Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#526      
CoalCity
Can't leave Dave Debusschuer off that dual sport list. All star PF for the Pistons and Knicks (and I think coached the Knicks after he retired?) and pitched for the White Sox.
 
#527      
RabidDawgClassic
illiniswish09 said:
Would love a general scoop from our insiders on what transpired with Sarr over the past month or so
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PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
we've had more than enough intel. some of you just don't get the picture.
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Yeah… it’s all been hashed and rehashed, but for those who can’t read every post every day:

Basically it was Illinois from the beginning with Duke looming on the outside as a realistic possibility. Illinois was in on him early and his agent is also KJ’s agent, so the relationship was there.

Sarr was deep in the roster for his Barcelona team, but then began to blossom and get more playing time. He then wanted to play in the Nike Hoops Summit to show himself off to the NBA scouts. Barcelona said no, Sarr said “f-you” and went anyway. Barcelona then said you can’t come back, exiling him essentially to play US hoops of some sort.

As his reputation grew, so did his price tag. Several schools got involved and Sarr was no longer a bargain investment piece but a one-and-done luxury item. Illinois still pursued, but the price got too high. Soon, the only school left was Kansas. They were likely going to get Sarr at a reasonable price, considering. KU fans were happy.

But then Duke transfer recruit Cedric Coward blew up on the NBA scene and is planning to stay in the draft. Duke took the money earmarked for him, presumably added more on top, and stole Sarr from KU at the last moment. That’s where we are now.

Insiders… did I get that mostly right?
 
#528      
JKR
Dike Eddleman was a three-sport star at Illinois. He was an Olympic high jumper, was drafted by the Bears and the Browns in professional football but preferred to play professional basketball for the Tri City Blackhawks for four years. He was a member of the famed Whiz Kids playing for Coach Mills at Illinois. All of this despite being drafted during WWII and spending two years away from his college home.
 
#532      
illinifan1987
oskeewowwowboomtime said:
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I now know what my next jacket is going to be...
 
#533      
the juiceman cometh
RabidDawgClassic said:
Yeah… it’s all been hashed and rehashed, but for those who can’t read every post every day:

Basically it was Illinois from the beginning with Duke looming on the outside as a realistic possibility. Illinois was in on him early and his agent is also KJ’s agent, so the relationship was there.

Sarr was deep in the roster for his Barcelona team, but then began to blossom and get more playing time. He then wanted to play in the Nike Hoops Summit to show himself off to the NBA scouts. Barcelona said no, Sarr said “f-you” and went anyway. Barcelona then said you can’t come back, exiling him essentially to play US hoops of some sort.

As his reputation grew, so did his price tag. Several schools got involved and Sarr was no longer a bargain investment piece but a one-and-done luxury item. Illinois still pursued, but the price got too high. Soon, the only school left was Kansas. They were likely going to get Sarr at a reasonable price, considering. KU fans were happy.

But then Duke transfer recruit Cedric Coward blew up on the NBA scene and is planning to stay in the draft. Duke took the money earmarked for him, presumably added more on top, and stole Sarr from KU at the last moment. That’s where we are now.

Insiders… did I get that mostly right?
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Not an insider but my one quibble is with the bold. He was slated to go to the Nike Hoops Summit before he started to get more playing time at Barcelona, and Barcelona gave him permission to do so. Then he became a more important piece of Barcelona's current rotation, and revoked the permission they had previously given. Small, but in my mind, important distinction that makes Sarr's decision more understandable.

I also think it's worth noting that Barcelona likely did not ever think they'd be keeping Sarr beyond this season, but they wanted him to stick around and help them win in the here and now. The first game he missed because he left for the Summit was against Real Madrid. If you know anything about Spanish sports, then it's obvious that was a pretty big deal that he bailed on that. Barcelona lost the game by 2 points. Could you imagine if KJ had decided to bail on the Braggin' Rights game to attend a workout with pro scouts and we ended up losing by 2 to Mizzou? So yeah, I get Barcelona being upset too.
 
#534      
Rebounding Dog
RabidDawgClassic said:
Yeah… it’s all been hashed and rehashed, but for those who can’t read every post every day:

Basically it was Illinois from the beginning with Duke looming on the outside as a realistic possibility. Illinois was in on him early and his agent is also KJ’s agent, so the relationship was there.

