Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#777      
ChiefGritty
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Confused about this perspective.

Andrej’s a 3 / wing. Blackwell’s a guard.

Andrej is not ball handler / initiator. Blackwell is.

One’s a phenomenal shooter. The other’s a slasher (not quite the shooter).

Seems like an okay fit? I don’t see what they take away from each other’s games. Both will score A LOT.
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They could definitely play together.

The problems are:

1. Do they want to?

2. Blackwell-Coleman-Stojakovic-Mirkovic-Ivisic doesn't work as a 5 man lineup and Jake Davis swapping in doesn't fix it.
 
#780      
Peso
Quick side request: can someone share me the thread or post link when the insiders and the staff first knew Keaton Wagler was going to be one of the top freshmen in the country and be an one-and-done Illini legend??

Just curious when we found out he was legit
 
#785      
Illwinsagain
Peso said:
Quick side request: can someone share me the thread or post link when the insiders and the staff first knew Keaton Wagler was going to be one of the top freshmen in the country and be an one-and-done Illini legend??

Just curious when we found out he was legit
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The story that I heard, BAM knew right away that he was special and told everyone who listened. Many leery of practice reports after the Alex Legion saga. After 2 weeks, the coaches let the family know that they should hire an agent. I am certain many on this board know significantly more.
 
#786      
madillini4
BBlock24 said:
I don't know about you guys, but I'm just looking forward to some Loyalty After Dark. 😉
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IMG_8805.jpeg
 
#788      
Illini4Christ
LvilleILL1 said:
Have heard we are in deep with a Ben replacement already. Can't release the name yet, but think most would be happy.

Duke or Illinois for Blackwell as of now.
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If that’s the case, I like our chances because according to his father, he wanted to keep his son in the Big Ten. Let’s see how much weight his father carries with the young man.
 
#789      
ChiefGritty
Illwinsagain said:
Why do you feel that this line up won't work? I have only read about 15 pages, so I apologize if already addressed.
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Nobody passes, everybody's game is built around scoring, and the ballhandling is okay but not great.

Brad is creative and we've built inside-out offenses before (it's easy to say Mirk would be the booty ball PG there, but I kinda feel like it would be Tomi in a sort of Dwight-era Magic Stan Van Gundy offense), you could imagine certain solutions.

But I go back to all of those preseason rankings yesterday. If we get the RIGHT fit who lets our returnees do what they're BEST at, we are in a position to be the favorite to win the entire thing. I like John Blackwell a lot, but not enough to distract me from seizing that opportunity.
 
#792      
Indy Illini Fan
Illiniforlife said:
He’s not saying that Kylan was never a good defender. What he’s saying is that against weaker competition, Kylan was solid defensively—but against stronger competition, he struggled and was not an effective defender.
UCLA:
Donovan Dent had 15 assists with zero turnovers. If Kylan were truly a strong defender, you’d expect at least one forced turnover or some disruption. Instead, we gave up 95 points.
Michigan:
They had Kylan guarding Yaxel, which was clearly a mismatch, and Yaxel still dropped 16 points. We gave up 84 points in that game.
Oregon:
Arguably the worst team in the Big Ten, which actually supports Indy’s point—against bad teams, Kylan looked like a good defender.
Maryland:
Andre Mills scored 30, Darius Adams had 14, and David Colt added 10. We won by six against a bottom‑of‑the‑barrel team (and I’d still argue Oregon was worse), but Kylan guarded all of them at different points and got consistently torched.
Wisconsin (Big Ten Tournament):
Do we even need to discuss that one?

That’s really all @Indy Illini Fan was trying to say. Yes, against weaker competition, he looked like a First Team All‑Big Ten defender. But when it mattered most—against the better teams—his defense was not nearly as effective.
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The Office Thank You GIF
 
#793      
Aillini32
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Confused about this perspective.

Andrej’s a 3 / wing. Blackwell’s a guard.

Andrej is not ball handler / initiator. Blackwell is.

One’s a phenomenal shooter. The other’s a slasher (not quite the shooter).

Seems like an okay fit? I don’t see what they take away from each other’s games. Both will score A LOT.
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Part of Andrej coming back will definitely be that he will want the ball in his hands more as an initiator. That’s his path to the NBA
 
#798      
bobmILLINI34
Dan said:
Welcome to the Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread :illinois:

2026 Recruiting
1) Ethan Brown (2026 G) committed on July 30th, 2025, signed on November 15th, 2025.
2) Landon Davis (2026 F) committed on August 6th, 2025, signed on November 12th, 2025.
3) Lucas Morillo (2026 G) committed on October 24th, 2025, signed on November 19th, 2025.
4) Quentin Coleman (2026 G) committed on April 3rd, 2026.

2027 Recruiting
1) Quinton Kitt (2027 F) committed on November 27th, 2025.
2) Mason Martin (2027 G) committed on January 16th, 2026.
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This Lithuanian from TCU might meet all the four pillars our team looks for?

Height, good shooting, great fundamentals etc

Thoughts?

https://twitter.com/x/status/2041864211362451567
 
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