Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[sacraig]

There are a LOT of influential people that are getting to that point …

Especially when they get told … Well we think Bam will be back but that might be it …

That ain’t what they want to hear …

Oh, if we have near 100% roster turnover again, that's a massive, massive red flag. For a team that is allegedly top 10ish in its NIL cap and has had a really nice run of success to have wholesale turnover year in and year out, that is an obvious sign of organizational dysfunction.

To be clear, in this ear, I expect some turnover. Even 50% turnover. But 100% when you are allegedly one of the destination programs, not a feeder program... unbelievable and unhealthy.

 

[OskieWowWow]

It’s an interesting social experiment with Bielema and Underwood taking opposite approaches to player acquisition.

Bret is a one of a kind. It's insane how he manages to retain most of his two-deep year after year

 

[Deacon05]

Zero.Loyalty.Anymore.

Speechless. Had an NIL signed for over a month. Unreal.

Why do freshman leave after 1 year here? Can they not be patient enough for year two??!! So irritating.

 

[TampaToo]

Anyone know where Morez is going? Sorry if this has been covered.

 

[Birdus]

He was great, no doubt. And I don't want to undersell that he was my favorite player on this team. But he fouled a lot. And we were rolling in November and December. But everyone could see his upside; we were waiting for the game to slow down for him, for him to dominate, which was obviously going to happen.

Then he broke his hand. His inner circle being mad about Hum's minutes seems petty.

You do have a great point. I see both side of the minutes thing for Morez but yes, he could have gotten more playing time.

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

I find it amusing that the same people clamoring for Booth and Humrichous to transfer and Hamer and Tyler to be fired are now crying profusely about a lack of loyalty.

 

[Mr. Roberts]

In many of Johnson's games, especially the first half of.the season, his minutes were limited as much by foul trouble as anything else. Then he got hurt, and his minutes.were limited by that.

 

[MurphysBurger]

This has been my point for sometime. The common denominator in this equation of talented players and staff leaving Illinois is 1 person, the head coach.

 

[derrick6]

Brad is going to ask the boosters to pony up for another year of Ben with Morez walking out the door …

Brad will do it with a straight face too. #shameless

 

[eas23]

There is nothing wrong with Morez and his family negotiating for what the market will allow him to earn. It's the smart thing to do in their position.

 

[champaignpak]

I'm sure that'll make for fantastic locker room chemistry and not at all diminish the product on the floor.
/s

We've been doing that anyways for multiple years now.

 

[sacraig]

Nothing is done … Wouldn't shock me a bit if Tomi entered the portal …

I do think it’s more likely than not that Bam is back but it’s no guarantee …

Oh and Brad would LOVE to have Ben back … Freaking figures …

I mean, Ben seems like a real, EDG. Just not a super talented one.

 

[the national]

No way to spin this as anything other than a massive failure on Underwood's part. Just beyond believable that they messed up that relationship enough that we are losing Morez. He was arguably the most important piece coming back next year. Every time I want to believe in Underwood's ability to truly take our program where it belongs- bs like this happens. Why is Underwood incapable of building the same types of relationships with his staff and players like Bret and Shauna do? Something is off about the culture he is developing and it's getting really old.

I think the NIL negotiations from the Morez camp are a good example of how hard Brad's job is. People think it's as simple as starting Ben Humrichous or not, but this was a more significant issue. It's a TA issue. It's also, in a tangential way, a Chester issue. These staff members build relationships, and then Brad has to patch things when it turns, and it often does. Both of those departures are bigger impacts here than Morez himself (I love Morez btw). This is big-time sports. We are now managing egos more than teaching and learning the game. Does this mean we expect more from Freshman? We saw how that turned out this year... High Ceiling, below-average floor.

 

[sacraig]

just an economic hypothetical:

If Illinois pays up to keep TA happy last offseason, are we even having this conversation right now? Because paying TA would have been a lot cheaper than paying whatever the extra Morez is about to get on the open market.

I think recall that TA's beef was about more than just money compared to OA.

 

[IlliniJeevs]

It’s not 1997 anymore. 4+ star recruits often play right away, particularly because our talent was slim outside of the freshmen. If they don’t they can and should leave. That’s the game.

Ignore Morez - Humrichous started over Will Riley for most of the year. Think about how awful that is.

Part of this is on the staff.

Except 4 stars do NOT play right away at every program lmao. Look at all the sweet 16 teams rn and tell me how many 4 star freshman are playing more than 20 mpg.

Yes, Humrichous should have been benched, but are we forgetting the stretch of over a month where Riley was shooting 13% from the field? We’re acting like everything should have been known from the future prior to making decisions

 

[foby]

If Brad Underwood plays Morez as much as he should have played, none of this happens. Period. That is on the coaching and staff. Anyone else arguing otherwise needs to wake up.

