Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#826      
Curbelo Fanboy
Det_Illini_fan said:
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. 1

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
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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.
 
#830      
hoopsfan47
Illinicpa14 said:
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
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4 and 6 are the only two of the six that I have any doubt will prove true....and both have a high probability of proving to be true.
 
#834      
Altuve27
Illinicpa14 said:
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
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Really, really good list. Just to add to it, I think you’ll see more post-ups from Tomi. He unquestionably has that in his skillset. He helped us finish off Iowa with 2 late post-ups. I want much more of that.

Put teams in a bind as to whether they should double him or not.
 
#835      
GrayGhost77
Is it just me or does ZZ look a bit like Christian Laettner (obviously Laettner a bit taller)? If he plays even remotely to his level I think we'll be in good shape. Welcome to the O & B, Mr. Zens!
 
#836      
DReq
I have always thought the preseason and early season rankings were pretty meaningless. There is truly only one ranking I care about and that is the one that some out after the National Championship game. It is prestigious to get that number 1 ranking but it is a prediction by a group, some of whom are poorly informed and a bit biased. The proof is in the pudding (pudding = NCAA Championship) and I'd like a big bowl of that, please.
 
#839      
RabidDawgClassic
Todd99 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2045257241654067343

Let’s see if things shift back the other way now 😂
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giphy.gif


Edit: oops. Perhaps a different acquisition? 🤔
 
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#841      
kyillini
Welcome Xavier to the Illini. We got a very good Freshman class this year. We will be surprised how good this class is with this year and next.
 
#842      
GrayGhost77
If Blackwell really wanted to have a chance at a Natty he'd come on board. If he doesn't it's his loss, really. I'm a believer in Brad and co's development and think regardless of whether he comes we're a FInal Four team again, and natty worthy if either of Coleman or Morillo can even slightly exceed their billing.
 
#845      
Illini90
Don't expect Blackwell at this point.

This is a top five team already.

I still think at some point they are going to add one more, either a guard or four.
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Until Indy verify’s Blackwell is going to be an Illini
 
#847      
bbpeoria
Don't expect Blackwell at this point.

This is a top five team already.

I still think at some point they are going to add one more, either a guard or four.
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Is that just your own thinking or something from staff?
 
#848      
Altuve27
LvilleILL1 said:
Don't expect Blackwell at this point.

This is a top five team already.

I still think at some point they are going to add one more, either a guard or four.
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I’d like one more guard for some depth there. I haven’t been shy about that, but this is a damn good roster.

Was just watching some video on Coleman, and those step back threes look awfully familiar.

I don’t care what league it is, if you shoot 50.6% from three for a season that is beyond impressive.
 
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