Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#26      
BalloonsTheElephant
Second place is 1st loser said:
You can pivot and get someone else provided someone else is available. When you start getting to the end of May(6 weeks from now), you're severely running out of availability and if other teams are as well, we can't compete with the big boys dollar for dollar.

My issue with how we approach things is that we have:

Plan A
Plan B
Plan C
Plan D

You can be a good team like that. Nothing special, but solid.

We should have:

1A
1B
1C
1D

Those are star level targets. We don't have that. We have Riley, Sarr and........a HUGE falloff.

The question is, do we want to have a good team with a ceiling(without ridiculous sickness and injury) that's makes us competitive to get a double bye in the BTT and maybe win a couple of games in the NCAA

OR

A top 15 team all year long with there being little doubt of being a top 4 conference team with a ceiling and realistic expectation of 3 or 4 win tournament team.

If we wait until the end of May and we end up with option B, C and D.....will have fans whining again in February and calling for BU's head. The expectation level starts now, not in November, where everyone is blowing smoke up everyone else's rear, then irate when expectations become reality.

We'll see what happens, but I wouldn't wait UNLESS you have NIL commitment to go to 3.5M for one player, 1.5M for another and 1M for a third. If we have those assets, it's fine to see the game play out. If not(and we don't), you have to do the best you can ASAP.
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All fair points. That's what Brad gets paid a lot of money to figure out. Personally, I feel that it's worth the shot. I'm sure Sarr will know where he stands in the draft boards in the coming weeks, and we can gauge our position with him then.

I know John Groce not being able to evaluate where he stood with recruits and having no back up plans really has scarred us, but Brad hasn't had that issue. He always finds someone, especially with OA on staff.
 
#27      
HereSoIDontGetFined
Second place is 1st loser said:
Super happy for the kid. He's a good kid. I think that he's going to be a G-Leaguer for an entire season and may never be a reliable PG given some limitations and he's a questionable 2 given where he's currently at shooting, but he's getting generational, guaranteed money and you don't mess with that.

I truly hope that whoever develops him is committed to bringing him along slowly and they give him a real chance for success. He needs to be getting A LOT of PT in the G-League from the get go.
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I've always found it interesting that he has been projected so high because his athleticism doesn't scream top 5 pick. The one time we saw him dunk it looked like it was a struggle. His court vision is impeccable for someone so young, and I think a lot of his struggles this year came from trying to do too much. But he can do a lot of things very well for someone so young. Agree that he needs a bit more time to cook.
 
#28      
Heisenbobble
So we shouldn't expect this mystery stud wing to hit the portal? Or Illinois' chances at this player aren't all that great? I'm still not sold that Ty should be a starter on any team with national title hopes.
 
#29      
LubbockIlliniFan
Second place is 1st loser said:
Super happy for the kid. He's a good kid. I think that he's going to be a G-Leaguer for an entire season and may never be a reliable PG given some limitations and he's a questionable 2 given where he's currently at shooting, but he's getting generational, guaranteed money and you don't mess with that.

I truly hope that whoever develops him is committed to bringing him along slowly and they give him a real chance for success. He needs to be getting A LOT of PT in the G-League from the get go.
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If KJ goes in the top 10, fans of the team he goes to would be very mad at management if their top 10 pick spent the season in the G League. Top 10- lottery pick, he will be on a roster from day 1. why waste a pick and waste a season in the G League
 
#30      
illiniguy24
BalloonsTheElephant said:
All fair points. That's what Brad gets paid a lot of money to figure out. Personally, I feel that it's worth the shot. I'm sure Sarr will know where he stands in the draft boards in the coming weeks, and we can gauge our position with him then.

I know John Groce not being able to evaluate where he stood with recruits and having no back up plans really has scarred us, but Brad hasn't had that issue. He always finds someone, especially with OA on staff.
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Excellent post. Groce’s back up plans were those like Te’jon Lucas…..Brad & co have much better horses in the stable to call on if needed
 
#31      
Birdus
Second place is 1st loser said:
You can pivot and get someone else provided someone else is available. When you start getting to the end of May(6 weeks from now), you're severely running out of availability and if other teams are as well, we can't compete with the big boys dollar for dollar.

My issue with how we approach things is that we have:

Plan A
Plan B
Plan C
Plan D

You can be a good team like that. Nothing special, but solid.

We should have:

1A
1B
1C
1D

Those are star level targets. We don't have that. We have Riley, Sarr and........a HUGE falloff.

The question is, do we want to have a good team with a ceiling(without ridiculous sickness and injury) that's makes us competitive to get a double bye in the BTT and maybe win a couple of games in the NCAA

OR

A top 15 team all year long with there being little doubt of being a top 4 conference team with a ceiling and realistic expectation of 3 or 4 win tournament team.

If we wait until the end of May and we end up with option B, C and D.....will have fans whining again in February and calling for BU's head. The expectation level starts now, not in November, where everyone is blowing smoke up everyone else's rear, then irate when expectations become reality.

