Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#2,278      
Zorak
Zach34 said:
So are we believing that in less than 24 hours Morez’s dad went from “the portal rumors are fake” to “my son can’t succeed here because of the staff”? Did something happen?
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My bet is they were unhappy with the staff but willing to stay anyway until another school offered a bunch more money. Both things are true.
 
#2,279      
NickOfTime
Read the news as it was breaking, then went to work for a few hours... great time to sit and think.

We gave Morez what he wanted: NIL $, 25+ minutes a game, and one of the best big man coaches in the country who developed Kofi into an 1st Team All American. Morez said it wasn't enough since he knows that he lacks the skills that make Tomi an NBA big: shooting from outside the paint and passing.

Bret Bielema is right when he says, "NFL money > NIL money". That goes for the NBA as well. If Morez is trying to get to the league, it is in his best interest to go somewhere that allows him to shoot the three and try his hand at being a passer. The role he would have here is screener, rim runner, rebounder. Add in $1.8 mm, while telling him "We can get you to the NBA and you can shoot from beyond 5 feet", no wonder he's leaving. Whether he has or can develop those skills is another matter entirely.

You can argue that Morez can make several million dollars here so he should stay (and you'd be right) but if he thinks he's better off without us then I'm okay with that. He can join Skyy, Adam Miller, RJ, Epps, Moretti, Curbelo, Hansberry, and Sencire Harris. We will win with guys who want to be here. Enjoy the NIL but make it last because he won't make a dime in the NBA.
 
#2,280      
Emerson Bigguns
Zach34 said:
So are we believing that in less than 24 hours Morez’s dad went from “the portal rumors are fake” to “my son can’t succeed here because of the staff”? Did something happen?
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“Portal rumors are fake”= negotiating leverage.
“Coaches are failing my son”= deflection.

$omething definitely happened. They just refuse to come out and say what it is.
 
#2,281      
21ChampaignSt
A couple thoughts
sharpshot16 said:
Rez thinks he can shoot 3s and wanted the green light tomi had? Get out of here, are you crazy? We don't make the tournament if that was the case. You'd rather have that next year? Worth it to keep someone that doesn't care about winning and only cares about themselves?
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Isn't it up to the staff to make players buy into team success over individual success? Is selfishness not a trait that we uncover in the personality tests that get talked about so much?
sharpshot16 said:
It's a different world and at the end of the day this staff has made 5(6) straight and won some big ten titles. Have faith they will put a good team together again and stop caring about players. That's not how it works anymore. Stop getting attached.
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The 6 teams in the Elite 8 returned an average of 45% of their minutes. If we return Tomi, Kylan, White, and Jake we'll still only be at 42% next year. High level teams retain players that their fans can get attached to.

This is coming from a Brad supporter.
 
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#2,282      
phats22
mhuml32 said:
Not making grand statement, just want to point it out: You can't get a bigger split than this guy's home and road splits.

Home:
40.4 FG%
29.9 3FG%

Road:
47.3 FG%
50.0 3FG%
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man, he really wants to transfer doesnt he?

tumblr_owdgo0jdmI1ur5m8bo6_r1_400.gif
 
#2,283      
Trueblue777
Orangeandblue72 said:
Kofi is Playing in Japan. What his skill set is and what the coaches wanted him to be could very well be way different. Our coaches haven’t been all that great at talent evaluation.
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Kofi was ranked outside of the top 50 prospects coming out of HS , hardly McDonald’s All American material.
 
#2,284      
Bigtex
Maybe Morez is looking for an offensive strategy that isn’t jacking up 3s at 30% Maybe occasionally run a set for a big.
No chance Dain gets 20/10 this past year at Illinois.
Maybe Morez liked the offense running thru kofi but then the offensive strategy changed and it didn’t look like those deciding were open to other offensive looks.

Will ask it again - how many players have started at Illinois and played there final year at Illinois (year 4 or 5) while underwood has been head coach?
 
#2,286      
Bigtex
Needing a big man!! what about Xavier booker from Michigan st? He can’t be happy.

5 that likes to shoot from distance and not at an extremely efficient %. defense is optional
 
#2,287      
USAFILLINI
A lot of people are saying to trust the staff, but isn’t this the same staff that spent a ton of money on Ben and Booth last year?

It’s becoming clear that the players, and I’m assuming the assistants who left, have little to no respect for TU and Hamer, yet BU is stubbornly sticking with them.

Now, he’s trying to re-sign Ben, and it’s almost comical at this point. It just seems like BU is stubbornly trying to prove himself right, even if it means going against the tide.
 
#2,289      
Second place is 1st loser
Tables@EddieMunster said:
My favorite posts are the ones that are like “we had him until their mom (or dad) stepped in!”

It’s like no s—t, parents have heavy sway with their children and are the most likely people in their life that they trust.
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Dad probably shouldn't have had his son sign an NIL deal, then flake out. He stepped in all right. Hopefully, his kid doesn't pay the price. Wherever he goes, that coach is going to have the commit to his development as a perimeter players. If the team suffers because of it, where is Morez for the 2026-2027 season?

He should have let next season unfold before cashing in his chips
 
#2,290      
JD76
So it begins. Next someone will say we didn’t really need him anyway.

The fan boys need to admit that Brad effectively ran off our best returning player
 
#2,291      
Rez
Orangeandblue72 said:
Kofi is Playing in Japan. What his skill set is and what the coaches wanted him to be could very well be way different. Our coaches haven’t been all that great at talent evaluation.
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Kofi is playing in Japan because that is what professional leagues have deemed his skill level. Illinois didn't hold him back. And Illinois hasn't been all that great at talent evalauation? Sure some misses in there but are you for real?
 
#2,296      
matt1all
Bigtex said:
Needing a big man!! what about Xavier booker from Michigan st? He can’t be happy.

5 that likes to shoot from distance and not at an extremely efficient %. defense is optional
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Carey Booth with a better PR team
 
#2,298      
jmwillini
So, is it just me, or have the insiders gone radio silence in the last 20 or so pages?
 
#2,299      
Rez
Orangeandblue72 said:
Happens all the time. Everywhere. If Morez thinks he’s got a skill set that’s not being utilized and won’t be, then that’s fine. His examples aren’t wrong.
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Except his examples of Kofi and Dainja are wrong?
 
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