Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#303      
ugottabjoshinme
RabidDawgClassic said:
I wonder if it might just be best to get rid of the walk-on concept altogether. We now have a 15-player roster, all of whom could receive a scholarship. In any given year, the bottom 4-5 players aren’t going to receive significant playing time. Those spots should be considered “developmental players” — guys who know they’ll need 3-4 years to see the court. You recruit these players with that in mind, while still targeting upper tier players who may or may not transfer on a year-to-year basis. Walk-ons are generally perceived as guys who will never play more than mop up time — you’re essentially getting what you paid for. But now that you can offer a scholarship you don’t have to reserve the final two spots for guys you know will never be more than practice players.
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But just because you can offer 15 scholarships doesn't mean everyone will offer the back of the roster scholarships. DIA budgets are tight and that was before they had to pay House settlement money.
 
#304      
Battle89
SkyysNotFalling said:
Was originally committed to Truman State.
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Lead recruiter
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#313      
RabidDawgClassic
ugottabjoshinme said:
But just because you can offer 15 scholarships doesn't mean everyone will offer the back of the roster scholarships. DIA budgets are tight and that was before they had to pay House settlement money.
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Right, but right now you “get what you pay for” with walkons. No one expects AJ Redd or before him, Paxton Warden, to ever get any serious playing time. Until now, the team could have 15 players but only 13 player could receive scholarships. You had to pick players 14 and 15 from a certain pool — a pool that didn’t include players with a serious chance of playing much.

But now those last two positions aren’t restricted. You can recruit and fill those spots from a higher tier. Why would you still fill them from the bottom tier when you can add some player who know they’re not going to start right away, but have real potential to grow by years three or four? If money’s that tight, I guess you might. But if it’s so tight you can’t offer two more scholarships, you’ve probably got greater problems.
 
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#317      
Illini2010-11
RabidDawgClassic said:
Right, but right now you “get what you pay for” with walkons. No one expects AJ Redd or before him, Paxton Warden, to ever get any serious playing time. Until now, the team could have 15 players but only 13 player could receive scholarships. You had to pick players 14 and 15 from a certain pool — a pool that didn’t include players with a serious chance of playing much.

But now those last two positions aren’t restricted. You can recruit and fill those spots from a higher tier. Why would you still fill them from the bottom tier when you can add some player who know they’re not going to start right away, but have real potential to grow by years three or four? If money’s that tight, I guess you might. But if it’s so tight you can’t offer two more scholarships, you’ve probably got greater problems.
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It really comes down to the cost/benefit analysis of funding these final two positions for scholarships. There are a plethora of other teams that require funding under the DIA, so the value may not really be there (i.e., a better use for the money). I do not think we should ever expect these 14th and 15th roster spots to ever see any substantial playing time (and if they do, we likely had a host of issues during the season). And given the way the portal works these days, I do not see any development project that far down the depth chart ever showing real potential to compete for major minutes three to four years down the road.

IMO, the 14th and 15th roster spots on the basketball team should be the walk-on variety, with a case-by-case exception for providing a scholarship. I simply think the additional two scholarship money should be allocated elsewhere within the global Illini athletics program.
 
#318      
PepeSilvia
Illini2010-11 said:
It really comes down to the cost/benefit analysis of funding these final two positions for scholarships. There are a plethora of other teams that require funding under the DIA, so the value may not really be there (i.e., a better use for the money). I do not think we should ever expect these 14th and 15th roster spots to ever see any substantial playing time (and if they do, we likely had a host of issues during the season). And given the way the portal works these days, I do not see any development project that far down the depth chart ever showing real potential to compete for major minutes three to four years down the road.

IMO, the 14th and 15th roster spots on the basketball team should be the walk-on variety, with a case-by-case exception for providing a scholarship. I simply think the additional two scholarship money should be allocated elsewhere within the global Illini athletics program.
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I feel like the University should be well enough off financially to give the max amount of scholarships to every athletic program without worrying about 2 spots on the basketball roster.

In fact I think they could offer a full scholarship to every athlete at the school with basically no financial issues.
 
#319      
Bucktown
Where do you think that scholarship money would come from? ...higher tuition from non-athletes, more state funding, lower faculty salaries, layoffs, reduced pensions by retirees?
 
#320      
NarrowJ
PepeSilvia said:
I feel like the University should be well enough off financially to give the max amount of scholarships to every athletic program without worrying about 2 spots on the basketball roster.

In fact I think they could offer a full scholarship to every athlete at the school with basically no financial issues.
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That's what I questioned about it costing the university 'several hundred thousand dollars' as someone else asserted earlier. Does it really cost that? They get a scholarship, not room & board and meals and so on and so forth. What I just looked up says it costs the university around $14-18k per year to give an athletic scholarship, which is hardly anywhere close to 'several hundred thousand dollars'.
 
#322      
grue2
I'd guess that 14-18k is the cost of the tuition waiver to the university. I think athletics is supposed to stand alone, and thus pays the cost of the tuition vs. the cost to the university. Also, a tuition waiver is not the same as a full scholarship. It doesn't even cover the student fees (now ~5k/yr), nevermind room/board. I found 2015 documentation that Football scholarships cost 41k/yr . The last estimates I saw for 2023 full athletic scholarships were 105k/year. I can't speak as to whether the reported numbers are the actual numbers, or if internal funny money games occur.
 
#323      
ptgrd23
Like the DePaul prep fan section wearing toga's
Internet has his height anywhere from 5'10" to 6'1" (most recent)
He is small but quick. I like the addition. He is a real PG and if Kylan and Mihailo are getting smoked by some super quick guards - Blake might be able to handle them. Put him in the athletic category!
 
#324      
Second place is 1st loser
EyeoftheIllini said:
I thought I saw with the roster limit change, D1 can use partial scholarships now too. Could be wrong on that. So him and Redd could both get 0.5 scholarships now.
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If there was a coach that could go to a player, look him in the face and after three years say....."Thanks, but no thanks, you have to pay half of your tuition this year."......he should be never trusted again. Brad said he knows how to count, you take ALL of your players into consideration when making decisions. You don't leave a guy hanging out to dry.
 
#325      
Illini2010-11
PepeSilvia said:
I feel like the University should be well enough off financially to give the max amount of scholarships to every athletic program without worrying about 2 spots on the basketball roster.

In fact I think they could offer a full scholarship to every athlete at the school with basically no financial issues.
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You must believe the DIA runs a very large budget surplus. The below article is very outdated (2015), but it shows that only around 1/3 of the 300+ student athletes were on full scholarship at the time (not sure how the numbers look today). In short, the DIA would have serious financial issues if it provided each athlete a full scholarship.

dailyillini.com

Athletic scholarships at Illinois by the numbers - The Daily Illini

With football players garnering the largest chunk of Illinois’ athletic scholarship dollars, it creates a financial balancing act for the rest of the sports.
dailyillini.com dailyillini.com
 
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