Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#102      
aaeismacgychel
thefalcon5 said:
Im not sure even with Blackwell, retaining everyone who played meaningful minutes sans Keaton, and adding a couple bench pieces, that a team like that is 1st in the country.

That being said that team is a contender. We need to get Z’s shot back but Tomis performance in the tournament was awesome. Everyone else seemed to flourish towards the end of the year. Even saw something a bit extra out of Jake.
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Not sure what happened to Z's shot. On February 4th, he was 25 for 69 on the season from 3. Good for 36.2%. That's pretty good. After February 4th? 3 for 31, 9.7% on extremelyhigh quality looks! He made 1 single 3 in the past month and a half! He could probably knock down turnaround jumpers at a better rate. Truly a bizarre falloff. Especially because his first 2 seasons he was a career 37.5% shooter on decent volume. Just makes very little sense.

I would be surprised if Z doesn't return to shooting the 3 at a high 30% clip on medium volume next year. His shot and mechanics looked good, just seemed to be in the coldest stretch of his life. Very weird.
 
#104      
NarrowJ
ChiefGritty said:
Blackwell rocks, and is a legacy here, and of course beat the brakes off us twice this year.

In the context we're used to around here, where we've been replacing our whole roster every year, Blackwell is a golden opportunity, like with TSJ and Boswell it has a feeling of "he should have been here the whole time".

HOWEVER, we are not in the same context. We are in a "get our team back and add that perfect puzzle piece and we are NUMERO UNO" context. It's more about complimenting what we're keeping than the mass-scale construction jobs we're used to doing.

The "retention is everything" muscle has atrophied here, and I think some combination of Michigan's title win and Denzel Culture makes people feel that portalmaxxing is the only path to our dream of a national title. But wake up folks, the national conversation is all about the juggernaut we can be if we bring everybody back.
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Yeah, the whole conversation changes if Andrej leaves... then Blackwell would be *perfect* imo

Right now? He feels like one of those puzzle pieces that has some oddball color pattern where I'm just not confident which pile it even goes in yet
 
#105      
thefalcon5
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Well, we clearly would be RIGHT THERE. None of those teams are definitively above Illinois if we land Blackwell and return our major pieces. I’m not guaranteeing a #1 ranking, but we’d have a very strong case (yes, even when all the rosters are completed).

Also, Cason’s out for the year.
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I just don’t agree. You’re expecting some pretty big jumps out of returning players. Even just comparing to this years team. Keatons better than Blackwell. I’ll take Boswell over morillo and Coleman. So you’re basically assuming the returners will vault us up. I think that’s a big ask.

To me that teams much closer to 10 than 1. But go ahead and assign absolutes to hypothetical teams on April 7th.
 
#106      
AirTran
NarrowJ said:
Right. We don't need distributor(s) per se, but we do need ballhandlers to replace Keaton & Kylan. If we do ink Blackwell, then we will definitely need another ballhandler.
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Clearly you are right.

But our options (in terms of minutes) are far less limited than people think. The best player to replace Keaton at 1 / 2 - David Mirkovic. Not saying that will happen - but if everyone returns, the staff and the players are going to be looking for the best "fit" not necessarily a particular position as some others are suggesting. Other the Andrej (he's going to be on the weakside wing, which is going to cause all sorts of problems defending) Tomi and Z everyone else can adapt to who is on the floor.
Illini2010-11 said:
Sure, it will take time for the roster to complete...we are literally in day 3 of our offseason.

I always see this type of post about players being happy with roles moving forward due to current recruiting process, and I keep coming back to this thought process:

The job of the coaching staff is to always look for ways to make the roster better (even if it means potentially changing a role for existing players). The job of the existing players is to put in the effort to make the job of recruiting over their role extremely hard. If they do not want to accept the change/battle for role, then they are likely to hit the portal.

When it comes to Blackwell, he is a 100% sign if he wants to come here at an agreeable NIL deal.
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Understand your sentiment - and not trying to be controversial - But I don't see Blackwell as a great fit.

He's not a great passer

He's an OK defender

He's a good rebounder.

He's a good 3pt shooter. He takes shots inside the arc, that aren't a fit here.

