Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#26      
The Galloping Ghost
IlliniwekKDR said:
I can't tell if you intentionally misspelled the names to make a joke or not...
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#27      
ChiefGritty
Emerson Bigguns said:
I see no reason Blackwell couldn't play the Wagler role on offense.
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"He's never done that before and his career high in assists is 5" how's that for a reason.

Emerson Bigguns said:
We didn't have a "true PG" this season
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Right, we had two true PG's this season.

Emerson Bigguns said:
Mirkovich has already proven to be able to handle his share of the offense initiation, and he's just going to get better.
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Mirk as Big Slavic Domask is intriguing, but that would change our offense a lot, we'd have to play faster, fewer post touches for Tomi, it just doesn't seem like the best way to put the puzzle pieces together.

John Blackwell has a family connection here and would cost a ton of NIL money and be a show of strength against the right kind of competition. The one obvious missing piece on the roster is a facilitating, ballhandling lead guard who is a strong defender.

It's natural and understandable to try and talk our way into those two things being a match. But they crystal clearly are not.

There are nine zillion guys in the portal, find the right fit. NUMBER DANG ONE!
 
#28      
2qtslow
Assume you had a $10 million budget this year and will have $15 million next year. Five members of our current eight-man rotation are eligible to return. Presumably, all five of their agents have received inquiries about the willingness of those players to transfer elsewhere for a price.

Question: How much will you offer to keep each of those five players?
 
#29      
HailtotheChief
NarrowJ said:
He's more similar to Stojakovic than Wagler as a scoring first shooting guard/wing. He cannot play lead guard for a competent high-major offense. Mirkovic can take some heat off of our ballhandlers, but he isn't going to be our primary. We need a big time lead guard. Blackwell isn't that.

Editing just to say that if they can bring him in and he and Andrej can work in some TSJ/Domask type of way, then it might be fine.
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I dont think Blackwell at 6'4" at best is like Andre. Blackwell is a true shooting guard that took nearly 8 3s a game and shot it at just under 40% but if you crowd him then he can put it on the deck.. Blackwell is a true 2 and Andre while he will take a couple 3s if open is more of a slashing 3. Andre is more of a slashing 3 and that is where i expect him.to play next season. If we land lackwell he will handle the ball way more than Andre will.
 
#30      
Emerson Bigguns
2qtslow said:
Assume you had a $10 million budget this year and will have $15 million next year. Five members of our current eight-man rotation are eligible to return. Presumably, all five of their agents have received inquiries about the willingness of those players to transfer elsewhere for a price.

Question: How much will you offer to keep each of those five players?
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You pay whatever it takes to keep Mirk, and go from there. He is the lynchpin. He is already a big problem for opposing defenses, because he can do everything. He holds his ground on defense, is above average defending in space, and rebounds like crazy.
Give him a full off-season, and watch out... I think he's going to be All-American next year.
Hopefully, the relationships these guys have built will convince them to leave a little on the table.
 
#31      
Chillini
2qtslow said:
Assume you had a $10 million budget this year and will have $15 million next year. Five members of our current eight-man rotation are eligible to return. Presumably, all five of their agents have received inquiries about the willingness of those players to transfer elsewhere for a price.

Question: How much will you offer to keep each of those five players?
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I am 100 percent uniformed, and might be underthinking value of some existing guys, but will play along. If I had 15 mil, maybe:

Two stud transfers: 5.0 total

DM - 3.0

AS - 2.25

TI - 1.75

ZI - 1.0

JD - 0.5

Rest: remaining 1.50 among 5 players

What’s lost on me is what’s potentially already softly committed to HS seniors joining next year.
 
#33      
zoiks
This seems ideal to me. I’m of the opinion that we don’t need a true point guard, since all of our bigs can handle and pass the ball, so I’d rather keep the positional size advantage while also having 3 point shooting at every position.

1. Coleman
2. Blackwood
3. Stojakovic
4. Mirkovic
5. Ivisic twins

Get a portal backup 4 to replace Ben and a mid-major point guard willing to be a role player and serve as Coleman/Morillo insurance. Bring back Jake to split minutes again with Andre.

The question of course is whether or not the budget can support such a roster.
 
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#34      
ChiefGritty
No idea what kind of bag he's seeking and if we have any connections there, but the name that jumps out on the list of top transfers is Jackson Shelstad.

That's hand-in-glove for the role that's missing among our returnees, even more than Terrence Hill who I also like.
 
