Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[Dan]

Welcome to the Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

IL Returnees
1) Ty Rodgers
2) Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

IL Signees
1) Morez Johnson (2024 PF) committed on November 4th, 2021.
2) Jason Jakstys (2024 F) committed on July 23rd, 2023.
3) Jake Davis (Mercer guard) committed on April 1st.
4) Tre White (Louisville wing) committed on April 9th.
5) Kylan Boswell (Arizona guard) committed on April 14th.
6) Carey Booth (Notre Dame forward) committed on April 16th.
7) Ben Humrichous (Evansville forward) committed on April 30th.
8) Tomislav Ivisic (Croatian center) committed on May 6th.
9) Kasparas Jakucionis (Lithuanian guard) committed on May 28th.


IL players who left or decommitted from the program
1) Dain Dainja entered transfer portal on April 1st, committed to Memphis on April 5th.
2) Jase Butler decommitted on April 8th, committed to Washington on April 23rd.
3) Sencire Harris entered transfer portal on April 15th, committed to West Virginia on April 21st.
4) Amani Hansberry entered transfer portal on April 16th, committed to West Virginia on April 21st.
5) Luke Goode entered transfer portal on April 22nd, committed to Indiana on April 26th.
6) Marcus Domask announced he's out of eligibility & declared for NBA Draft on April 25th.
7) Niccolo Moretti entered transfer portal on April 29th, committed to FAU on May 21st.
8) Coleman Hawkins withdrew from NBA Draft & announced intention to transfer to new program on May 29th.


2025 Recruiting
1) Jeremiah Fears (2025 PG) committed on January 22nd, 2024.

 

[Luhmania]

First?

 

[jamarvelous31]

 

[texillwek]

 

[7 Year Illini]

A decade ago I wanted players to be made employees so they could be paid. Just like any other student who does a job for the university. The greedy NCAA and admin bastards just couldn't give up the money, so now we have this chaos. "They're amateurs!," they cried. No they weren't. They were doing a job while being a student. Just like an RA. Someone who works at the counseling office. A graduate TA. They were always employees.

And now? We have a ridiculous system that we couldn't have quite predicted. Coleman is looking for $2,000,000 and will likely get it (Arkansas, Kentucky, UConn, perhaps?). A great lesson - if you run a business and get excessively greedy, sometimes bad !!!! happens. Every bit of this was preventable.

In any event, good luck to Coleman, except when he plays Illinois!

 

[Illini4Chief]

Coleman was good in Math.......Let's see.... where can I make more money......NIL or Play in Europe. It's all about the money.

 

[Goillinikobd]

If CH was a 2 million dollar talent, he would have been snapped up by the NBA before now. But, in an inflation permeated world where pickle relish had doubled in price, anything is possible, despite the fact that CH never was and never will be NBA quality.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

So where are we with Will Riley? Are we sufficient enough $$ wise?

To break down his other options...

Alabama - no scholarships open. If he reclasses, this one's automatically crossed out.

Arizona - They've been pretty successful with Canadian talent - that might seem to spark interest...but it not much noise out there connecting him there.

Arkansas - Cal has said he only wants to add one more. Now...that def. doesn't mean that it'll for sure be like that...but it feels like their priority interest is more towards some other guys - veteran guys - so unlike typical KY teams in the past.

And then there's KY - This feels like the heaviest hitter of the 4. But...their main focus too isn't Riley - they seem to really want Jaxson Robinson if/when he withdraws. They also seem to like Wooga Poplar.

 

[More3s]

Ok, I want to preface this comment by first saying that:
1) I generally like Werner and intend what follows to just be constructive criticism (and a relatively minor one at that)
2) I like Coleman, feel bad for him that he's resorting to his plan B here, and wish him nothing but the best wherever he goes
3) I also really like the guys we've brought in to play in our front court - I can't wait to see what all 4 of Ivisic, Humrichous, Morez, and Booth can become.

Now, disclaimers out of the way, about this article:

Reports: Coleman Hawkins withdraws from NBA Draft, to transfer to another program

Hawkins was not projected to be drafted and now is one of the top transfers on the market

247sports.com

I just wish Werner would have left the "not projected to be drafted" language out of this article. In my opinion it comes across as a minor, and yet unnecessary, shot at Coleman on his way out. I think it would have been better to just stick with something to the effect of: Coleman apparently didn't feel confident enough in landing a guaranteed contract, and has decided the best move for him will be to entertain NIL offers in the transfer portal. Let the national guys that actually do the draft projections explain those projects, but I'd rather the Illinois homer guys give Coleman a more positive spin. (And he does note Coleman's success and impact at Illinois, so I'm not saying that aspect wasn't there at all.)

Maybe I'm quibbling too much here, but I just thought that the "not projected to be drafted" wording was unfortunate. Am I off base?

 

[illiniwil]

i think "not projected to be drafted" is the truth. i can assume Werner has a few
nba scouts/front office guys he can call who can confirm this. no shade here. good luck
man you'll always be an illini, except in a final four show down!