He wouldn't be our number 1 or number 2 offensive option - those are going to be Andrej and Mirk.

He wouldn't play 35 mins here either - not if everyone comes back.

The issue with Blackwell (and the offense Wisconsin runs) is that he needs 13 - 15 shots a game and shoot 8 threes a game and that is NEVER going to happen at Illinois.

We went through a similar discussion when A.J. Storr was available 2 years ago and a similar conversation about Brandon Podziemski 3 years ago. Blackwell needs to touch the ball 60% of the possessions. The offense we run is based on the exact opposite. Keaton Wagler took 20% of our shots last year. Blackwell is NOT Keaton Wagler otherwise he would be a second team All - American and declaring for the NBA draft.

I could be (an am willing to be) wrong about this, but I don't see the interest on the part of the Illini players or staff for this one.

If Z, Tomi, Mirk, Andrej, Ty and Jake all stay... I don't think we hit the transfer portal all that hard. One of the 4 Freshman is going to get minutes, Jason Jakstys - who was getting small minutes prior to blood clot is going to be a difficult decision. Given the crew we have - I think the ultimate decision or who else is brought in will be made more by the players than the coaches this year. The team aspect of this group is really unrivaled.

There are only 200 minutes per game and if all 7 come back.... they are going to be better next year than they were this year. So, 160 of the 200 minutes are already spoken for. We are going to use an 9 man rotation to start, that will ultimately turn into an 8 man rotation owing to injuries or consequences we can't predict.
 
#107      
Rebounding Dog
thefalcon5 said:
Do I?

of course with literally every other roster in flux an Illini team of returners and Blackwell is going to look the best when compared to others who have maybe 6 guys committed.

If you really want an answer it’s probably Michigan as boring as that sounds. But I’ll play the game for you. Let’s assume you return Cadeau/Morez/Mara/McKinney/Cason and add the 3rd ranked class coming in. That alone gets them close to Illinois. They’ll add a transfer or two and with Yaxels money off the books I’d wager it’ll be pretty darn good ones.

Or let’s look at MSU. They basically return everyone except Kohler and Cooper. They’ll add also add the 5th overall class. Or maybe Duke tickles are fancy. Or inevitably Houston/Florida/literally any team with deep pockets.

I’m putting it in perspective. I think it’s ridiculous to criticize my take of potentially next years team just because everyone else’s roster isn’t set. I personally don’t think Blackwell elevates us to be the absolute best team in the country. Top 10 sure but top overall is a tough mantle to claim.
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Cason is expected to redshirt 26-27 season. Mara and Morez I do not see returning. They have a lot to rebuild but have the dollars. Replacing Morez, Yaxel and Mara is a task without downgrading.
 
#108      
USAFILLINI
thefalcon5 said:
Do I?

of course with literally every other roster in flux an Illini team of returners and Blackwell is going to look the best when compared to others who have maybe 6 guys committed.

If you really want an answer it’s probably Michigan as boring as that sounds. But I’ll play the game for you. Let’s assume you return Cadeau/Morez/Mara/McKinney/Cason and add the 3rd ranked class coming in. That alone gets them close to Illinois. They’ll add a transfer or two and with Yaxels money off the books I’d wager it’ll be pretty darn good ones.

Or let’s look at MSU. They basically return everyone except Kohler and Cooper. They’ll add also add the 5th overall class. Or maybe Duke tickles are fancy. Or inevitably Houston/Florida/literally any team with deep pockets.

I’m putting it in perspective. I think it’s ridiculous to criticize my take of potentially next years team just because everyone else’s roster isn’t set. I personally don’t think Blackwell elevates us to be the absolute best team in the country. Top 10 sure but top overall is a tough mantle to claim.
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Have to think Morez is gone to the draft. Hes projected a late first round pick.
 