Sarr was deep in the roster for his Barcelona team, but then began to blossom and get more playing time. He then wanted to play in the Nike Hoops Summit to show himself off to the NBA scouts. Barcelona said no, Sarr said “f-you” and went anyway. Barcelona then said you can’t come back, exiling him essentially to play US hoops of some sort.

As his reputation grew, so did his price tag. Several schools got involved and Sarr was no longer a bargain investment piece but a one-and-done luxury item. Illinois still pursued, but the price got too high. Soon, the only school left was Kansas. They were likely going to get Sarr at a reasonable price, considering. KU fans were happy.

But then Duke transfer recruit Cedric Coward blew up on the NBA scene and is planning to stay in the draft. Duke took the money earmarked for him, presumably added more on top, and stole Sarr from KU at the last moment. That’s where we are now.

Insiders… did I get that mostly right?
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I would add: Once the price on Sarr went up… we turned toward other high end proven players. Close to landing Dix and the hot pursuit for AS!
Getting AS ends up being the best of the 3 IMO!
 
#535      
phats22
Rebounding Dog said:
I would add: Once the price on Sarr went up… we turned toward other high end proven players. Close to landing Dix and the hot pursuit for AS!
Getting AS ends up being the best of the 3 IMO!
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I recall it being said that once it was clear that AS was going portalling he immediately became priority #1. that this happened when Sarr's price was rising can leave it to interpretation on what came first but at least one insider framed it this way
 
#536      
Rebounding Dog
phats22 said:
I recall it being said that once it was clear that AS was going portalling he immediately became priority #1. that this happened when Sarr's price was rising can leave it to interpretation on what came first but at least one insider framed it this way
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My guess We wanted Sarr at a sensible price and could still afford a player like AS. I dont think Sarr was ever considered a first priority… a very nice piece to have but only if the price was right!
 
#537      
AZILL
phats22 said:
I recall it being said that once it was clear that AS was going portalling he immediately became priority #1. that this happened when Sarr's price was rising can leave it to interpretation on what came first but at least one insider framed it this way
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There wasn't a name attached to the comments for obvious reasons, but there was one insider who was saying we had 1 guy we were waiting on. And this was nearly a month in advance of AS hitting the portal.
 
#538      
RabidDawgClassic
Rebounding Dog said:
I would add: Once the price on Sarr went up… we turned toward other high end proven players. Close to landing Dix and the hot pursuit for AS!
Getting AS ends up being the best of the 3 IMO!
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Yes, it's also been reported that once Stojokavic entered the portal, Illinois turned complete direction his way and exited the Sarr sweepstakes.

Edit: What Phat's said. ;)
 
#539      
Guest
IlliniNash said:
Jim Rucks. Basketball and football punter. And I believe his best sport was baseball.
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Darn, I was just going to post this. I only remember him because he is from the same city as I am. And he was there when I was (I am old). He ended up as a coach just like his father. Also, he is Bill Rucks's brother. Some of you may remember the disaster that was Bill Rucks's basketball career the UI.
 
#543      
AZILL
Don't think it's illegal for his agent/father to have conversations with the NIL folks is it? You obviously don't want to be broadcasting the conversations. But if no one from the school is involved, there's no policing it in this new environment. Everyone will tell you that NIL is 100% not 'pay 2 play' and has nothing to do with the school, right?
 
#544      
PepeSilvia
illinibbcz said:
Dave Winfield, he was also drafted by all three pro leagues.
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Winfield was involved in the brawl between Minnesota and Ohio State.

Tony Gwynn is San Diego states all time assist leader.

Donovan McNabb played a bit of basketball at Syracuse.

Baseball and football seems to be by far the most common. I think Cole Kmet even recently played a bit of baseball at Notre Dame.
 
#545      
Appleknockersaluki
Re: Two-sport collegiate athletes. Jan Stenerud was an All-American in ski-jumping and football, and an NFL hall of famer. From wikipedia:

Stenerud came to the United States as a college student, on a ski jumping scholarship to Montana State University in Bozeman.[1][2] In the fall of 1964, Stenerud was training for the upcoming ski season by running the stadium steps of Gatton Field, the football venue through 1971. That day, he was cooling down from a workout by kicking a football with injured halfback Dale Jackson. Stenerud had played soccer as a youth in Norway, and his right leg's prowess was observed by basketball head coach Roger Craft, while he walked to the nearby Fieldhouse.[2] Craft notified football head coach Jim Sweeney of the Norwegian ski jumper's kicking abilities, and Sweeney offered him a tryout, which was successful.
 
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