Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#278      
jmwillini
BuckDitkis said:
So it’s 100% over for Blackwell? Or should I be making a blood sacrifice to try and change the fates
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#280      
floorburn
Oldskoolkoach said:
Ya, we played 9-14 several times this year in the last few minutes of the game. Important to not get anyone hurt when up by 50 against critter schools like the UC santa Cruz Banana Slugs, evergreen state Geoducks, and Scottsdale Artichokes.

Very few teams play more than 8, but we are wanting 15 guys each making 1-5 mil, all B10, entire All-American team 1st-3rd. National title and then take the team over to NBA Finals and win it too. Dream roster is around 40 million
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Geoducks! 🤣
 
#281      
Emerson Bigguns
FloorGeneral said:
Not sure if most people realize how difficult it is to start doing something you haven't ever done against elite competition. It's easy to say "1 offseason of shooting jumpers or developing a post game, etc is all it takes" However, translating it into a full-speed game is very different. I'm sure we've seen those summer runs where NBA players who never shoot 3's can't seem to miss but come an actual NBA game, they don't even look to take the shot. It's a combination of mental practice + physical practice. There's levels to this and it's easier said than done.
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Sure, but I suspect these are skills they have all been actively working on prior to this summer. You can’t tell me OA hasn’t been working with Z on developing a back to the basket game. To your point, he may not have felt great about it yet.
I think expecting Mirk’s shot to get a little more consistent and his handle to get a little tighter isn’t some pie in the sky expectation. The skills are there. I think he’s going to drop some of that baby fat too.
Tomi just needs to play like he did in the tournament consistently. Seems like he lost confidence in his low post game at some point. He seemed to have found it again in March.
Defensively, they were so much better in the tournament collectively. They know the effort it takes. They know what to do. The twins are running out of time to prove they can play at the next level. I would hope they realize how important it is to get in on tape consistently.

Having the whole front court together all summer is going to pay dividends. If they all focus on doing whatever Fletch asks, we will see guys who get bullied less, and who can sustain effort longer. Those things alone will make them markedly better players.
 
#282      
Kendall Gill’s Uncle
PapaKvells said:
Yes AND…

Everyone keeps comparing next year’s guards to this year’s and marginalizing it because Wagler was so good. That’s valid, but we’re seeing how great players are leaving a legacy starting with Ayo with impacts that outlive their time in Champaign. We started attracting talents like TSJ, Riley, KJ, Wagler and now Coleman, Vaaks and ZZ. The staff is also getting better and better at utilizing them and developing them which will attract more.

I raise this because this every new season you bring in outsiders is a mystery and it is normal to expect regression or a worst case scenario. But the way the program is attracting talent and developing it, the floor is much higher than it would have otherwise been. Even with a regression in the backcourt, I expect the backcourt to be pretty good. But with the synergy and continuity in the front court, I expect them to improve and more than offset any regression in the backcourt because I think the falloff in the backcourt won’t be so stark.
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Well said! I think this board still have scars from Greg Egboiden and Matic Vessel (sp on both). These players aren’t those guys.
 
#287      
PepeSilvia
Second place is 1st loser said:
I see the continued commentary that he pushes us up the ladder. When I see a guy that removes his interest because he's not going to shine enough, visions of Matt Mayer comes into my head. We were so excited to get him, but ultimately, it was a terrible marriage because he wanted to get shots up. He wanted his and if he didn't get it, he wouldn't get back on defense. Anyone else remember that?
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Matt Mayer was good. It's not his fault that he was forced to operate in a role and take tough shots because he they had no guards on the roster.

Skyy Clark quit in December, Jayden Epps got progressively worse and then basically quit on the team towards the end, Sincere Harris was atrocious on offense.

That team was basically entirely Shannon and Mayer. Coleman was not good that year, Melendez sucked, Ty was a freshman, and so on.

Mayer would have been a monster if you put him in the Guerrier role the next year or if he got to play with as the 4 next to Kofi.
 
#290      
AssemblyHallForever
wc_illini said:
UM, Duke, and UConn all played 9 this year. Last year, Florida had a clear top 7 but 3 more with >13% of minutes, while Duke had 10 with over 20%, and Auburn had 8 with >20% but 3 more with 9-13%.

Not saying we're doomed with 8, but I think 9 gives us a better chance (even if just to weather some mid-season injuries or to keep the top 8 fresher without sacrificing our seed). And to end up with 9 we probably have to go into the season thinking we have 10 in case not everything works out the way we hope.
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Agreed. We should play 9-10 guys double digit minutes especially in the non conference. Having only 8 guys who played, we got hurt when Bam and Andrej went down to injury. I would love us to play deep rotations and wear teams down with multiple looks. Plus getting clock for Brown and Morillo will pay off in 27/28.
 
#291      
gville90
CoalCity said:
You left out

5. Chemistry: does this guy who seems to want to maximize himself for the NBA as well as get the alpha worthy bag after 3 years of not being an alpha on an ok team alter the balance in the locker room?
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Fair pushback. Reason I left that out, it was reported (I think by @Indy Illini Fan ) that Brad & co really wanted Blackwell. So I assumed if they made him a priority, they were good with the chemistry fit. And I trust them!
 
#294      
March2TheArch
We have a ton of promising freshmen coming in. Hope one of them breaks out. Mirk and Wagler will forever be remembered as one of our best frosh classes. I know some others came in more heralded. But in terms of output, maybe have to go back to Dee and Deron? But they didn’t drive the team to a Final Four in 2003 with a senior Brian Cook.

Mirk and Wagler GOAT’ed.
 
#298      
SVSTORM
Is Jacob Furphy portaling? I know we were in on him first time around
 
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