#110      
Iamgroot
HailtotheChief said:
I dont see it. Who are you benching for Ty at the 3 or 4? Ty cant shoot to play the 1 or 2. Who are you benching or taking chunks of minutes from? Are you taking minutes from Andre at the 3 or Mirk and plugging in Ty as an undersized 4? Ty will be a role player off the bench at the 3 imo if he stays behind Dre and maybe Jake. If we want spacing Ty cant play the 1 or 2 plus we added 2 high end freshman guards and are high end guys for that role too.
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I'd have to think ty would be back up for the 3 and 4 spots as I agree with you hes not a good enough shooter for the 1and 2 spots spots unless were mismatch hunting and have ty posting up guards down low
 
#112      
ImGonnaBeILL
Assuming nothing changes between now and the season, Trey McKenney and Brandon McCoy are immediately one of the best backcourts in America.

Michigan is going to be quite alright even if all 3 of Yaxel/Mara/Morez are gone. I expect all 3 to be 1sts even in a loaded draft. I actually think Mara could vault to a lotto pick.
 
#113      
IlliDan
AirTran said:
Clearly you are right.

But our options (in terms of minutes) are far less limited than people think. The best player to replace Keaton at 1 / 2 - David Mirkovic. Not saying that will happen - but if everyone returns, the staff and the players are going to be looking for the best "fit" not necessarily a particular position as some others are suggesting. Other the Andrej (he's going to be on the weakside wing, which is going to cause all sorts of problems defending) Tomi and Z everyone else can adapt to who is on the floor.

Understand your sentiment - and not trying to be controversial - But I don't see Blackwell as a great fit.

He's not a great passer

He's an OK defender

He's a good rebounder.

He's a good 3pt shooter. He takes shots inside the arc, that aren't a fit here.

He wouldn't be our number 1 or number 2 offensive option - those are going to be Andrej and Mirk.

He wouldn't play 35 mins here either - not if everyone comes back.

The issue with Blackwell (and the offense Wisconsin runs) is that he needs 13 - 15 shots a game and shoot 8 threes a game and that is NEVER going to happen at Illinois.

We went through a similar discussion when A.J. Storr was available 2 years ago and a similar conversation about Brandon Podziemski 3 years ago. Blackwell needs to touch the ball 60% of the possessions. The offense we run is based on the exact opposite. Keaton Wagler took 20% of our shots last year. Blackwell is NOT Keaton Wagler otherwise he would be a second team All - American and declaring for the NBA draft.

I could be (an am willing to be) wrong about this, but I don't see the interest on the part of the Illini players or staff for this one.

If Z, Tomi, Mirk, Andrej, Ty and Jake all stay... I don't think we hit the transfer portal all that hard. One of the 4 Freshman is going to get minutes, Jason Jakstys - who was getting small minutes prior to blood clot is going to be a difficult decision. Given the crew we have - I think the ultimate decision or who else is brought in will be made more by the players than the coaches this year. The team aspect of this group is really unrivaled.

There are only 200 minutes per game and if all 7 come back.... they are going to be better next year than they were this year. So, 160 of the 200 minutes are already spoken for. We are going to use an 9 man rotation to start, that will ultimately turn into an 8 man rotation owing to injuries or consequences we can't predict.
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Too many false absolutes,Blackwell VS. Storr,crazy comparison.Blackwell would be a grand slam addition in every way.
 
#117      
Illini2010-11
AirTran said:
Understand your sentiment - and not trying to be controversial - But I don't see Blackwell as a great fit.

He's not a great passer

He's an OK defender

He's a good rebounder.

He's a good 3pt shooter. He takes shots inside the arc, that aren't a fit here.

He wouldn't be our number 1 or number 2 offensive option - those are going to be Andrej and Mirk.

He wouldn't play 35 mins here either - not if everyone comes back.

The issue with Blackwell (and the offense Wisconsin runs) is that he needs 13 - 15 shots a game and shoot 8 threes a game and that is NEVER going to happen at Illinois.

We went through a similar discussion when A.J. Storr was available 2 years ago and a similar conversation about Brandon Podziemski 3 years ago. Blackwell needs to touch the ball 60% of the possessions. The offense we run is based on the exact opposite. Keaton Wagler took 20% of our shots last year. Blackwell is NOT Keaton Wagler otherwise he would be a second team All - American and declaring for the NBA draft.

I could be (an am willing to be) wrong about this, but I don't see the interest on the part of the Illini players or staff for this one.