 

[Goillinikobd]

The phrase “not projected… “ reflects fact more than than opinion so I think it’s fair. You can argue that this FACTUAL statement is based on the OPINIONS of the people evaluating CH, but ….

 

[CentralMaroon]

Ok, I want to preface this comment by first saying that:
1) I generally like Werner and intend what follows to just be constructive criticism (and a relatively minor one at that)
2) I like Coleman, feel bad for him that he's resorting to his plan B here, and wish him nothing but the best wherever he goes
3) I also really like the guys we've brought in to play in our front court - I can't wait to see what all 4 of Ivisic, Humrichous, Morez, and Booth can become.

Now, disclaimers out of the way, about this article:

Reports: Coleman Hawkins withdraws from NBA Draft, to transfer to another program

Hawkins was not projected to be drafted and now is one of the top transfers on the market

247sports.com

I just wish Werner would have left the "not projected to be drafted" language out of this article. In my opinion it comes across as a minor, and yet unnecessary, shot at Coleman on his way out. I think it would have been better to just stick with something to the effect of: Coleman apparently didn't feel confident enough in landing a guaranteed contract, and has decided the best move for him will be to entertain NIL offers in the transfer portal. Let the national guys that actually do the draft projections explain those projects, but I'd rather the Illinois homer guys give Coleman a more positive spin. (And he does note Coleman's success and impact at Illinois, so I'm not saying that aspect wasn't there at all.)

Maybe I'm quibbling too much here, but I just thought that the "not projected to be drafted" wording was unfortunate. Am I off base?

It seemed fine to me as it was simply citing his reason for withdrawing. Without definitive reasoning, people would be questioning whether it was Illinois offered a huge bag of money to stay, another team offered the bag, an injury, a pending court case, or any other reason someone could cook up. The rest of the article was full of platitudes.

 

[Tevo]

Good luck to Coleman. Totally makes sense to me that after 4 years with Brad and company, he would look for some new coaches to learn from and a new experience from which to grow. If what he is now, and has done for the last 4 years, hasn't been enough to get drafted, it only makes sense that he would look to make a change, to see if it results in growth and more opportunities. I hope he kills it next year.

And I, for one, would absolutely love it if the Illini met Coleman's team next year -- regular season or in the Tournament. That would be super entertaining, and I would love to see how all of the players, especially Coleman, and Illinois coaches would handle it. Must see TV!

 

[More3s]

i think "not projected to be drafted" is the truth. i can assume Werner has a few
nba scouts/front office guys he can call who can confirm this. no shade here. good luck
man you'll always be an illini, except in a final four show down!

Appreciate the comments.

And I’m not really questioning the truth of the statement - I’m in no position to know either way - but rather the utility or necessity of it. I just think Werner could’ve gone with “wasn’t assured of a guaranteed contract” as the reason for withdrawing, which is also likely true, but slightly less negative, in my view.

Maybe it’s splitting hairs too much, but it would have been nice to avoid this:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1796024622090944687

You will always have the random twitter hot takes in the background that are unfortunate, but it just makes me sad to see Coleman feeling the need to defend himself from Werner’s article. I honestly would imagine it’s a tough time for him right now - he obviously would have greatly preferred to stay in the draft.

 

[SoILIllini]

Even though we all knew this was a possibility it still stinks.. You can try and put whatever positive spin on it you want but it's a small stain on a great Illini career and less than ideal optics for the program

That being said, I understand the decision and wish him the best.. just wish he would have went in the draft

 

[Goldtop]

For the sake of conversation. How? Players being paid under the table has been going on for years. With the top players getting the most.

 

[Fan Since '70]

Even though we all knew this was a possibility it still stinks.. You can try and put whatever positive spin on it you want but it's a small stain on a great Illini career and less than ideal optics for the program

That being said, I understand the decision and wish him the best.. just wish he would have went in the draft

It is no stain on Hawkin's career at Illinois. Hawkins was loyal and came back last season at less than market rate. He doesn't owe Illinois anything anymore, but he does owe it to himself and his future family to earn some real money while the iron is hot right now. Rehab his nagging injuries and make himself more draftable. While some of those things he can do at Illinois, he probably can't get the payday he deserves and that opening up bidding would achieve.
Thanks Coleman always!

 

[gibb52]

At the tail end of the draft only a few of those guys end up with a roster spot. The rest are put in G League. This was a simple calculation by Hawk. Come back for 1 more yr and get $1mil plus in NIL, far more than he could make otherwise. Then back in the draft in '25 and be no worse off. I've always thought Hawk was a Euro League type and he can go over there and make a nice living if he chooses that route.

 

[robertgoulet]

He must have been guaranteed a big bag from someone, bc he's not going to improve his draft stock much by going back to school. He's pulling out of one of the weakest drafts in the last 20 yrs (maybe THE weakest?). If his goal is making the most money this is probably the right move, but if it's making the NBA...

