Never was a big fan of playing musical chairs...but being one of the (most sought-after) chairs makes every round interesting. And it seems like there is a new round almost every day.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Don't forget Cupid, Comet & Vixen
Homecoming 2019
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and who could forget the most famous reindeer of allllllllll
I am surprised that there isn’t 30 pages on his departure. There was a lot of talk earlier that he wasn’t going to reclassify. That changed quickly. Good luck to him.
Does anybody else find it odd that in today's recruiting landscape, European players don't have any ranking system whatsoever on the main recruiting sites? There are sites that rank only euro players, but none of that is translated over to the American sites. 247Sports has our 2024 class ranked 50th because the 2 international players are considered 0 star players. Just seems odd to me.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
when you factor in what their budgets are, it's not surprising at all
i seriously don't want to go down this rabbit hole. groce was a good coach with mediocre talent.
three players don't make a team. look at the rest of those rosters and tell me how we could play
7-8 deep.
Do think he should be in more of a career path as Trent Frazier?He's a small guard ... 6'2 in shoes ...
His shooting from deep has really, really fallen off this spring (20%) ... Think he's like 40% from the field ...
He doesn't like to play defense and he's not big enough right now to play defense against HM guards ... Especially these COVID year guys ...
And so far this spring/summer he's averaged more turnovers than assists ...
Now - I still think the kid can be a good player but none of those numbers scream I'm ready for HM basketball right now ... And they definitely don't scream anywhere near the asking price NIL wise ...
They scream to me he needs another year of development at the HS level and then more development once he gets into college ... Probably a multi year guy ...
But that's just my 2 cents ...
I think it’s hard to fault the staff in the Fears situation. He and his family became set on reclassing- he clearly wouldn’t play much or have the role he would want this year on our team, so I certainly don’t blame him for going elsewhere given the reclass
I’m also proud of how the staff seems to have handled it based on what we know:
1) Reclass - when reclass first came up they tried to make it work by having him come second semester and redshirt, he gets full year NIL and gets with Fletch and practices against really good college players - if the family’s purpose was to better prepare him for college ball and make some NIL, this is a good solution
2) Honesty- by all accounts they appear to have been honest with him and the family that he wasn’t ready to play a large role on this years team now - Will Riley they took because he is ready and fills a need
I don’t know what else the staff could have done if the Fears family was set on reclassing. It’s also likely a mistake, Jeremiah will be draft eligible next year but these reclasses for point guards rarely work out - Jeremiah needs to get physically ready, his defense and ability to run an offense will need a lot of development- putting the ball in his hands this year will likely lead to a disappointing year and hurt his draft stock - then he’s likely looking at needing multiple years in college to rebuild his draft stock and will likely never be as high as if he had come in and had a great freshman year
Whether we get Jasper or not the staff absolutely handled this the right way and I’m proud of them for that
I’m also proud of how the staff seems to have handled it based on what we know:
1) Reclass - when reclass first came up they tried to make it work by having him come second semester and redshirt, he gets full year NIL and gets with Fletch and practices against really good college players - if the family’s purpose was to better prepare him for college ball and make some NIL, this is a good solution
2) Honesty- by all accounts they appear to have been honest with him and the family that he wasn’t ready to play a large role on this years team now - Will Riley they took because he is ready and fills a need
I don’t know what else the staff could have done if the Fears family was set on reclassing. It’s also likely a mistake, Jeremiah will be draft eligible next year but these reclasses for point guards rarely work out - Jeremiah needs to get physically ready, his defense and ability to run an offense will need a lot of development- putting the ball in his hands this year will likely lead to a disappointing year and hurt his draft stock - then he’s likely looking at needing multiple years in college to rebuild his draft stock and will likely never be as high as if he had come in and had a great freshman year
Whether we get Jasper or not the staff absolutely handled this the right way and I’m proud of them for that
Except JCL could shoot and wasn't a passer at all. And had no interest whatsoever in playing any kind if defense. Other than that just like Fears
No. It's a great thing if you want to win.
LOL
One could argue Kylan made a mistake reclassifying and he was much, much more physically ready to play in CBB than Fears. I love Fears’ game, but 6’2 and 160 is pretty slight. He looks like Rob Dillingham without the jump shot. Just not sure how that translates. If he and his family were really serious about getting to the league as soon as possible, coming to Illinois at semester and redshirting makes sense. Spend 6 months developing your body. Get in the gym early every day and play with that new toy that seems to have fixed Ty’s jumper. Come in fall 2025 around 185 lbs and ready to shoot 35%+ from 3. Forget where I heard this before but everyone wants to microwave, but you gotta bake. Good luck to him. Hope he doesn’t wind up like Khristian Lander.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
dripping, I love it
I ask because the term getting "Creaned" was always being thrown around here as a super negative. Is it NIL that has changed this stance and now makes it a great thing and a requirement to win?
I know nothing about the finer points of any of the new recruits. It seems like a very talented roster right now. Clearly, you have a very high opinion of JJ. What is it about his game that changes the team to a top 5 as a freshman? I'm just curious (certainly not questioning your opinion
)And your trophy case filled to the brim
Not trying to be sarcastic-totally sincere here-but just watch some of his tape. The answer to your question will explode off the screen. You won't even need to know which player he is, it will become apparent as you watch.I know nothing about the finer points of any of the new recruits. It seems like a very talented roster right now. Clearly, you have a very high opinion of JJ. What is it about his game that changes the team to a top 5 as a freshman? I'm just curious (certainly not questioning your opinion
I don’t think there is an argument- at least in terms of draft stock it has certainly fallen. When I think of the players who reclassified and still went high in the draft - guys like Andrew Wiggins, Nerlens Noel, Karl-Anthony Towns, Marvin Bagley Jr. they are Forwards and guys with the physical attributes the NBA covets - so they didn’t seem to be as impacted by going to college a year early
For guards and certainly PG’s it’s just much more rare for it to work out- which should be obvious to the families and advisors- but I also understand this is an unparalleled NIL environment so I don’t blame kids for going for the money grab- they should just be realistic on what it means for their role and use their freshman year to really develop
You, Sir, are on Point no pun intended
!!!!I am surprised no recruiting site has taken up the effort to include the international players in their rankings. Unless I just don't know how to find it
!
The way we’re talking about Fears reminds me of how the UK fans on Rupp Rafters reacted to losing out on WR.
I understand that, but with more and more international players coming over, you would think that somebody would be trying to implement that in some way.
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