If Z, Tomi, Mirk, Andrej, Ty and Jake all stay... I don't think we hit the transfer portal all that hard. One of the 4 Freshman is going to get minutes, Jason Jakstys - who was getting small minutes prior to blood clot is going to be a difficult decision. Given the crew we have - I think the ultimate decision or who else is brought in will be made more by the players than the coaches this year. The team aspect of this group is really unrivaled.

There are only 200 minutes per game and if all 7 come back.... they are going to be better next year than they were this year. So, 160 of the 200 minutes are already spoken for. We are going to use an 9 man rotation to start, that will ultimately turn into an 8 man rotation owing to injuries or consequences we can't predict.
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You are entitled to your opinion on fit. My take is that if the staff sees a fit here (and Blackwell does as well), then there is a fit here. You are making a bunch of assumptions about what Blackwell needs for playing. At Wisconsin, he was needed to take a whole bunch of shots (and the ball in his hands) because they lacked the talent that we possess.

Considering virtually all of our Insiders are indicating we are in contention for picking him up, that would indicate that there is heavy interest on the part of the staff. I can't imagine the staff simply getting involved to drive up his costs to a competitor (though that would be a fine alternative too).

I simply find it weird questioning why we should be interested in signing a player who averaged nearly 20 points and 5 rebounds per game last season while playing in the B1G.

Even if we happen to maintain all of our talent, we are still probably one or two key signings from the portal from being where we want to be.
 
#119      
logjam
It would be kind of funny to get 2 former NBA players sons from Cal in back-to-back years.
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#120      
Illiniforlife
Man I feel like Blackwell will be like Josh Dix last year. We get our hopes up and someone like Arkansas is going to come in and get him
 
#121      
Illinisnake
HailtotheChief said:
I dont see it. Who are you benching for Ty at the 3 or 4? Ty cant shoot to play the 1 or 2. Who are you benching or taking chunks of minutes from? Are you taking minutes from Andre at the 3 or Mirk and plugging in Ty as an undersized 4? Ty will be a role player off the bench at the 3 imo if he stays behind Dre and maybe Jake. If we want spacing Ty cant play the 1 or 2 plus we added 2 high end freshman guards and are high end guys for that role too.
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I didn’t say he was going to start, ty has had and will have more time to work on his shot. People keep saying we need more athletes, Ty was literally the best athlete on the team a few years ago and he can defend and rebound which are really the only think Brad cares about. Ty isn’t a 1 but he can play positionless.
 
#122      
ChiefGritty
NarrowJ said:
Yeah, the whole conversation changes if Andrej leaves... then Blackwell would be *perfect* imo

Right now? He feels like one of those puzzle pieces that has some oddball color pattern where I'm just not confident which pile it even goes in yet
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And it would be a totally reasonable argument to say Blackwell is a better fit for us than Andrej. More of a floor-spreader certainly.

The conversation here assumes adding Blackwell wouldn't impact Andrej's consideration of the portal, though I think we all know that's unrealistic.

But you need to think even beyond that. To what extent does paying top dollar to bring in a new ball-dominant scorer impact EVERYONE'S decision about their role on the team next year, especially if it has Andrej eyeing the exit door?

We've been causing that cascade every year, and by this point we should have great confidence in our staff's ability to pivot from there to put a very good team together. But our potential returnees are a GREAT team. The risk/reward is different.

Indy Illini Fan said:
I got told to expect some subtraction before any addition …
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Caddy Shack Golf GIF
 
#124      
ImGonnaBeILL
Most definitely don't think it's a lock Andrej returns.i actually think that may be the first domino that drops

He played good soldier but highly doubtful it helped our chances retaining. He shouldn't have been playing behind Jake much like Morez shouldn't have been playing behind Ben. It is what is with NIL today

And with the center NIL #s floating around, Id be more surprised than not if their wasn't movement there as well
 
#125      
skyIdub
Good grief never go full Loyalty the week after a Final Four run.

We just had to live through an Indinia football NC and a scUM basketball NC.

And the sudden end to our own great season.

Maybe take a couple days off and drink.
Binge a show. Make googly eyes at your SO.
Eat two too many gummies.
Bake some cookies.
Have a Snickers.
 
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