Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#426      
Heisenbobble
Indy Illini Fan said:
Just to try and clear things up …

I think it’s Andrej …

Or Andrej and Blackwell …

And that’s it …

Staff really doesn’t seem to be showing any interest in anyone else right now …

Brad is not interested in pivoting or settling …
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Personally, I think it's risky since next season seems to be the program's best shot at a natty since '04-05. Not saying they can't win one w/o Blackwell or someone comparable. But it's a huge roll of the dice to trust the freshmen. Vaaks is a good prospect for sure, but he's not Keaton. And I still think they'll need another backcourt veteran like Bam to keep the team locked in.

Maybe Coleman, in fact, told Brad he'll reopen his recruitment again if they land Blackwell or someone else, and Brad is fine with Blackwell replacing Coleman but no one else.
 
#427      
ChiefGritty
PeoriaIllini03 said:
If all goes as planned Vaaks won't be here for more than one year.
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Which speaks to how good he is.

Combo said:
Doesn't seem to matter much these days.
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We seem to be moving away from "new team every year", which served us well, but wasn't sustainable.

illini0440 said:
Lucas Morillo is 6 foot 7. He can play 1-4. He will play the 4 next year.
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Somebody scoffed at me when I compared him to Hansberry. A scoff back at whoever that was!

Emerson Bigguns said:
I will always believe the Podz story turns out differently if he had been promised playing time at Illinois...

That perceived rejection may well have been the fuel he needed to push himself to become what he is today. Every hero has an origin story, right?

Saying he couldn't have possibly gotten that much better in an off-season doesn't make much sense. It's literally ignoring decades of evidence to the contrary.
Always reminds me of the old Al Maguire quote: "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores."

There is also something very freeing to being the #1 option on a team, and not having to look at the bench every time you mess up... Some guys need to be pushed hard, and some guys need to be insulated. If you are the 2nd type, Illinois may not be the place for you.

Promising playing time isn't something Brad is going to do, nor should he.

Some people are simply a bad match for each other, even if they are both great individually.
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The irony with Podz is that he's a pretty similar player to Jakucionis, who is a fairly similar player to Vaaks.

Those guys are nothing like Andres Feliz, but there's a different philosophy now.
 
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#430      
Mobi
Indy Illini Fan said:
Just to try and clear things up …

I think it’s Andrej …

Or Andrej and Blackwell …

And that’s it …

Staff really doesn’t seem to be showing any interest in anyone else right now …

Brad is not interested in pivoting or settling …
Click to expand...
Guess Coleman will play if Blackwell doesn't suite up? But if we have the money, why not pay someone else good? That at least increases our budget. 😅
 
#432      
grue2
ChiefGritty said:
It's honestly kind of endearing that despite Podz in that season being the WCC POY and a top 20 draft pick while we lost Skyy Clark and Luke Goode and had to rely on Sencire Harris and often had Matthew Mayer initiating the offense, and despite Trent Frazier (GOAT though he is) playing in Russia while Podz starts for the Warriors, people within the program STILL won't admit they were wrong about this.

One gets the sense Podz is kind of obnoxious which I would imagine plays into it, but that's one of the 10 best basketball players we've had at the program in Brad's time and we goofed up letting him walk.
...
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Having watched Podz at Santa Clara and on the Warriors, I don't think Underwood goofed. Podz played the career game perfectly, going down a level where his athletic shortcomings were hidden, and then getting picked up by a coach who loves his 3pt shot and phenomenal effort. He is a boat anchor on the Warriors. The offense was so bad when he handled the ball that they went out and got Butler. He might be okay as a bench shooting guard who gets 10m/game spelling the starter.

And this from someone who loves the effort the kid puts forth on defense, even as he fails.
 
#433      
AnnaMay
joekam said:
Nice position to be in. Don’t have to desperately outbid for Blackwell.
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Or...by not throwing money at a bunch of guys, you focus on those 2 knowing we will be able to out bid anyone because those 2 have been in the conversation with donors the entire time and they are all in on just those 2. When you start pivoting, you have to also convince the donors they are worth it and things get messy.
 
