Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#77      
Curbelo Fanboy
New Creation said:
Do we care about this? Do we even care about Chicago instate recruiting anymore?

There would have been a time where this board exploded because this kid committed out of state. I didn’t even know we offered this kid

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978610488914186701
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It's been a while since the state produced a prep prospect that got the general fans in a tizzie. So many go the prep school route now. The depth of talent in Illinois high school ball has never been less relevant in my lifetime.

There used to be a guy every couple years or so that was a "must see" type of player. Even if they weren't going to Illinois. EJ Liddell is the last downstate guy I recall fitting that bill. Ayo did as well but the one time I went to see him at Highland he was a dnp from an injury the night before.
 
#78      
Homecoming 2019
New Creation said:
Do we care about this? Do we even care about Chicago instate recruiting anymore?

There would have been a time where this board exploded because this kid committed out of state. I didn’t even know we offered this kid

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978610488914186701
Click to expand...
No and no. Top 247 composite recruit out of Chicago is this kid at 3 stars, 252 nationally.
Starting to wonder if this correlates to when the kids getting out high school last saw a competitive bulls team...?
 
#79      
Scoregasm
New Creation said:
Do we care about this? Do we even care about Chicago instate recruiting anymore?

There would have been a time where this board exploded because this kid committed out of state. I didn’t even know we offered this kid

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978610488914186701
Click to expand...
Not really relevant anymore, the recruiting landscape changed with the portal and NIL. We truly don't need in state recruiting now. Just Balkan University 😀
 
#80      
the juiceman cometh
New Creation said:
Do we care about this? Do we even care about Chicago instate recruiting anymore?

There would have been a time where this board exploded because this kid committed out of state. I didn’t even know we offered this kid

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978610488914186701
Click to expand...
His official visits other than Tennessee were:

Iona
Ball St.
Southern Illinois
Purdue Ft. Wayne
Western Michigan.

I think this board would have been more upset if this kid had committed here.
 
#81      
the juiceman cometh
Curbelo Fanboy said:
It's been a while since the state produced a prep prospect that got the general fans in a tizzie. So many go the prep school route now. The depth of talent in Illinois high school ball has never been less relevant in my lifetime.

There used to be a guy every couple years or so that was a "must see" type of player. Even if they weren't going to Illinois. EJ Liddell is the last downstate guy I recall fitting that bill. Ayo did as well but the one time I went to see him at Highland he was a dnp from an injury the night before.
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To this point, for 2026 the #2 kid out of Illinois in the 247 Composite is committed to South Dakota. The #1 player, Lincoln Williams, is ranked #115 in the Composite (and lower in 247's own rankings).

All the really good players from Chicago are going to out-of-state prep schools.
 
#82      
Curbelo Fanboy
the juiceman cometh said:
To this point, for 2026 the #2 kid out of Illinois in the 247 Composite is committed to South Dakota. The #1 player, Lincoln Williams, is ranked #115 in the Composite (and lower in 247's own rankings).

All the really good players from Chicago are going to out-of-state prep schools.
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Thanks for confirming my thoughts. It's a bit sad to me tbh. Illinois high school hoops just doesn't have the juice that it had prior to say 2019 or so. Prep school is really hurting it.

I've always been a junkie & I long for the days of seeing guys like Andre Iguodala, Sean Livingston etc playing their career in Illinois high schools. Heck some years the Pontiac tournament would have 5 or 6 D1 guys playing in 1 semi final session.

Some of it was self inflicted when the IHSA went to 4 classes in 2008. That killed the "casual fan" who made the trek to Champaign or Peoria every year for state regardless of who was playing. The rest of it is a product of the prep school environment which pulls the elite talent out of the high school system by their sophomore year at the latest.

I've gone to some shootouts with a mix of prep school games & regular high school games. The prep schools have elite talent but the games are glorified scrimmages. No stakes involved in the game, no fan support, etc. It's just not what it used to be & in a lot of ways not near as good as it used to be.

I'll step off my old man soapbox now.
 
#83      
Bigtex
the juiceman cometh said:
His official visits other than Tennessee were:

Iona
Ball St.
Southern Illinois
Purdue Ft. Wayne
Western Michigan.

I think this board would have been more upset if this kid had committed here.
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Don't recall Wagler list but believe Illinois was only P4 team to offer.
 
#85      
Boskydell
Curbelo Fanboy said:
Thanks for confirming my thoughts. It's a bit sad to me tbh. Illinois high school hoops just doesn't have the juice that it had prior to say 2019 or so. Prep school is really hurting it.

I've always been a junkie & I long for the days of seeing guys like Andre Iguodala, Sean Livingston etc playing their career in Illinois high schools. Heck some years the Pontiac tournament would have 5 or 6 D1 guys playing in 1 semi final session.

Some of it was self inflicted when the IHSA went to 4 classes in 2008. That killed the "casual fan" who made the trek to Champaign or Peoria every year for state regardless of who was playing. The rest of it is a product of the prep school environment which pulls the elite talent out of the high school system by their sophomore year at the latest.

I've gone to some shootouts with a mix of prep school games & regular high school games. The prep schools have elite talent but the games are glorified scrimmages. No stakes involved in the game, no fan support, etc. It's just not what it used to be & in a lot of ways not near as good as it used to be.

I'll step off my old man soapbox now.
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Agree with all of the above, however there are, I believe several '27 that we're still interested in, although two have left the state for prep schools.
 
#87      
Wade9412
RabidDawgClassic said:
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#91      
Joel Goodson
Illini4Christ said:
Let coach work his mojo.

Let him cook with every utensil like he did with Will Riley. He will snag him if he feels it is the right fit.
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I hold Brad in very high regard, but this is a gross oversimplification
 
#92      
Illini4Christ
Joel Goodson said:
I hold Brad in very high regard, but this is a gross oversimplification
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There's a strong argument to be made that coach’s recruiting success at Illinois, especially his embrace of international talent, demonstrates a unique and effective approach in the current landscape of college basketball.

While it might be an oversimplification to state his recruiting work in absolute terms, his methods have demonstrably yielded high-level results and stand out compared to many other programs.

If the fit is right, coach will push hard. You can count on it.
 
#93      
Joel Goodson
Illini4Christ said:
There's a strong argument to be made that coach’s recruiting success at Illinois, especially his embrace of international talent, demonstrates a unique and effective approach in the current landscape of college basketball.

While it might be an oversimplification to state his recruiting work in absolute terms, his methods have demonstrably yielded high-level results and stand out compared to many other programs.

If the fit is right, coach will push hard. You can count on it.
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without question. but my reply was in response to "He will snag him if he feels it is the right fit." it's not a binary deal
 
#94      
Indy Illini Fan
New Creation said:
Do we care about this? Do we even care about Chicago instate recruiting anymore?

There would have been a time where this board exploded because this kid committed out of state. I didn’t even know we offered this kid

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978610488914186701
Click to expand...

Barnes always has one of those guards that sticks with him and is just a freaking dawg … Zeigler type …

This is his next one …
 
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