Why should players show loyalty when coaches and programs don't, especially a program who has shown they will never hesitate to replace incumbents if they think they can "upgrade". Future promises be damned-those are just words. What would inhibit Brad from treating Morez's playing time the exact same way in '25/'26 as he did this szn?

Morez was insulted by Ben playing over him. That (plus the bag he is about to get) is ultimately what drove him away. And I don't fault him 0%, as much as it sucks and as awesome as I know he is going to be at his next stop.

Who's got the Tylenol?

Have never understood why a "developmental program" would go out and grab other players that were only marginally better than the players they brought in as freshman and invested time, money, and energy to develop those players only to push them out the door. It never made much sense to me.

 

[IlliniJeevs]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1905742682498199892

If anyone reads this and comes away from it thinking the staff are at fault that Morez doesn’t want to “end up like Kofi” it should show you how delusional his camp is. There was nothing outside of giving him a green light to take every jumper that would have s got him to stay lmao. If a kid thinks Kofi was a failed project at Illinois, I’ll personally escort him into the portal

 

[sacraig]

the problem with all of this is there isn’t any market price….the market price is whatever a team offers/says they will offer you. Numbers are outrageous. We’re getting the final visit for Dix and his number is $2 mil. Really like Dix but could you imagine him asking for that before NIL.

That's literally a market price. It's what the market will bear.

 

[robjilla]

The initial Morez hitting the portal post made me sick. I love Morez & his effort on the court. I've seen alot of his high school games & I knew he would be way better than James Brown. I hate the fact that he is leaving after year one. He was going to be a major piece next year. I really dont care that he came off the bench. Hell Riley didn't start for most of the season either. It normally comes together at some point during the off-season for Illinois. Just gotta be patient.

 

[Future Insider]

Anyone know where Morez is going? Sorry if this has been covered.

I’d keep an eye on Memphis

 

[the national]

They did lose Mason Gillis to be fair, but that's a program that has been constructed to a very specific identity and is very careful and thorough about who they bring into the program in the first place and everything about the way they operate is designed around a revolving pattern of growth.

Brad Underwood has embraced a very different philosophy. Speed dating. Juco.

Brad Underwood has been very successful at that, and I have every confidence he will continue to be. And I think he should be judged solely on results.

This is the sport's fault. This is the powers that be's fault. They've paved paradise and put up a parking lot, don't blame BU for fighting in it, to mangle the metaphor.

 

[Lincster27]

So let me get timeline straight:
- Morez commits to Illinois in 8th grade
- As a freshman, he plays quality minutes off the bench, increasing more and more as the season goes on (Similar to our highest rated recruit in program history)
-End of the season clearly shows a priority in usage and trust in Morez from the Illinois staff
-We gave him a competitive NIL offer that he essentially agreed upon and his role would be increased from this year
-His dad convinces him to leave Illinois bc he can be an NBA player at another program + make more money
-Enters portal

I’m struggling to see here what the staff could have done to change this? Sure, playing Ben over him was a mistake in hindsight but nothing at the end of the season indicated it would happen again. NIL wasn’t the issue because he agreed to the NIL deal and I’m sure Illinois wouldn’t have minded paying him ~1 million.

Is the expectation then to pay TA absurd amounts of money to keep him? Let Morez play on the perimeter similar to Ivisic? Change the entire identity of the team to play through him so he can go to the NBA?

None of this points to being an everyday guy and frankly just sounds like his inner circle gave him bad info (Adam miller and Epps).

Frankly, I think you may have overthought this. Morez clearly wanted to be here, probably more than anyone else on the team. We watched him play his !!! off and dominate in high school, and it was clear he'd be a monster when he got here. I'm sure BU was saying all the right things to keep him committed over that time. Then, BU finds an NAIA-to-mid-major player who wasn't being courted by anyone, brings him in, and starts him in front of Morez because of his "elite" 3-point ability. Turns out he wasn't so elite, couldn't play defense, and looked lost most of the time he was on the floor. Morez just had to sit and watch this guy play ahead of him. For a long time. You say that Morez had the trust of the staff at the end of the season, but I don't believe the staff had the trust of Morez. As baffled as we all were that BU kept running Ben out there, imagine how Morez felt. I think the relationship between him and the staff probably went south pretty early in the season.

 

[71illini]

I'll take Dainja back and with his 68% free throws now. 18 pts. 13 boards and 275lbs. bigman really improved this year.

Agreed!! I really grew to like Morez and rooted for him , but jeez did he underwhelm in my book. Expected a lot more from a player as physically developed as Morez who was Mr. Basketball in Illinois. Dainja is significantly more skilled - great footwork, moves, passing and motor. He just can’t dunk as well. I will miss Morez bc I liked him, but not an irreplaceable loss.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

Bret is a one of a kind. It's insane how he manages to retain most of his two-deep year after year

apples to oranges really

 

[illinifan1987]

Are we talking like 1.2-1.4 range?