Ace coming back would have been cool, but not a needle-mover, IMO. I think patience ends up helping this roster in the long run, BUT, they have to land Andrej first.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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So who are they pivoting to?
It varies. Each NIL contract is unique. Some money up front then periodic payments is common. But it has to be constructed in a way that can’t be explicitly interpreted as pay to play. School policies and state laws apply. A lot of lessons learned by both the athletes / agents and the collectives since NIL became a thing. Defaults on payments. Sign then bolt. Etc. That’s why the schools and conferences want federal guidelines. They are also inexplicably united in their opposition to full disclosure, a stance that only serves to further empower agents and drive up the cost of a competitive roster.
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Like everyone else here, I don't like missing on targets. And a couple of more big makes are needed. But on the other hand, if we're not missing on targets, then we're not trying.
And some of the 'misses' are actually reappraisals of the situation by the coaching staff. That's very welcome.
And some of the 'misses' are actually reappraisals of the situation by the coaching staff. That's very welcome.
sacraig
- The desert
How many more are we adding? Only two more?
McGuppin
- Chicago via Central IL
Somebody got their foot in the door and offered more $$$
People keep throwing around the word "misses," but several of our top targets for the "main guy" are still ongoing:
- Dame Sarr – Uncommitted
- Andrej Stojakovic – Uncommitted
- Ian Jackson – Uncommitted
Yes, we’ve missed on a few secondary targets (like Dix), but it feels like people are overreacting to the ups and downs of recruitments that aren’t finalized yet. Constant changes don’t automatically mean we've missed.
- Dame Sarr – Uncommitted
- Andrej Stojakovic – Uncommitted
- Ian Jackson – Uncommitted
Yes, we’ve missed on a few secondary targets (like Dix), but it feels like people are overreacting to the ups and downs of recruitments that aren’t finalized yet. Constant changes don’t automatically mean we've missed.
It took this kid THREE whole minutes to decommit
records were made to be broken!Just want to thank our insiders for passing along current info on portal targets. Most of us realize this info is fleeting at best but nevertheless factual in real time. It is crazy what is happening in college hoops, especially compared to football. Personally I hate it. But it does provide some off-season interest and entertainment.
I like the players returning and the two added. Hope we can finish strongly and challenge for a title next year. I also hope the Ivisic twins work their tales off with Fletch because who knows what they can become?
And I will not ignore possible contributions...now or in the future...by JJ, Hummer, Davis, Lee and Wagler. Some guys get good simply by outworking everyone else and make predictions look stupid. Who will be the next TSJr.?
I like the players returning and the two added. Hope we can finish strongly and challenge for a title next year. I also hope the Ivisic twins work their tales off with Fletch because who knows what they can become?
And I will not ignore possible contributions...now or in the future...by JJ, Hummer, Davis, Lee and Wagler. Some guys get good simply by outworking everyone else and make predictions look stupid. Who will be the next TSJr.?
Everything I’ve seen is we are out on Jackson.
Lol it’s Pejas kid Im guessing.
Hearing over seas professional for Darius Adams potentially
Same - but one day there's players I hear we're out on. And the next we're still on. These conversations are ongoing. You can't consider it a miss if it's not concluded. For all we know, they all commit at once and we're happy with the one we landed on. Not sure that's a miss
We aren't going to pay enough money to get Sarr. This is a guy who has had success against top teams in Europe against grow@$$ men players. I predicted an NIL deal of $7 million in a post earlier (that's the highest NIL deal on record). We won't be competing in a bidding war like that.
Forget about Ian Jackson too. St. Johns is his runaway leader. The other schools are window dressing.
Andrej Stojankovic is a real possibility, but his stats against an ACC that didn't feature a lot of good defenses this past season...they don't scream out "here is a leader on a B1G championship contender" or even "major contributor on a B1G championship contender" to me. Specifically, he had more turnovers than assists and very inefficient offensive numbers - 42% overall from the field and less than 32% from 3, and he primarily took 2 point shots. I'm not convinced at all that he's who we need, but given that we seem to be all in, I hope to be proven wrong.
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If it's two, it was be Andrej plus a pretty big money combo. Otherwise, I think three.
The key takeaway from all three is that none of them are committed. We’ve seen plenty of cases in the past where a recruit was considered a "done deal" and it didn’t happen—so I’m not sure why the reverse seems so hard to believe.
As far as fans know, we haven’t officially missed on anyone. Maybe the staff has internally moved on from certain guys or considers them "misses," but even then, recruitments fluctuate.
So I’ll just echo my point: let it play out. Technically, we haven’t missed on any primary targets yet.
It needs to be three. They need a backup point guard and starting shooting guard, along with Andrej, hopefully.
Really need to bolster the backcourt in case of injury. Right now we are one Boswell sprained ankle from being uncomfortable.
Thanks, as always, to everyone who takes the time to pass along the latest information.
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I really appreciate the updates from real insiders!
Call me crazy, but I still have a feeling that either Will returns OR we land TWO big transfers (a stud wing and a combo guard, who can trade off on point guard duties with Boz), along with more microwave offense off the bench (Maddox, Miller, et al).
Landing, say, Watkins, would be huge, and Maddox would be a more affordable option to Ace, it seems. I would love the story behind AM coming home, but we shall see!
Decatur IL native out here in LA!
I-L-L
I didn't have a chance to respond to some responses to my last Adam Miller post in the prior thread so here's my train of thought:
Yes it's fine for players to seek out money, but don't tell me to care about him looking out for his loved ones with this final year of eligibility in terms of his potential earnings when I have been instructed since he left not to blame him for leaving but to blame the people in his ear. You don't get to spend four years absolving him of blame when here's his chance for redemption and once again if he doesn't choose us it's all about his people.
Yes it's fine for players to seek out money, but don't tell me to care about him looking out for his loved ones with this final year of eligibility in terms of his potential earnings when I have been instructed since he left not to blame him for leaving but to blame the people in his ear. You don't get to spend four years absolving him of blame when here's his chance for redemption and once again if he doesn't choose us it's all about his people.
B1G Roster Tracker
Only update I know of so far today is Bryson Tucker --> Washington
Most sites don't seem like they're updating their portal tracker things on the weekend so just going off of news that I see
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