madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Didn’t expect Blackwell to go this route, but if you’re not with us, you’re against us. Thank you, next.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
Part of what made us great last year was that there were never jealousy issues in the locker room or any I gotta get mine mentalities. It's a fine line that Brad has to watch before he opens the door to they locker room.And that for me and our staff this afternoon …
A lot of people are obsessed with numbers, but if there's no fit....it just doesn't work. After watching what happened with Matthew Mayer, before and after.....I'm sure Brad knows personalities and what buttons to push. He and TJ should have NEVER have been on the same roster. Matt wanted his shots and took them, good or bad. The following year, TJ leads us to an Elite 8.
He'd literally be the best player on a preseason #1 team
.At the end of the day, you're only as good as the people around you.
This makes more sense since this will be the last year for Tomi, Z, Jake, and Drej.
I’m stoked at the prospect of a full summer for the old heads and new faces to get acquainted and work out the pecking order.
Usage % is different than mpg.Usage…Kylan and Keaton both averaged 30 plus minutes a game. That logic doesn’t even make sense
And I love this! Vaaks is going to be a stud for the Illini
Dee_4_Three_83
- Mahomet, IL
Totally, not saying we needed to avoid #1. My point was, at least recently, pre-season rankings are not the end all be all of predictors for a national championship. At this point last year, we had no idea what we had in Keaton Wagler. I am happy we got most of the guys back that could come back. It raises our floor and blackwell would have raised our ceiling. There is something to be said for development and time for these guys to gel. I think the 2024 UConn team is what may be our trajectory in terms of continuity.
This right here. If what he said is true about wanting to play for a championship you have to make sacrifices in order for that happen. It can’t be ‘I’m gonna get mine so I can get to the NBA’. It’s either that or go play for another team where you can average 20 a game but not on a team that has a chance to win big.
Some of these bizarre complaints have reminded me what a great feature the Ignore button is.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
This feels like the part of the movie where the staff goes overseas to find a hidden gem.
what I appreciate about our insiders is that they tell us the present.
if it's trending well and happening, they'll tell us.
if it's not, they'll tell us.
keeps things in the correct perspective and avoid misinformation.
if it's trending well and happening, they'll tell us.
if it's not, they'll tell us.
keeps things in the correct perspective and avoid misinformation.
SuperMetroid
- Evanston
We have 5 key contributors returning from a Final Four team + one of the best transfer guards in the country. 2 highly-ranked plug and play freshmen coming in. Getting Blackwell or similar would be awesome but this is already a ‘standout team’.
I think we still need a strong back up big behind Mirk / Tomi in case of foul trouble. Seems like we only have Tomi and Mirk that can body other string bigs. Z doesn’t have the strength and jumps into the rafters on every pump fake. Any foul trouble up front and we seem weak. Are any of the freshmen able to fill this role?
If Blackwell’s camp doesn’t want him to have to play at his best to be the top scoring option and are afraid of competition then he want right for us from the first place. He would be our top scoring option right now, we would just have really good 2 through 7 scoring options too
It’s an odd reason not to come here - because we might be too good. Michigan got 9 guys to go there last year and all of their bench could have started somewhere else, Yaxel could have scored more on a different team. We have to get guys willing to sacrifice their stats a bit for skills growth and winning. Everyone else that has come back has shown they are willing to do that so maybe Blackwell isn’t a fit afterall
Rock, paper, scissors isn't good enough. Preferably they decide it by way of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock:
Important to understand.
No one is blaming the agent. It's the posters who automatically assumed Illinois wouldn't pony up for Blackwell that are the issue.
The feed of that game is awful. Very dark lighting and the announcers aren't really describing much of anything. No idea who's playing.
We sure this isn't the ol car dealer tactic where you suddenly change course and are "no longer interested" in the product, forcing them to make a choice quickly?
Wishful thinking is all I guess. Would have loved to have landed Blackwell but understand not everything is in our control.
Wishful thinking is all I guess. Would have loved to have landed Blackwell but understand not everything is in our control.
LubbockIlliniFan
- Savoy, IL
Understandable, but if he gets the minutes he looking at, the usage % should be there.
LadyLoyalty
- Indian Wells, CA
Having Storr Flashbacks 
LubbockIlliniFan
- Savoy, IL
Man if I had a quarter for every time a parent or agent or camp gave kids bad advice
Doomers, please do yourself a favor and watch this Vaaks vid. He’s even better than I thought. Incredible athlete. Illinois is not going to miss a beat next season. They are better.
I agree - he's really good. And I'm not worried at all about starting a freshman. Brad's teams have featured standout freshman almost every year -- two this past year in Keaton and Mirk.