Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#76      
PepeSilvia
ChiefGritty said:
Every year high-efficiency mid-major studs move higher and higher in these rankings as it becomes clearer and clearer how well that translates to a major conference.
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ChiefGritty said:
I wonder if Tonje's explosion after an injury riddled failure to launch at his first major conference school is the reason Coward is getting so much hype. Similar profile.
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Coward is getting that hype because he I very very good. Which is why you're seeing schools like Duke go all in on him.
 
#77      
othawhitemeat
NJB Illini said:
Only posting this because I have seen this take other places as well. Media folks, right or wrong, do not view our current pieces as being elite and do not view Andrej as a #1 option. For those who don't want to watch the full video, they essentially said that Illinois would be bringing Andrej in to be 'the guy', while Duke, Kentucky, and them are not. They press further on to say that they view Andrej better as a second or third scoring option and view Duke/Kentucky as going for a title next year and us just wanting to compete in the Big Ten. Yikes.

Now, Sleepers has a history of Illinois disrespect, but I have also seen this other places as well. Also, just seeing the writing on the wall with lack of pre-season hype and rankings.

Personally, I think Tomislav is going to be a stud next year and should/could be viewed as a potential first scoring option. At the very least, the offense will flow through him. I do think, however, who we get next to him (Andrej, if we land him) will matter more than we all maybe care to admit.

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Ideally, I do think the trio of Andrej/Tomi/Ky can be very good. Do I see an alpha in there like TSJ/Ayo - not really yet, but can say Brad is really good at developing that player and if he thinks Andrej can be that, I can see it. If we get Andrej and get a good 2 guard that can 3-and-D assuming it is not Adam with a solid off the bench combo or point guard, this could be the deepest team offensively with vets under Brad. Do I think it will be as talented as this past year or the Ayo/Kofi year - no, but TSJ/Domask (neither were alphas when they came here and Brad developed them). Ayo/Kofi should have made it way further. Just depends on our final pieces.
 
#80      
GForce
ChiefGritty said:
Because rim protection is the core of what makes Z an effective player (and that's not the case for Tomi), I assume any time they share the floor it will be the other way around.

And with both of them, even if Humdinger returns he should never be guarding the 5 where he was woeful last year.

(It just dawned on me that Tomi and Z have kind of a Brook Lopez vs Robin Lopez dichotomy in terms of what their skills are. The skilled offensive technician vs the rim protector)
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fwiw, I read the reason Z was benched at the end of the season at Ark was Calipari upset that instead of playing sound defense he was hunting for blocks.
 
#82      
BBlock24
LvilleILL1 said:
Closing time. Zero excuses here, get it done.
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Season 4 Michael GIF by The Office
 
#87      
Illini John
1m4tr said:
Ven-Allen Lubin UNC’s undersized center enters portal but fully intends to come back to UNC but says he’s doing this for something related to the House settlement. Not sure I undeerstand this. Trying to make sure he gets some of that House money I guess?
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Realize Hugh Laurie GIF
 
#88      
ColSLU69
Even though Illinois recruiting from the portal seems to be completely on hold while we await word on whether the latest "big fish" of interest, Andrej Stojakovic (Cal), actually commits to Illinois, I see no reason (including $$) why the Illini shouldn't go ahead and sign a backup PG from the portal.

One possibility is Sophomore PG Terrance Ford Jr (Arkansas State), 6'1" 177 pounds (Chicago native, Leo HS), averaged 9.0/2.9/4.9 while shooting 42.4/40.4/71.1 this past season. Another possibility is Sophomore PG Dylan Darling (Idaho State), 6'1" 180 pounds, averaged 19.8/3.4/5.7 while shooting 44.1/35.6/81.0 this past season. Plus, there's another Sophomore maybe worth considering, G George Kimble III (Eastern Kentucky), 6'2" 184 pounds, averaged 18.0/3.7/3.2 while shooting 38.0/34.8/85.1 this past season.

I just don't know why the Illini wouldn't go ahead and get a transfer commitment from the PG who's right for them, in both cost and talent. Perhaps it's simply that the Illini want to play next season with only one true PG on their roster?
 
#90      
Illinichillin
Oracle21 said:
No he’s not. He couldn’t guard any guards smaller than him the last time he played. Do you realize how bad the defense was in 2023-24? And that team had Shannon on it, Hawkins on it, and Rodgers starting every game. Ty Rodgers is absolutely not an elite defender of any guards.
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Shannon and Rodgers were good defenders on that team. Hawkins and Domask were not.
 
#93      
punchabove33
Why would he play for a sheetz program like Illinois?

Wait is he the redemption player instead of Ace Wolf?
 
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