Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#77      
TheGMan
illini55 said:
I really hope we are done. I want to see DGL in his second year. I want to see Morez play a bunch of minutes. I want to see Booth learn his craft on the court. I cannot wait to see KJ. It sounds ideal to get all the great players, but there's still just one ball and 200 minutes to go around. You cannot keep everyone happy in this NIL era if you have too many alphas/NBA hopefuls. Let's go to war with the soldiers already in the trenches.
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I want to win
 
#78      
Birdus
idoc13 said:
Good question. There has been a lot of talk on here about how we have all this NIL money until we actually need to pay for Storr, or Maddox, or Demin, or even to bring back Coleman Hawkins.

Not saying the staff did a bad job. I think they put together a great roster for next year. But, it looks like we might be on a tighter NIL budget than what we were led to believe.
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Although Demin fascinates me some, I would rather have Kasparas than any of the others. He can handle the rock. Storr not so much.
 
#79      
BIG_G2332
I am sad. Coleman Hawkins was a legend, goes down with the likes of the all-time Illini greats. His loyalty to the program and consistent improvement of his game each year is what makes him so great. I am sad with college sports, I am not mad or upset with Coleman about chasing a bag after giving this program everything he had for four years, but I am a little upset with the program not doing everything in their power to bring him back now that it is a possibility. I wish him nothing but personal and career success, but I hope whatever team he goes to loses before Illinois does, and God I really hope we don't play him. To me, this is like playing against Ayo in a different college uniform, or if Dee would have transferred out after breaking his foot during the draft process. Both guys are core Illini guys, and Coleman was that, until he wasn't anymore.

This taints things for me. Obviously, it does not take away everything that he accomplished in Champaign, but it does add an asterisk. A "yeah, but" every time we mention him. In the future, if he makes the league, when he gets drafted or announced as a starter in a game it will not sound like... "And now out of the University of Illinois, number 33, Coleman Hawkins!" but will instead be said with whatever institution he chooses to play his last year of eligibility at. He will now go down as a former Illini, not forever an Illini. It's a bummer, but this is what college sports is today. You don't have many kids pulling the front of their jersey after a big moment anymore, those days are long gone. College basketball used to be about playing hard for your SCHOOL, the one that you chose! The one that you fell in love with on your visit or the days after committing and joining the campus and its student body. It meant something to play for your home state school (I know Coleman is from California). This game (and football!) is no longer a school sporting competition league, it's a business. It sucks, and Coleman Hawkins should not play college basketball in any other uniform than the Illini.

That being said, I still fully support the paying of players. They were taken advantage of and exploited for far too long, and I really really do wish nothing but the best for Coleman and fully understand his decision. I just wish it was not the decision he made, and I wish the NCAA landscape was different, and I wish Illinois would have done everything in their power to keep him here one more year, because it doesn't feel like they did.

Logging off until next season. ILL
 
#80      
RabidDawgClassic
Illini4Chief said:

Interesting...click on top
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“You could get away with not going hard in practice or kind of taking plays off. You could get mad at me for saying that, but not everybody’s going 100% like that. I play hard in games and things like that, but it would be real-life situations.”

Philadelphia 76Ers Basketball GIF
 
#82      
Mr. Roberts
It will be interesting to see how Hawkins does with a different coach. Brad pushed him hard, jumped on him when he went brain dead, yet stuck with him and defended him when he was struggling. Was that combination of tough love and undying support necessary for his success? We shall see.
 
#85      
himynameisJoseph
I am clearly in the minority, but Coleman has annoyed the crap out of me his whole career - the boneheaded turnovers, the compulsive pump fakes (both of which he admittedly improved last year), the NON-STOP chirping at refs, the online trolling (which only got worse last year). He completely lost me when he childishly trolled Rutgers and then followed it up with an absolutely horrible game. He has always struck me as smart and talented, but in-his-own-head, thin-skinned and immature. I can't say I'm too sad to see him go, especially as it makes room for Booth/Hummer/Morez.