#36      
HailtotheChief
Chillini said:
I am 100 percent uniformed, and might be underthinking value of some existing guys, but will play along. If I had 15 mil, maybe:

Two stud transfers: 5.0 total

DM - 3.0

AS - 2.25

TI - 1.75

ZI - 1.0

JD - 0.5

Rest: remaining 1.50 among 5 players

What’s lost on me is what’s potentially already softly committed to HS seniors joining next year.
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I dont think Jake gets more than Coleman or Mortillo when they are highly recruited and lpossible NBA talents one day. Just because they are in high school doesnt mean they arent sought after with a price just below Z or Coleman on line with Z than less than Jake. I would think the demand for players like Coleman or Morillo is higher than Jake but maybe im wrong.
 
#38      
2qtslow
Chillini said:
I am 100 percent uniformed, and might be underthinking value of some existing guys, but will play along. If I had 15 mil, maybe:

Two stud transfers: 5.0 total

DM - 3.0

AS - 2.25

TI - 1.75

ZI - 1.0

JD - 0.5

Rest: remaining 1.50 among 5 players

What’s lost on me is what’s potentially already softly committed to HS seniors joining next year.
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It is funny just how quickly that $15 million can run out!
I think Mirk, the twins and now Jake all have the same agent, and that we have a very good relationship with him. It would be wonderful to wrap up those four in a single negotiation session, he said, wishingly.
 
#41      
jrichisamazing
ChiefGritty said:
"He's never done that before and his career high in assists is 5" how's that for a reason.


Right, we had two true PG's this season.


Mirk as Big Slavic Domask is intriguing, but that would change our offense a lot, we'd have to play faster, fewer post touches for Tomi, it just doesn't seem like the best way to put the puzzle pieces together.

John Blackwell has a family connection here and would cost a ton of NIL money and be a show of strength against the right kind of competition. The one obvious missing piece on the roster is a facilitating, ballhandling lead guard who is a strong defender.

It's natural and understandable to try and talk our way into those two things being a match. But they crystal clearly are not.

There are nine zillion guys in the portal, find the right fit. NUMBER DANG ONE!
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Seems like you are overcomplicating things. Our offense has adapted to our players pretty much every season. Blackwell can score at all 3 levels, takes care of the basketball, and gets to the line a decent amount.

That being said, he is the type of player our staff wouldn't overpay for. I'm assuming we are going to give him a healthy bag and then let our winning and development do the rest of the talking. If he wants more money he will end up elsewhere.
 
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#42      
OB positive
NarrowJ said:
He's more similar to Stojakovic than Wagler as a scoring first shooting guard/wing. He cannot play lead guard for a competent high-major offense. Mirkovic can take some heat off of our ballhandlers, but he isn't going to be our primary. We need a big time lead guard. Blackwell isn't that.

Editing just to say that if they can bring him in and he and Andrej can work in some TSJ/Domask type of way, then it might be fine.
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Do we really know he can't do that? There wasn't much of a need for him to fill that role with Boyd on the floor. Most of the Illini fans didn't know how effective Keaton was running the show until Boswell went down.
 
#43      
PizzaHutParkingLot
More athleticism would raise our ceiling. We were #295 in pace per KenPom, and elite shot-making covered for it. Adding some pace in spots would generate easier looks and take some pressure off having to hit tough ones all game. A full season of Andrej should help there.

This has been mentioned already, but adding a tough, experienced, playable guard in the Petrović spot would be huge.
 
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#44      
NarrowJ
OB positive said:
Do we really know he can't do that? There wasn't much of a need for him to fill that role with Boyd on the floor. Most of the Illini fans didn't know how effective Keaton was running the show until Boswell went down.
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We have far, far more evidence of "cannot" than "can" at this point. Keaton was a freshman, Blackwell will be a senior. We have 3 full seasons of Blackwell's 1.12 a/tov ratio vs Keaton's 2.38 a/tov ratio that shows the difference in ability in this aspect.
 
#46      
Illini2010-11
illini0440 said:
Lead guard doesn't automatically mean Point guard......Keaton wasn't a PG.....if you don't think Blackwell fits as a lead guard who was an on-ball scorer at Wisconsin then idk what to tell you.
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I find it strange some are trying to talk not taking in Blackwell. The Illini legacy can ball and would make the team much better. As always, it comes down to finances, but he would fit well in Orange and Blue.
 
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