#436      
80'sIllini
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
We need Z on the court more. The best way to do that -- with Tomi on the roster -- is to give him the minutes to back up Mirk. I have no issues with it.
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Z's off the ball defending of the rim and blocking shots is elite but his on the ball defense is just ok, his rebounding is below average and so is his shooting if you look at his % from 3 for the whole year. Not to say he can't improve a lot in those areas and to do so it's incumbent on him to get stronger- especially in his lower body so he doesn't get pushed around so easily. He's already had one year under Fletch- I hope there is still plenty of further strength gains to be had and improvement in his outside shot.
 
#438      
Aillini32
Indy Illini Fan said:
Just to try and clear things up …

I think it’s Andrej …

Or Andrej and Blackwell …

And that’s it …

Staff really doesn’t seem to be showing any interest in anyone else right now …

Brad is not interested in pivoting or settling …
Click to expand...
Yeah… this is a major risk/let down if Blackwell doesn’t come. One injury to either or Coleman being a typical freshman and we’re staring down the barrel at a disappointing season. Not to mention if Vaaks is simply a good player on a bad team. Guard play wins in March and a backup guard duo of Lee and Morillo is rough
 
#439      
HensonHall71
Indy Illini Fan said:
Just to try and clear things up …

I think it’s Andrej …

Or Andrej and Blackwell …

And that’s it …

Staff really doesn’t seem to be showing any interest in anyone else right now …

Brad is not interested in pivoting or settling …
Click to expand...
does that include not getting a backup PF? I think what you outlined makes sense in that getting Andrej back means we are a top 5 team preseason and Coleman can be our starting SG, so Blackwell is a great addition but we can be great with Coleman too

But, not getting another big and rolling with just the Balkan three in a year you can win it all is borderline malpractice in my mind - unless the staff is confident JJ can play that role, which I haven't heard anyone say
 
#441      
WxIllini
From USU message boards…

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#444      
RockfordIllini
HensonHall71 said:
does that include not getting a backup PF? I think what you outlined makes sense in that getting Andrej back means we are a top 5 team preseason and Coleman can be our starting SG, so Blackwell is a great addition but we can be great with Coleman too

But, not getting another big and rolling with just the Balkan three in a year you can win it all is borderline malpractice in my mind - unless the staff is confident JJ can play that role, which I haven't heard anyone say
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We will play an 8 man rotation which will be:

Andrej
Coleman
Vaaks
Mirk
Tomi

Z
Jake
Morillo

And if we get Blackwell likely bump Morillo out of the rotation. We have to cover 80 minutes at the 4-5 spots. Tomi and Mirk likely chew up 60 of those, with Z getting the other 20. If we have foul trouble/injuries we can go a little smaller at times with Jake or Morillo, both of whom are 6’6 plus. And hopefully we bring back JJ as our emergency big, which I would be willing to bet is one of the best emergency bigs in the conference.

We really don’t have a role to offer other than break glass in case of emergency/injury. And while it would be great to have a replacement level BIG 4 as our 10th/11th man, fact is no team outside of Duke goes that deep. To the extent foul trouble or injury opens up more minutes, think. Morillo and Jake are more than capable.
 
#445      
mysterio2525
Indy Illini Fan said:
Just to try and clear things up …

I think it’s Andrej …

Or Andrej and Blackwell …

And that’s it …

Staff really doesn’t seem to be showing any interest in anyone else right now …

Brad is not interested in pivoting or settling …
Click to expand...
I choose option 2. andrej and Blackwell.

to drink, I'll be having a nice scotch to celebrate. 18 years old. thank you
 
#447      
hoopsfan47
HensonHall71 said:
does that include not getting a backup PF? I think what you outlined makes sense in that getting Andrej back means we are a top 5 team preseason and Coleman can be our starting SG, so Blackwell is a great addition but we can be great with Coleman too

But, not getting another big and rolling with just the Balkan three in a year you can win it all is borderline malpractice in my mind - unless the staff is confident JJ can play that role, which I haven't heard anyone say
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I have no idea of what JJ is capable, but he is tall, quick moving for his size, can jump, and from what we have seen of practice film, he is willing to fire away when open. Now, what he does on the floor against Duke or Michigan is an unknown, but the bones seem to be there.
 
#448      
STLini25
Aillini32 said:
Yeah… this is a major risk/let down if Blackwell doesn’t come. One injury to either or Coleman being a typical freshman and we’re staring down the barrel at a disappointing season. Not to mention if Vaaks is simply a good player on a bad team. Guard play wins in March and a backup guard duo of Lee and Morillo is rough
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We are adding two veteran starting players to Vaaks, Mirk and Tomi.
 
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