I'm predicting now that his game will take a down turn next year. He will (obviously) make a bag somewhere else, but I predict that he is not going to handle well the pressure of being THAT GUY on his new team - the one who raked in a ton of cash and is thus expected to perform like a superstar. I don't see him having the chutzpah to handle those kind of expectations, and rise to meet or exceed them. I think we got the best out of Coleman (who arguably totally outperformed his recruiting expectations), and I am A-OK seeing him move on, make his money, and then fade away.
 
#86      
Combo
JBfor3 said:
I know its unrealistic but would love if a few donors came together and put an offer together that he couldn't refuse. In addition to his on court contributions, he seems like a great locker room guy and would add continuity for all of the newcomers. I assume he is gone hope he goes to a blue blood (outside of the B1G) and plays well.

Before Kofi turned pro, I was told by a donor that $2M came together for him within a few days if he were to stick around. Hard to believe something similar could materialize very quickly and probably for less if Coleman had any interest. It unfortunately feels like he is ready to go.
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He's gone and in addition, BU likely told guys like Booth and Hum that he wouldn't be here.

Both sides handled the situation perfectly.
 
#87      
Mobi
Birdus said:
Although Demin fascinates me some, I would rather have Kasparas than any of the others. He can handle the rock. Storr not so much.
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KJ will probably be as good as Demin as a college ball player but I believe Demin is the staff's and most people's first choice. He is simply out of our price range. Storr most likely the same. I have concerns about Storr but we should have given him $1M were him only gotten $750k from KU. (I suspect it is more than that though.)
 
#88      
abchew2
Let’s also remember if not for the Covid year this isn’t even an issue. Coleman gave 4 years of his blood, sweat and tears to this team and I’m grateful to him for it. I’m jealous of whoever gets him as I’ve grown attached like many here have but we have built a great team imo that prepared for Coleman’s departure. The future remains brighter than ever regardless of the optics resulting from Coleman transferring. I’m most bummed that he couldn’t carve out a spot he was happy with in this weak of a draft.
 
#90      
ptgrd23
mysterio2525 said:
That brings the question of did we really overestimate how much money it took to be NIL rich in this new world. If Coleman wanted out to get more money, good for him. He's been great. But if we couldn't afford to keep him then that stinks but we will have to adjust as a program
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Crazy NIL inflation due to Calipari moving to Arkansas, UK restocking with Pope, Louisville new coach, and Indiana trying to save Woodson. My guess in NIL payouts doubled vs. last year. Not sure that Coleman is going to see a 7 figure payout. He is a excellent complementary glue player not a sexy 20 ppg 10 rbg stud that can carry your team.
 
#94      
interested
idoc13 said:
Good question. There has been a lot of talk on here about how we have all this NIL money until we actually need to pay for Storr, or Maddox, or Demin, or even to bring back Coleman Hawkins.

Not saying the staff did a bad job. I think they put together a great roster for next year. But, it looks like we might be on a tighter NIL budget than what we were led to believe.
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I believe it has been said before, but you have other players on the team who will know what you paid for these "bidding war" players. Paying someone way more than other good players sows the seeds of discord. If you are desperate, you pay whatever you think you have to. We are not desperate.
 
#97      
Oldskoolkoach
AirNeazy said:
Lol Social media team better delete all those videos they posted last year where Coleman was saying how he could've transferred like "a lot of other players" but stuck through the process because it meant more to him.

As always, money talks. No shade to Coleman for doing what's in his financial interest but the flip side here is that he probably can't ever be considered an Illini legend if he finishes his career with a UNC or Razorback jersey on.
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Really? I think in today's game, staying 4 years makes him more of a legend!

How many are staying 4 years? It's a different breed and that says a lot about him and his family than money to me. Something about loyalty, integrity, dedication, work ethic, and honor that hits different to me.
 
#98      
gary?
Mobi said:
Will Riley coming down? If that happens in 2024, I will have to ask: where in the world do we find the money for him?
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plus, and i am sure i'm several threads behind, but i assume reclassifying is a possibility?
 
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