Fan Since '70
- OBS, Florida
Kasparas (or Demin) would have a greater impact on Illini success and also make their teammates better..
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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I'm utterly confused by the number of reversals to college in this year's draft which is weaker than most. Are these kids all just trying to grab from the most lucrative pot because they're not being told of guaranteed contracts or are the NBA guys saying they rather take flyers on international guys versus some of the older college guys.
I wonder how the Trollman Hawkins persona will play with a fanbase that's not so familiar with him as we are
Memes to sum up the last 24 hours:
“I know someone just became the highest-paid player, and I wouldn’t want to have that label,” He added. “I’d be making a good amount, but that’s a lot of added pressure when you label yourself that. … I’ve had lots of offers. I’ve had offers to sign with agencies. I’m not a person who is moved by money, and if I’m being honest with you, to have that label (as highest paid player) is just an unwanted amount of pressure because as soon as you do something wrong, as soon as anything happens, as soon as you have a bad game, people are just going to question all that money. So even if I did come back to school, I’d let you guys guess whatever amount I got. I would never share that information because, I mean if I’m being honest, it’s kind of selfish. Not only for yourself but for your teammates knowing what you made. I wouldn’t have those conversations with my teammates. I wouldn’t want anyone to know what I made.”
Hmmm.........My BS meter is maxed out with that statement
Hmmm.........My BS meter is maxed out with that statement
I posted this in the other thread but here it is again. My illiniois philosophy degree says this is bad logic and precedent shows the next year only matters. Guys who we thought would stay,said they're staying left. Insiders have said multiple times more money can be made available so why not for Coleman a proven commodity?
I think the issue with the loyalists is that we never really got to see Hawkins play his true position with good pieces( legit pg and center) and this wild west of transfer portal mercenaries and duffle bags make us dream team up a nccaa finals team with him leading the ship with this current roster construction.
Fantasy land in my head is imaging him not having to play the 5 or play point forward.
It's been said on here before the coffers can be filled again so they should be, because as we all learned there is no guarantee any of these guys who have more than 1 year or eligibility will be here more than 1 year.
I'd rather ride or die with CH and make daddy Brad and Co earn their paychecks by managing a bunch of potential nba picks who want their playing time and shots.
You created this chaos. We funded it. Now make it work with Hawkins.
Everyone can jump ship next year so stop saying guys with more eligibility have more potential. That assumes they stay.
CoHawk is a proven commodity. I can't see someone filling the last scholarship that would add more versatility to lineup combinations and leadership than him. Pay him and make it work.
My take is bro Hawk is best to go pro. Being a low 2nd round draft pick is not encouraging. He can do better $$$ wise in one year NIL deal.
After that ... the NBA try for a second time if his draft ability improves or,
more likely, play pro in Europe.
His personality might be an acquired taste to some. But I’m guessing about 3 or 4 double-doubles in a row and all will be well.
I'm calling it now. Prolly won't even have Booth next year. Wasn't a huge fan of CH but he is much better than Booth. Watkins is coming back and we go with Kasparas. Things May turn out great in the long, but the recruiting engine is not running on all cylinders. Who cares what I think tho. I don't think Riley will come to a place with so few minutes to go around, but I've been wrong before, and in that case my tone would change a bit.
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Illini4Chief
- TENNESSEE
Thank you, I also heard SouthEast Mississippi Agricultural also will decline interest.
I think bro Hawk has little to prove with another yr playing college bball. Likely NIL $$$ will be good for the Hawk in yr 5
Then on to Europe for a pro career.
I think in our "two-year window" methodology, the process works like this:
Year 1:
Load up on multi-year guys and see who develops
Get enough old talent to be competitive
Year 2:
Shed players that didn't develop
Pay the guys you want to keep
Get older stars to fill gaps
Year 1:
Load up on multi-year guys and see who develops
Get enough old talent to be competitive
Year 2:
Shed players that didn't develop
Pay the guys you want to keep
Get older stars to fill gaps
He played his "true position" his first two years with fantastic pieces around him. Playing next to Kofi there wasn't much room to maneuver close to the basket.