We'll see what happens, but I wouldn't wait UNLESS you have NIL commitment to go to 3.5M for one player, 1.5M for another and 1M for a third. If we have those assets, it's fine to see the game play out. If not(and we don't), you have to do the best you can ASAP.
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Great points! I am sure that they would want a top 15 team every year if possible. There are probably a lot of extenuating factors associated with this whole process that we are not aware of. The pivoting piece although risky may be all they have at one point or another. I am still confident that they will field the best team possible.
 
#32      
IMPE Legend
Not sure we can sit around and try to compare Underwood's ability to recruit vs Groce as if they were at all on equal footing. Having a ton of money to throw at players tends to give you a lot more options. Amazing right? I think sometimes we give too much credit (and blame) to coaches in recruiting when the only thing that matters is money. Especially head coaches. We aren't selling hardly anyone on the "Illinois Tradition" or what it means to play for the Orange and Blue. Those are becoming dreams that keep fans watching...but not what the players seem to care all that much about
 
#33      
Joel Goodson
PepeSilvia said:
I think Stojakovic would thrive pretty much anywhere in the country. It's only a matter of time until the 3pt percentage matches his shooting ability.

Natural scorer with good size. He reminds me a bit of the type of guard/wing that would play at Michigan under Belein.
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point taken, but our offense, pace and roster really suits him to a tee
 
#34      
NarrowJ
LubbockIlliniFan said:
If KJ goes in the top 10, fans of the team he goes to would be very mad at management if their top 10 pick spent the season in the G League. Top 10- lottery pick, he will be on a roster from day 1. why waste a pick and waste a season in the G League
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Agreed, he may spend some time in the G League, but he won't be there for 'an entire season'

Last year's lottery picks, pretty much all of them played full NBA seasons... Reed Sheppard at pick #3 spent some time in G League but still played 52 NBA games

Nikola Topic was the only lottery pick not to spend most of his time in the NBA and that was because he was injured for the whole season
 
#36      
PizzaHutParkingLot
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1911768911265087611
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Screen Shot 2024-12-14 at 6.37.26 PM.png


"From Lithuania with Love" — will live in my mind for a long, long time. 🧡💙
 
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#37      
Emerson Bigguns
HereSoIDontGetFined said:
I've always found it interesting that he has been projected so high because his athleticism doesn't scream top 5 pick. The one time we saw him dunk it looked like it was a struggle. His court vision is impeccable for someone so young, and I think a lot of his struggles this year came from trying to do too much. But he can do a lot of things very well for someone so young. Agree that he needs a bit more time to cook.
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Scouts are smitten with his court vision and positional size. The NBA loves the pick and roll game, and our boy has an extremely advanced feel for it for someone his age. (Keep in mind, he won't even be 19 until the end of next month...) HIs ability to shoot off the dribble, especially the step-back, is also very advanced for his age and should only get better. With the extended 3-point line in the NBA, he should have more room to operate. He is never going to be a Ja Morant athlete, but he should continue to improve his decision making and shooting. He seems to be a kid who is obsessed with basketball, so you've got to believe those things will come.

This class has some great talent at the top, but most of the guys going early are going to take some time, though I expect Flagg and perhaps Harper to be very good out of the box.
 
#38      
Second place is 1st loser
LubbockIlliniFan said:
If KJ goes in the top 10, fans of the team he goes to would be very mad at management if their top 10 pick spent the season in the G League. Top 10- lottery pick, he will be on a roster from day 1. why waste a pick and waste a season in the G League
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Orange and blue glasses off for these initial posts. Did he look like an NBA player to you the last two and a half months? I think he ended the season(the last 3 or 4 games) with 6 turnovers in each game.

In February, there were some games where he was unplayable. We were literally better with him taking some time to sit out and reset. He's a super crafty guy and he can give you the great play, but it's mixed with big just bad plays, but wildly awful ones, which immediately led to points in the other direction.

TO BE CLEAR, I did not mention the about to rip the kid. He was a freshman, stuff happens. These comments are purely directed towards his current status as relates to NBA playing time on day 1.

I understand that TJ is older, but it took him multiple 30 and 40 points games to get to the leave and get minutes.

Now, I agree with you. If you're drafting in the lottery, you should see some productivity during the year. Let's take the Bulls for example. They'll be a low lottery pick. Probably what, 12 or 13? If they drafted him, when would he get ANY PT given where he's currently at?

You may know a ton more about the top 10 teams drafting, but where does an unathletic (by NBA standards), turnover prone(by college standards) and average shooting(by college standards) guard fit in getting league minutes on day 1?

I don't see it and at his age, he needs to be playing 30 minutes nightly to maximize his craft, which is exactly what he'll be. His career is going to have to be one of a crafty, solid decision making, heady player that makes a star or stars around him better. He'll never be....."the guy".