Good luck to him wherever he goes. I am in the minority in that this doesnt move the needle at all for how I think about his career at UI.

 

[ugottabjoshinme]

Ok, I want to preface this comment by first saying that:
1) I generally like Werner and intend what follows to just be constructive criticism (and a relatively minor one at that)
2) I like Coleman, feel bad for him that he's resorting to his plan B here, and wish him nothing but the best wherever he goes
3) I also really like the guys we've brought in to play in our front court - I can't wait to see what all 4 of Ivisic, Humrichous, Morez, and Booth can become.

Now, disclaimers out of the way, about this article:

Reports: Coleman Hawkins withdraws from NBA Draft, to transfer to another program

Hawkins was not projected to be drafted and now is one of the top transfers on the market

247sports.com

I just wish Werner would have left the "not projected to be drafted" language out of this article. In my opinion it comes across as a minor, and yet unnecessary, shot at Coleman on his way out. I think it would have been better to just stick with something to the effect of: Coleman apparently didn't feel confident enough in landing a guaranteed contract, and has decided the best move for him will be to entertain NIL offers in the transfer portal. Let the national guys that actually do the draft projections explain those projects, but I'd rather the Illinois homer guys give Coleman a more positive spin. (And he does note Coleman's success and impact at Illinois, so I'm not saying that aspect wasn't there at all.)

Maybe I'm quibbling too much here, but I just thought that the "not projected to be drafted" wording was unfortunate. Am I off base?

Yup. Werner wasn't even injecting his opinion when he said that. He cited Colemans ranking / projection from 3 major outlets.

He might have gotten drafted. He also will probably make more money through NIL this year.

 

[Illiniguy74]

Good luck to him. Hope he has success in life whether on the court or off. Tbh, was never a big fan.

 

[ugottabjoshinme]

Even though we all knew this was a possibility it still stinks.. You can try and put whatever positive spin on it you want but it's a small stain on a great Illini career and less than ideal optics for the program

That being said, I understand the decision and wish him the best.. just wish he would have went in the draft

I don't think it is any stain on a great Illini career nor is it bad optics for the program.

He played a full 4 year career here. It's time to move on. He's known it (literally since the UConn game ended and he said it) and Brad has known it too. Everyone (except fans) is fine with it.

 

[More3s]

Yup. Werner wasn't even injecting his opinion when he said that. He cited Colemans ranking / projection from 3 major outlets.

He might have gotten drafted. He also will probably make more money through NIL this year.

True. Again, I’m not saying what Werner wrote wasn’t true - as you say he cited the projections and he was factually correct to the letter of what he wrote.

My question was to the utility of saying it. But I probably should have been more clear in my original comment.

Appreciate your take

Edit: I'm realizing there is a fair bit of nuance here that I haven't done the best job of navigating. I'll try one more time:
1) What Werner wrote was factually correct in the sense that major outlets were indeed projecting Coleman outside of the top 60.
2) Coleman's tweet saying that Werner's article was a lie was technically incorrect, since Werner explicitly said Coleman was "not projected to be drafted" and then cited those projections
3) My guess is that Coleman's REAL issue would have been with those projections, if maybe he was being told in meetings and workouts that "hey we'll draft you, but it will be for a 2-way contract instead of a guaranteed one."
4) I still would have preferred Werner to hedge his article more toward "Coleman was not assured of a guaranteed contract" as opposed to "Coleman was not projected to be drafted". Both would have been true statements, but the first one is a bit less harsh than the second.
5). I realize I'm nitpicking and probably should have left the whole thing alone.

 

[NashvILLe05]

Appreciate the comments.

And I’m not really questioning the truth of the statement - I’m in no position to know either way - but rather the utility or necessity of it. I just think Werner could’ve gone with “wasn’t assured of a guaranteed contract” as the reason for withdrawing, which is also likely true, but slightly less negative, in my view.

Maybe it’s splitting hairs too much, but it would have been nice to avoid this:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1796024622090944687

You will always have the random twitter hot takes in the background that are unfortunate, but it just makes me sad to see Coleman feeling the need to defend himself from Werner’s article. I honestly would imagine it’s a tough time for him right now - he obviously would have greatly preferred to stay in the draft.

I didn’t pick up on that as being insulting, but clearly it was to Coleman…you’re right, Werner should’ve changed the language due to Coleman’s high level of engagement on social media. He was going to see it and say something…bad look. Still a big fan of both Coleman and Werner.

 

[SoILIllini]

I don't think it is any stain on a great Illini career nor is it bad optics for the program.

He played a full 4 year career here. It's time to move on. He's known it (literally since the UConn game ended and he said it) and Brad has known it too. Everyone (except fans) is fine with it.

Think this will just be one we agree to disagree on. Once you put on another college jersey it's just different.

Again, I understand the logic behind it, still hate to see it at the same time.

Not that I don't think Ben H can be good here, just would love if we'd be slotting Coleman in at the 4 with the rest of this lineup