And furthermore, even though he was technically our "5" this last year, he had complete freedom to pop outside and shoot 3s. And also handle the ball a fair amount.
The true position thing is way overblown here. Most college coaches love to play guys "up" a position. eg PF to C, SF to PF, and so on. It's generally a good thing to get more quickness, shooting, and handles on the floor in this day and age. Golden State won a few titles with lineups where their tallest guy on the floor was frequently 6'8.
NIL has made staying in college financially competitive with the risk associated with not being selected in the first round. The best a second-round pick can hope for is a league minimum non-guaranteed salary of around $1.1M. Why do that when NIL is guaranteed?
Also this is the final year of players electing to take a covid fifth year, so that also adds to the number of people eligible to return to school.
I believe Lowell Hamilton was the #1 recruit in the nation
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
Year 1:
Load up on multi-year guys and see who develops: TSJ, CH, Melendez, Dain, SKYY, Epps, Rogers, Harris, Goode
Get enough old talent to be competitive: Mayer
Year 2:
Shed players that didn't develop: Skyy, Epps, Melendez
Pay the guys you want to keep: TSJ, Coleman
Get older stars to fill gaps: Domask, Guerrier, Harmon
Yup, seems about right.
PG: Kylan
SG: Kasparas/DGL
SF: Riley, Tre, Ty - Lord knows who starts here...
PF: Ben/Booth
C: Tomislav/Morez
This could very well end up being our starting five this year...
And are we sure Riley's a sure shot one and done? Probably likely it goes that direction...but not sure if that's a "sure shot", so to speak...
This could be the lineup next year...
Kylan, Kasparas, Riley, Tre, Tomislav/Morez
The only downside might be that some guys might end up leaving - not happy with the minutes they got...
But just keep the main guys and things are nothing but AWESOME.
Just hope we are in good spot $$ wise for Riley. If that's not an issue, it seems like we're in a pretty good spot...?
SG: Kasparas/DGL
SF: Riley, Tre, Ty - Lord knows who starts here...
PF: Ben/Booth
C: Tomislav/Morez
This could very well end up being our starting five this year...
And are we sure Riley's a sure shot one and done? Probably likely it goes that direction...but not sure if that's a "sure shot", so to speak...
This could be the lineup next year...
Kylan, Kasparas, Riley, Tre, Tomislav/Morez
The only downside might be that some guys might end up leaving - not happy with the minutes they got...
But just keep the main guys and things are nothing but AWESOME.
Just hope we are in good spot $$ wise for Riley. If that's not an issue, it seems like we're in a pretty good spot...?
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I think Coleman's value to next season's team would as a lightning rod for Underwood's temper. Who is he going to yell and curse at to get the entire team's attention? Ty? Dre? Ty is too hard-working to ever be yelled at and Dre may be too fragile. They need a whipping boy to get the message across. And that was CoHawk or Dain.
Now, who's it going to be? Guess we'll have to find out...
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You’d be right if Coleman WANTED to come back, but he has made it very clear he wants to move on.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
What you’re saying is so simple I’m surprised the coaches didn’t think of it.
All you have to do is ruin the team chemistry.
“Hey, Booth, I know we told you that you’d be integral piece of this team, but you likely won’t see the floor.”
“Hey Humvee, I know we told you that you’d be an integral piece of this team, but you’ll likely only play 5 minutes a game. Coleman has the other 35.”
“Hey Boswell, I know we told you that you’d be the leader of the team, but this is Coleman’s team now.”
“Hey boosters, I know we told you that we wouldn’t need anymore money, but we now need an extra $1m-$2m to get Coleman back.”
And on top of that:
Coleman
Doesn’t
Want
To
Play
Here
Next
Year
And
We
Can’t
Force
Him
To.
I think the problem is people read:
"Hawkins was not projected to be drafted and now the former #Illini is one of the top transfers on the market"
and don't even bother clicking on the link to the free article. That is where Werner cited his sources. Also, the overall article is more like a puff piece praising Coleman Hawkins.
Werner could have committed the part about the draft projection from the tweet, and included it the linked article. Maybe he wanted to stir the pot?
But what if we kidnap him and only let him play if someone gets injured? Seems to solve a lot of problems...
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