No offense, but "Illinois decided to go elsewhere" is hilarious. I do appreciate your positivity and passing along what you hear. I'm confident they'll land somebody, but this has the makings of a really bad offseason.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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No offense, but "Illinois decided to go elsewhere" is hilarious. I do appreciate your positivity and passing along what you hear. I'm confident they'll land somebody, but this has the makings of a really bad offseason.It's all BS. None of it is verifiable. It weaves a nice tale, but the source is not reliable. And I don't appreciate the blame being passed on to "fans" for assuming their source of info knows what they're talking about.
Missing on Sarr is not great, and not to be a revisionist, but the young lottery pick route seems to not be the path for success in today's game. Add a wing who can get downhill, and 2 shooters.
USAFILLINI
- Florida
On the other hand, other insiders keep assuring us everything’s fine, but we barrel ahead knowing we are headed to the same result. It only reinforces my point: we’re recruiting in Europe not because it’s a hotbed of talent, but because there’s a cloud hanging over our program here.
“. . . including Illinois deciding to go elsewhere”
Did they get outbid?
Did they get outbid?
In the end, they have to move on. Let's see how it goes.
Already mentioned above by Lville, so there's that.
What exactly changed here? As of last night, we're still trying to close on Sarr?
I feel like if it's the price is simply unattainable, that's like me going to the Lexus dealership and saying "I'm definitely buying this brand new ES 350" and then upon hearing the price being like "Well, I've decided I want a Ford Taurus instead..."
Thank you for talking us off the ledge!
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I think it's more like going to buy that Lexus, but getting to the lot and learning the price has tripled overnight.
By the way... a team of Ford Tauruses just won the national championship.
At some point, you gotta fill out the roster….only landing one transfer so far is unideal especially considering it was his brother that got the deal done and not the staff from all indications given by the insiders.
Side note - I wonder what illini0440 thinks about all this. Been radio silent for much longer than expected imo.
Side note - I wonder what illini0440 thinks about all this. Been radio silent for much longer than expected imo.
He's an average 3pt shooter.
He shot 32% on 5 attempts per game last year which is similar to what Shannon did in his first year in Champaign.
He shot 34% the prior two years on 3 attempts per game and is a career 75% free throw shooter(80% his first year at FSU).
For comparison sake he actually shot better from 3 this year than Kasparis did on basically the same volume.
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
I call it Hoosier Fan Delusion. Objectivity goes out the window!
Very reminiscent of the Groce years' recruiting.
Boswell
Miller
Ben
Mirkovic
Tomi
ILL!!!!!
Miller
Ben
Mirkovic
Tomi
ILL!!!!!
Is the “Illinois deciding to go elsewhere” part having to do with them realizing Sarr soured on Illinois?
I think it has more to do with age and experience. If you're going to spend millions, would you rather spend millions on a proven college basketball stud, or a raw but uber talented incoming freshman?
Except the Lexus dealership isn't also upselling that ES 350 to 5 other buyers pitting you in a bidding war on it. I'm guessing the staff was willing to play ball up to a certain point but seeing some of the new players get involved have decided to invest time and resources elsewhere.
Considering Duke is also out of it, think it's pretty fair to say his camp is just shopping him around and seeing how high they can drive that up. At some point you have to walk away.
Its more like:
You go to the dealership to buy a brand new ES 350... its $55k and they won't sell it to you yet because they want to get more offers on it
You come back to the dealership maybe 10x and each time you do the price goes up
But, they tell you that you can buy it now for $125k or if you wait, maybe they won't sell it
Eventually Phil Knight walks in and hands them $200k
Maybe go hit up another dealership, doesn't mean you have to buy a Ford Taurus
Soured on our $ offer
Bos-Miller-Watkins-Mirk-Tomi+ good bench is still enough to be more than competitive next season.
Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) Sophomore SG Kennard Davis Jr. has numerous contenders for his transfer at this point, including Texas, Ohio State, Miami, and other big-time programs. Davis won 3 state titles in high school with Vashon in St. Louis, MO. (It would've been 4 state titles except for the Covid year.)
His father says that Kennard has had offers ranging from a minimum of $300,000 up to a maximum of $1,000,000. Not sure if you can believe his agent/father
, but I think that K Davis could be had by Illinois for a figure south of $1M. He's 6'6" tall, weighs 215 pounds, he's athletic and tough. He can shoot well from all 3 levels, rebounds well, is a willing passer, works hard on defense, and runs the court very well. I think he'd be a great fit at Illinois, regardless of whether we sign Sarr, Watkins, or any other big fish.
His father says that Kennard has had offers ranging from a minimum of $300,000 up to a maximum of $1,000,000. Not sure if you can believe his agent/father
, but I think that K Davis could be had by Illinois for a figure south of $1M. He's 6'6" tall, weighs 215 pounds, he's athletic and tough. He can shoot well from all 3 levels, rebounds well, is a willing passer, works hard on defense, and runs the court very well. I think he'd be a great fit at Illinois, regardless of whether we sign Sarr, Watkins, or any other big fish.
Not directed at you by any means…but this is such bs. Suddenly we’re just 100% out on Sarr? Partially because of us? Give me a break.
It sounds like this staff is totally scrambling right now. Thanks god Tomi has a twin brother who is also good at basketball.
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RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Who did we pass on?
I have no idea, so maybe I shouldn't even guess, but if insiders are already talking about potential pivots, it may have been that Sarr's price got so high that it was equal to or above some of the other, more veteran wings that are available, which could reasonably prompt a pivot at that point. Again, just a guess.
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