Leading scorer was a 12-year-old.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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theNewGuy
- Dallas, TX
This shows me a player who is unselfish, high IQ, and mature.
Can't wait until people take this and run with it:
"OmGOsH CaNt BeLIEvE wE Are ReCRuITiNg GuYS ThAt PLaY AgAiNSt TWeLvE Yr OLdS!!!!!"
huh. ok maybe I shouldn't have called it high-level. No offense to whoever this 12 year old is, I see he's already like 6'10" and I'm sure he's great to be playing on an 18u team already, but Kasparas would be playing against 23 year-olds if he comes next year. Is Berlin just the weakest team in this tournament? I don't follow any euro-ball stuff at all.
(I'm not saying the whole league is bad or it reflects on Kasparas in general or whatever. But obviously this game was incredibly one-sided, so something seems off about it...)
Actually, I'll add that in general it seems like Kasparas has usually performed better than Demin in this same league, based on the stats I've been able to find. And again, I don't follow it, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but as @LvilleILL seemed to indicate last thread, that would lead me to believe that Kasparas would be more likely to be a better player NEXT YEAR than Demin. Am I off base on that? (the usual caveats about not being sure about projections and Demin still perhaps having more eventual NBA upside probably apply, but just thinking in terms of next year in the the B1G, wouldn't the odds be in favor of Kasparas being better?)
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ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
No way that's true
ABDRAHAMANE KONE | Adidas Next Generation Tournament
Check out information on ABDRAHAMANE KONE. Including player profile, season stats and records. Click to find out more.
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Born 1/20/2009 so he's 15. Holy moly that is a prodigy to be playing at that level at that age.
I heard we backed off the 12 year old because he wanted too much NIL
No I think this guy:No way that's true
ABDRAHAMANE KONE | Adidas Next Generation Tournament
Check out information on ABDRAHAMANE KONE. Including player profile, season stats and records. Click to find out more.
Born 1/20/2009 so he's 15. Holy moly that is a prodigy to be playing at that level at that age.
MOHAMED DABONE | Adidas Next Generation Tournament
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actually had 1 more point than Kone. And he is indeed 12. (and 6'10")
This may has been stated before, but is there any reason to believe perhaps Boswell takes a Shannon jump in production now that he is Champaign? I know we are looking for a scorer, but just curious perhaps his stats jump in Brad's system.
Beat me to it. Yep, that’s the kid. And in this case, he really is a kid.No I think this guy:
MOHAMED DABONE | Adidas Next Generation Tournament
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actually had 1 more point than Kone. And he is indeed 12. (and 6'10")
He was looking for a Pampers endorsement! 
It didn’t take long.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Again, remarkable prodigy, but also, he's the same 12 Danny Almonte was, cmon nowNo I think this guy:
MOHAMED DABONE | Adidas Next Generation Tournament
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actually had 1 more point than Kone. And he is indeed 12. (and 6'10")
It is a reminder that this is high-school age basketball. Elite high school age basketball, and a higher standard of play than you'd see at the top AAU tournaments, but these are kids.
It didn’t take long.
He is really 12?
PULL THE JAKUCIONIS OFFER AND FIRE THE ENTIRE STAFF
Are growth plates still open???No I think this guy:
MOHAMED DABONE | Adidas Next Generation Tournament
Check out information on MOHAMED DABONE. Including player profile, season stats and records. Click to find out more.
actually had 1 more point than Kone. And he is indeed 12. (and 6'10")
Did anyone watch Kasparas at all in the Nike Hoops Summit game? I was mostly skipping parts that Morez wasn't playing. But looking back I do see that Kasparas was there. Didn't play too much. (although I guess just 1 less minute than Morez). But this would be what his peer group would be for the NCAA next year, presumably.
USA Select Team vs. World Team - Apr 13, 2024 - Game recap | Proballers
Cooper Flagg scored 19 points, Asa Newell had 17 points, as USA Select Team defeated World Team, 98-75, on Apr 13, 2024. A.J. Dybantsa scored 21 points for World Team.
www.proballers.com
Which of the European prospects was this referencing?
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Kasparas
I would think there would be a big learning curve for this type of play versus the Big Ten. You never know.
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Did anyone watch Kasparas at all in the Nike Hoops Summit game? I was mostly skipping parts that Morez wasn't playing. But looking back I do see that Kasparas was there. Didn't play too much. (although I guess just 1 less minute than Morez). But this would be what his peer group would be for the NCAA next year, presumably.
USA Select Team vs. World Team - Apr 13, 2024 - Game recap | Proballers
Cooper Flagg scored 19 points, Asa Newell had 17 points, as USA Select Team defeated World Team, 98-75, on Apr 13, 2024. A.J. Dybantsa scored 21 points for World Team.
Seems you probably are pretty elite talent just to be selected to play in that game (I'm looking at the names in there, all the very tip-top players- Dybansta, Flagg, Harper, Bailey, Newell, Morez, Jayden Quiantance, Riley, Bidunga, etcetera).
I heard we backed off recruiting 12 year olds after the Jereme Richmond debacle...I heard we backed off the 12 year old because he wanted too much NIL
Still too soon...
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Like Demin, Kasparas is best thought of in those terms, a pretty elite freshman, but a freshman.
To me the real story here is that it seems like Orlando Antigua's mission and plan here is to make Illinois a destination for direct-from-Europe talent where NIL has changed everything in terms of those guys wanting to play college basketball.
That is a plan fraught with risk, but with massive potential reward. Super interesting.
Can we enroll the 12 year old? How are his grades?
I wonder if Demin wasn’t in that game due to a Russian visa issue or something like that. We he have been eligible otherwise?
With the major caveat being that it was an open gym with very limited defensive effort, I liked what I saw from Boz offensively- quick first step, great body control, strong lower body, and smooth looking stroke. I can definitely see him making a giant leap next year, especially because he'll be with a team that's going to share the ball and not just be a Caleb Love black hole. Defensively, I do have some concerns if we don't get a major plus defender out of the guard position as otherwise I think we're going to have a bad matchup against teams with quick guards. But that's still in flux obviously. Overall, I think Boswell's going to outperform national expectations next year and be sensational in year 2.
Gonzaga might be the most notable one, but a lot of extremely successful programs have had international players for really quite a long time (although it is indeed going to be accelerated if these kids can now come over here and make $ above-the-table).
Who knows if this will be a yearly staple for our recruiting, but given where the game is going (someone else mentioned the last 6 NBA MVP awards going to international players) then perhaps it should be?
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