was likely coming to Illinois. For those of us that would be thrilled to get him, it's hard to let go. As Pru says it really really is.

 

[ginabackes00]

Well I don't know about obsession but it was like having a carrot dangled in front of you the way everyone was saying he was likely coming to Illinois. For those of us that would be thrilled to get him, it's hard to let go. As Pru says it really really is.

Once there was a price war, I was comfortable with losing out. There are other options we can add to this team and still be very good. I think the staff has learned how to maneuver the transfer portal now.

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

David Jones, please