Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#51      
TheDukeUIUC
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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I feel like we talk about this as if there are only two players who could possibly drop out of the draft, Will and Dame. If both Saar and Riley stay in the draft, another wing will likely have dropped out that we weren't anticipating, and we'd clearly have the cash and the playing time to offer them.
 
#53      
skyIdub
Something you might not be taking into account when debating KJ’s NBA readiness is that we saw him playing with 4 college players, with one or two of those being NBA ready-ish. (Will and Tomi)

You put him on the floor with 4 legit NBA players and that will help him tremendously imo.
He was fantastic with Tomi and I suspect if we had seen Will forced into the lineup earlier rather than Ben, they chemistry would have developed more.

Aside from all the KJ NBA talk, the optics and relationships is what really matters now. To see him representing Illinois on the NBA lottery stage, and to see him sitting in the stands supporting Dame and Mirk is what really matters.

And to stray even more from my usual Snark&Gif, allow me to bore you even more with how much more NBA I watch now with TJ Timberwolves games and Ayo Bulls games, even tho I’m a frighteningly distraught Mavericks fan. Now I get to follow two more teams with KJ and Will unless the Mavericks somehow land either!

These are the things that matter with KJ and Will more so than how much G League vs NBA minutes they get in their first year imho.🧡💙
 
#54      
NarrowJ
ptgrd23 said:
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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If he spends the "entire season in the G League", which was the original take you responded to... he just won't, he will play in a lot of NBA games this season... if we're walking that back to "he might spend some time in the G League" though, I can agree with that for sure.
 
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#55      
seaillini
NarrowJ said:
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
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Reed Sheppard 3 games, Rob Dillingham 2 games. Outside the lotto our TSJ 2 games. The G League thing seems overblown, maybe fans are so thirsty for any news, so when they play in these games it sticks in our memory. Then they go back to their actual teams and continue getting coached up and practicing vs starters behind closed doors and off camera.
 
#56      
HensonHall71
sharpshot16 said:
One of Sarr, Ian or Will, + Ace, + Ben is how it's looking right now. Might try to get another depth piece at wing.

Kylan, Ty, Stud Wing from above, Mirk or Big Z (depending on matchup), Big T

Rotation:
Ace
Wing Rotation guy
Big Z or Mirk (depending on matchup)
Jake

Deep Bench:
Lee
Wagler
Jakstys

Would like the team more than last years.
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Are you saying there is a chance with Ian Jackson? I thought that ship had sailed
 
#57      
Indy Illini Fan
soupy17 said:
Some updates to the Portal Tracking Sheet this morning:

-Updated a few commitments
-Added names from over the weekend 🐺
-Updated the Scholarship grid to reflect KJ's declaration, correctly reflect Ben's possible eligibility
-Big updates to the Crystal Ball's 🔮
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👀 …

Crystal Ball GIF by Fall Out Boy
 
#58      
HailtotheChief
seaillini said:
Reed Sheppard 3 games, Rob Dillingham 2 games. Outside the lotto our TSJ 2 games. The G League thing seems overblown, maybe fans are so thirsty for any news, so when they play in these games it sticks in our memory. Then they go back to their actual teams and continue getting coached up and practicing vs starters behind closed doors and off camera.
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TSJ has played in more than 2 games.
 
#63      
IlliniwekKDR
RabidDawgClassic said:
Loyalty Board: I don’t see how KJ is a lottery pick. He had too many turnovers his freshman year.

Also Loyalty Board: How could Brad not see that Podz was gonna be an NBA star after his freshman year?!?!
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Don't invoke that name. We will be cursed with ten pages of rehashing a three year old argument
 
#64      
Illinisnake
feel like we didn't enough time with Will Riley, I think he will go to the NBA but at the same time I think him returning would put this team in the top 15 category. Just seems like a great kid, would be great to have him wear the orange and blue for another season.
 
#67      
HailtotheChief
He has a tough choice because his projections are a lot more broad than most. Before 25 he should go but after then thats more complex with a the amount he could earn in college combined with a potential jump up in next year
 
#74      
gary?
ha, kind of nailed me, although i do get kj's appeal to nba teams.

i know insiders have posted that podz looked like a walk-on in practice here, but it is still wild that we had a lottery pick here and nobody realized it.
 
#75      
HensonHall71
Illinisnake said:
feel like we didn't enough time with Will Riley, I think he will go to the NBA but at the same time I think him returning would put this team in the top 15 category. Just seems like a great kid, would be great to have him wear the orange and blue for another season.
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I don’t want to keep belaboring the point because I’m a huge fan of Will and he seems to have his head on straight and have great family support around him- atypical of the 5- star attitude and influences

But, in an age of analytics in the NBA, analytics aren’t going to love him and his shooting %’s leave a lot to be desired from this year and he was not impactful in some big games. He has more of an old school game, but the talent and potential is absolutely there and maybe that’s all it will take for a team to draft him. But I can definitely see a world where he drops after the combine and comes back for a year
 
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