Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[PepeSilvia]

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?

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.

 

[WxIllini]

imo, would much rather watch Andrej/Mirk/QC handle the ball than Blackwell…

Call me biased but this years team was incredibly fun to watch and I can’t wait to watch em do it again next year

 

[wncillini]

He’d be THE high use guy there? Is their talent down next year?

If usage is the issue at Illinois because there are so many scoring options I wouldn’t have guessed Duke is the destination.

They have some studs, as usual, coming in.

 

[AssemblyHallForever]

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.

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.

 

[gville90]

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?

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!

 

[pruman91]

I usually put pepper on my cottage cheese. Am I the only one?

I put sugar on my cottage cheese......Am I the only one ?..............asking for a friend...............

 

[IlliniMilkMan]

I think my life is about to change for the better. Elite suggestion.

Blend in a little French onion dip. Very tasty.

 

[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.

 

[FI_890526]

Could they just be waiting to add Blackwell until the portal closes?

I think Blackwell and his agent are setting his timetable.

 

[mysterio2525]

seems like nobody feels they are the leader for Blackwell

 

[thefalcon5]

seems like nobody feels they are the leader for Blackwell

Kinda feels like UCLA but that’s my opinion.