That's not to say that he won't have a spot in the league. He could be a Josh Giddey guy down the road, which is probably his ceiling. He's a heck of a player, but it took him a few years and a trade later for the talent to expose itself.
 
#41      
IllinoisssssssVarsity
Emerson Bigguns said:
Scouts are smitten with his court vision and positional size. The NBA loves the pick and roll game, and our boy has an extremely advanced feel for it for someone his age. (Keep in mind, he won't even be 19 until the end of next month...) HIs ability to shoot off the dribble, especially the step-back, is also very advanced for his age and should only get better. With the extended 3-point line in the NBA, he should have more room to operate. He is never going to be a Ja Morant athlete, but he should continue to improve his decision making and shooting. He seems to be a kid who is obsessed with basketball, so you've got to believe those things will come.

This class has some great talent at the top, but most of the guys going early are going to take some time, though I expect Flagg and perhaps Harper to be very good out of the box.
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For all his limitations, if this part is as true as we’ve heard, the only way he can go is up. All nba players are mega talented, but who has the obsessive drive to be the best? That is the separating factor there.
 
#42      
Oldskoolkoach
You mention Ben, but not in rotation, or deep bench. Coming in to relieve Hamer? Or, waiting on eligibility clarification?
 
#43      
Calvin
Emerson Bigguns said:
Scouts are smitten with his court vision and positional size. The NBA loves the pick and roll game, and our boy has an extremely advanced feel for it for someone his age. (Keep in mind, he won't even be 19 until the end of next month...) HIs ability to shoot off the dribble, especially the step-back, is also very advanced for his age and should only get better. With the extended 3-point line in the NBA, he should have more room to operate. He is never going to be a Ja Morant athlete, but he should continue to improve his decision making and shooting. He seems to be a kid who is obsessed with basketball, so you've got to believe those things will come.

This class has some great talent at the top, but most of the guys going early are going to take some time, though I expect Flagg and perhaps Harper to be very good out of the box.
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Good to see this post. I think a lot of the fan base forgets why he's a lottery level player. With expectations very high, and his ups and downs here, he left us wanting more. He's got things to work on, but as a pro, he's still got a lot of time to develop where he's weak.
 
#44      
IMPE Legend
Trueblue777 said:
I still feel Illinois needs an athletic big to replace Morez. He doesn’t have to be a premium scorer just someone who’s capable offensively in the paint and
a + athlete with good rebounding and defensive traits.
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It would be nice, but seems like a bad use of funds. We need guards much more than another post player. We have 2 Ivicivic's, Mirk, Ty, Ben(?), Jakstys(?). We don't have replacements for Tre, Riley, or KJ. We need to throw all our money there.
 
#46      
LubbockIlliniFan
Second place is 1st loser said:
Orange and blue glasses off for these initial posts. Did he look like an NBA player to you the last two and a half months? I think he ended the season(the last 3 or 4 games) with 6 turnovers in each game.

In February, there were some games where he was unplayable. We were literally better with him taking some time to sit out and reset. He's a super crafty guy and he can give you the great play, but it's mixed with big just bad plays, but wildly awful ones, which immediately led to points in the other direction.

TO BE CLEAR, I did not mention the about to rip the kid. He was a freshman, stuff happens. These comments are purely directed towards his current status as relates to NBA playing time on day 1.

I understand that TJ is older, but it took him multiple 30 and 40 points games to get to the leave and get minutes.

Now, I agree with you. If you're drafting in the lottery, you should see some productivity during the year. Let's take the Bulls for example. They'll be a low lottery pick. Probably what, 12 or 13? If they drafted him, when would he get ANY PT given where he's currently at?

You may know a ton more about the top 10 teams drafting, but where does an unathletic (by NBA standards), turnover prone(by college standards) and average shooting(by college standards) guard fit in getting league minutes on day 1?

I don't see it and at his age, he needs to be playing 30 minutes nightly to maximize his craft, which is exactly what he'll be. His career is going to have to be one of a crafty, solid decision making, heady player that makes a star or stars around him better. He'll never be....."the guy".

That's not to say that he won't have a spot in the league. He could be a Josh Giddey guy down the road, which is probably his ceiling. He's a heck of a player, but it took him a few years and a trade later for the talent to expose itself.
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all I'm saying is that if I'm a fan and the the team sends their top 10 lottery pick to the G league for the year, that's not good...a top 10 pick should be an impact player...if hes a low first round or lower than yes G League might be best.
 
#47      
I-L-L 1318
A high draft pick does not always = great college player. KJ was asked to do have an incredibly high usage rate in a completely new environment. He had so many incredible moments, and of course, a few rough games. He has been a great ambassador for the university and we should be thankful for his time here. He has had some harsh critics from a fanbase that should support him.
 
#49      
ptgrd23
NBA draft is all about potential. KJ showed tons. Those loose handles can be fixed. He will get strongerbwith age. Drives to hoop very well. 6’6”. Nice stepback 3. I know an NBA scout who loved him at FC before Illinois.

We are killing it in Europe.
 
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