It’s not Blackwell but hopefully he can be a contributor.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
- Status
i can get hate for this, but I get wary of Preseason no. 1 if we don’t pull in a Blackwell or strong guard in that spot. Purdue last year touted preseason no. 1 because it was essentially everyone coming back, and they were decent but struggled a lot and far from no. 1SB Nation:
Illinois looks like No. 1 in men’s college basketball preseason rankings
Illinois looks like No. 1 in men’s college basketball preseason rankings after retaining top players
Come fan with us. SB Nation is the largest independent sports media brand, consisting of SBNation.com, MMAFighting.com and over 300 fan-centric team communities.www.sbnation.com
I know the freshman coming in can be good, and we’ll be net positive from last year off development, but I think we need that “Yaxel” type piece to be head and shoulders above like ‘26 Michigan or ‘24 UCONN.
Just my two cents
Let's call it the Shannon year
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
if it's published in twitter, it's got to be true - Madeline Kahn, probably
There is no Yaxel-like piece in the portal this year. There is a reason ‘26 Michigan and ‘24 UConn are often quotes. They’re rare.
Duke’s teams the last couple years were Natty teams that couldn’t get it done. Duke even beat Michigan this year.
I think we’re ahead of where Florida 2025, Baylor 2021, and Virginia 2019 were in the buildups to their season. That said, we’ve seen what preseason #1 did to Purdue.
There is no dominant team this upcoming year. It’ll be a roller coaster of a season. And we have to hope we peak at the right time like a Florida 2025 or UVA 2019.
ME TOO, BROTHER!!
How about Les Busboom??
Illinois definitely needs another scorer at the guard position rather it's Blackwell or McNeil from NC St. I don't trust the freshman or Lee. We all know the Ivisic twins can be woefully inconsistent on the offensive end. I don't believe Lee or Jackyts will make any impact at all. You have a chance to be really special next year you need proven senior guards. Colleges overpay players all the time. This is an opportunity Illinois can't miss out on. I predict at least 3 of the Freshman will leave after 2 years.
not yet. for sure going to be some people walking back from the draft process after getting feedback. also don't think it's at all necessary for us to be successful.
Good synopsis. With some thought, it seems like there is an unknown in the equation....how much better will the returners be over last season? That can and, if all healthy, should be a significant amount. But the loss of BH, Keaton, and BAM can't be easily replaced by Vaaks, Coleman, and Morillo. We know for a fact that freshman can fill some big holes quite well, but ours are not all top 15 kids, just talented kids that we hope can quickly adapt and play like vets at the B1G level. But applying historical precedent and common sense, that is not likely.
So I agree, one more addition of a strong veteran player is desirable thing....and John Blackwell is that desirable thing. But 20 year old kids can understand how money adds up...not so much the value treasured and cherished memories that come once in a lifetime.
Staff is really excited about immediate minutes for coleman and morillo fyi
The key phrase in that article is "right now." A lot of top teams haven't finished adding pieces right now. If we stay put and other teams have significant additions, they'll move us down.
That said, I couldn't care less. Purdue had bragging rights to preseason #1 for 2025-26. When the FF finished, who cared?
I'll cheer for our former players no matter what unless there was some bad blood in the leaving. I even rooted for Morez amid my salty tears.
Florida and Virginia both had multiple pro guards
Purdue being #1 didn’t really make much sense to me. They were a sweet 16 caliber team the year prior. Never really seen as title favorites. Most of the reasoning was having the preseason POY on the roster in Braden.
Illinois is a team that was an elite offense, a top 10 team on kenpom most of the year- really top 6-7 most of the way, who just went to a final 4. We are much more deserving.
sacraig
- The desert
How do they feel about how many minutes Blackwell will get for the Illini next season? Asking for... reasons.
Illinicpa14
- Chicago
I think they were always flawed going in unless you thought Braden was gonna be NPOY; still think Edey made all those guys look better then they were.
I think we have multiple paths even without Blackwell to be elite
1. Mirk takes a step forward
2. Andre takes a step forward
3. Either of the freshmen are better then expected
4. We keep the defensive intensity all year from the F4 run
5. Good shooting + offense Z I think also unlocks us more
6. Vaaks takes another step forward
I can easily see 2-3 of those 6 happening and at worst we’re a top 2 seed. Purdue didn’t have a good year and yet they still were a 2 seed with everything in front of them
I’m an Illini fan, if were not head and shoulders above the rest, I’m nervous each game
FightinIllini30
Future insider
I’m gonna take this to mean that we’ve given up on Blackwell and I’m gonna go on X and tell everyone that the insiders said so
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Purdue’s best player was an undersized pg who will be lucky to get an nba sniff. We have better talent to bottom.
I’m a nervous Nelly by nature but I have no concern with th pressure of being preseason top 1 or 2 or so. If u can’t handle that u ain’t winning it all anyway. Take it on. This team got a taste this year. They should be hungry for the big prize this year.
- Status