Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#851      
illinifan1987
sacraig said:
What's important is being #1 exiting the postseason.
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Snoop Dogg Agree GIF by Solo Stove
 
#852      
AndyKaufmanstutor
Am I the only one thinking Zens will likely be Podz 2.0? Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin who barely plays his freshman year and transfers? Don’t know if this kid will make the NBA, but unless he makes a surprise ala Wagler, he’s not seeing the floor next year.
 
#853      
IllinInTheLou
GrayGhost77 said:
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.
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THIS. He’d be passing on a huge NIL, following dad’s legacy, and a starting role in what some consider the missing piece. Having a chance to win a natty might not be quite as important as the biggest bag after all.
 
#855      
RichardKeene’sHair
We think we know what it will look like next year.

What will actually happen:

Coleman 1 & Done
Mirk will still be really good (we will be begging him for one more year)
Morillo All-Big Frosh (will be praying to the lord to keep him for Year 2)
Zens will be first off the bench by end of year. 3 point sniper
Vaaks won’t shoot well or something
Andrej will score a ton
Tomi will aggravate us
Z will be the same guy
Brandon Lee will be a pitbull for 10 minutes/game. Have a couple big moments
Jake’s role will diminish a tad
One of Ethan or Landon will be better than advertised. Play 10 hard minutes/game. Play more at end of season.

Who am I leaving out?

Starting line up in the first round of the tournament

Coleman
Morillo
Stoj
Mirk
Big T

will play
Vaaks
Zens
Jake
Z
Lee

Save this post
 
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#858      
Altuve27
Illinisnake said:
I might be the only one that thinks we are fine without Blackwell. Team Coleman and Morillo.
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This is not sour grapes at all. It’s just how I feel. We have everything a player could possibly want. A chance to win at the highest level. A recent history of sending guys to the NBA. Plenty of money, etc.

If that’s not what he wants, so be it.
 
#859      
OrangeKrush1981
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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One more to bind them, and in the season's darkness lead them ...
 
#861      
Timj83
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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Makes sense from balance of what we probably promised Andre/Coleman/Morrillo from impact/playing time perspective and Blackwell probably wanting to be more of a focal point. Hope he lands out of the B10 if it's in fact not us. Queue tons of speculating on what the final piece could be. A veteran facilitator with defense bite and some shooting would be my preference. We've had a great run having freshman be primary ball handler but some insurance would be nice to either ease freshman into it at beginning of season/key bench piece.
 
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#862      
therealmiket86
AndyKaufmanstutor said:
Am I the only one thinking Zens will likely be Podz 2.0? Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin who barely plays his freshman year and transfers? Don’t know if this kid will make the NBA, but unless he makes a surprise ala Wagler, he’s not seeing the floor next year.
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It’s a development play. Now that the roster is at 15 you can take guys like this and stash them. It also doesn’t hurt that his cousin in a top 100 recruit in 2027
 
#863      
ColSLU69
Why not?

Vaaks is a shooter, I don’t think Cox would make sense with a non-shooting point guard.
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6'3" guard Jalen Cox (Colgate) would be a good fit, in my opinion. He scores well (17.9 ppg), he rebounds well as a guard (5.2 rebounds/game), and he passes well (5.3 assists/game). And he's a good defender vs quick guards. He could certainly play alongside Vaaks and/or Coleman.

A lot of folks on here (and maybe Brad too?) are not too fond of 6'3" guard Terrence Hill Jr (VCU). All I know is that Hill is visiting Kansas now, so I suspect that Bill Self thinks Hill is a pretty good player. He averaged 15.0/2.7/2.8 and shot 46.6/37.0/84.4 last season for VCU as a 6th man... and 1st Team All Atlantic 10. Ranked #1 in remaining PGs available in the portal.

Lastly, I like 6'4" guard Rowan Brumbaugh (Tulane). I'd consider him a John Blackwell-light player. He averaged 19.2/4.9/3.5 and shot 454.2/36.0/80.4 last season. Brumbaugh and Vaaks could both work on ball and off ball. Just like Wagler and Boswell did so well this past season.
 
#864      
NASchamp
Look, if Blackwell is scared he’s not gonna get enough minutes on this team, that’s fine 😎
 
#865      
SescIllini
See the Q Coleman comparison to Wagler, but Morillo was very impressive in the Nike Hoop Summit. Made some nice shot and good plays, but what most impressive is that he is a solid 6-7, handles the ball very well, has poise, and seems to like the moment. He didn't start but was in to close the game and often had the ball in his hand. He looked like he belonged against the top 10 USA players. Can possibly see him and Dreg, Davis, and Coleman, and Morillo splitting time at the SG/WF. With Coleman getting some backup PG minutes as well.
 
#867      
BlueLeader
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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Bummer, would be such a good multiplier to what we could be
 
#868      
blackdog
AndyKaufmanstutor said:
Am I the only one thinking Zens will likely be Podz 2.0? Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin who barely plays his freshman year and transfers? Don’t know if this kid will make the NBA, but unless he makes a surprise ala Wagler, he’s not seeing the floor next year.
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You think hes coming here expecting to play?
 
#869      
bbpeoria
They wanted Blackwell, but the staff would agree.
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Will they still host him for a visit or is it completely over? I’m curious to hear Indy’s thoughts
 
#874      
rdk573
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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And I thought the staff was going to make a full court press with Blackwell visiting Champaign...I guess that visit is a no-go and so is Blackwell...We still have a final 4 team without him..
 
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