Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[joeybcrazy13]

I'd take Bozwell back

 

[Mobi]

Exactly. He supposedly said he wants to play on a team that has a chance to win a title and if he ends up at UCLA I can't take you seriously.

Cuz he doesn't want to tell the truth is "I wanna get paid and paid more in NBA." National championship, if he really cares, is just for exposure that he is the alpha on a championship team. But we all know that you don't necessarily have to win a championship or even final four to get drafted.

 

[OB positive]

If we have millions to spend on Blackwell and don’t get him, I’ll be mad if we don’t add anyone else with that money.

Yes donors may decide not to give as much next year if we can't land our top target and I wouldn't blame them.

 

[Leelnd]

On paper by last years numbers Blackwell, Vaaks, Andre, Mirk and Tomi averaged roughly 71.2 pts a game. Without Blackwells 15-16 attempts a game it is pretty easy to slide in Coleman instead of Blackwell and see how this coming years team could easily average the same points per game .

Blackwell 19.1 Vaaks 17.5 The ball will be in his hands more...a year older..1.7 pts per game increase isn't hard to imagine
Vaaks 15.8 Coleman 7.0 Inconsistent like most Freshman but capable of an occasional 10-12 pt stretch of games
Andre 13.5 Andre 17.0 Averaged more than that at Cal 2 years ago
Mirk 13.3 Mirk 16.0 2.7 point increase should be easy with more shot attempts even if % doesn't increase
Tomi 10.4 Tomi 14.0 Averaged 13 his first year 14 should be easy with more attempts/chances

I understand that this takes assumptions each player takes a small step forward next year but that first group is assuming nobody takes a step back. Both scenarios are possible, so I get confused when people speak with such certainty we would be for certain better with Blackwell. We have zero idea how the team meshes if Blackwell was here. We certainly don't know how our returners would react if Blackwell came here solely thinking about himself...his numbers and increasing his stock price. I'm guessing on paper, if years ago you placed hall of famer Isiah Thomas on the Bulls with MJ, the numbers would look amazing but go ahead and ask MJ if he would take Kerr/Paxton all day..every day. Not all players mesh and a disgruntled locker room will bring many of teams down. I am certain there will people here who will be quick to say crap if next years team doesn't meet their personal expectations saying Blackwell this, Blackwell that. Even then what they won't be able to say with certainty is that they KNEW in April of 2026 we couldn't win a championship without Blackwell in 2027. I have no clue what next year will bring us but I feel confident in saying this team can easily be just as good if not better than last years Final Four Team. So many things have to go right in order to win a Championship. Pull all the analytics you want and let me know how many points a team that truly enjoys playing together gets ya? I don't care what team sport you want to pull for all the number crunching, history has shown many and many of times, teams lose a star player to injury and an "unknown" or multiple players step up to the challenge. Some people here are acting as if Blackwells 15-16 shot attempts will now be held by someone who will go 0 for 15 or 0 for 16. Ok rant over.

I'm sorry, who actually read this?

 

[OB positive]

I mean UCLA is the 8th best odds to win it all right now....not exactly unrealistic

Until Cronin screws it up.

 

[Rebounding Dog]

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

Your friend is a man on his own island. The only one indeed!

 

[ThePortalMadeMeDoIt]

Rez back to Michigan....We need more

 

[fatboyslim]

I mean UCLA is the 8th best odds to win it all right now....not exactly unrealistic

I don't know where you saw that at but they have +6500 to win it all. You must be thinking UConn because UCLA is nowhere near a favorite to win it all.

 

[Rebounding Dog]

Really depends on my mood. Doritos are my go to, but lays plain chips or cheese its are just as good.

Now we are into new territory! As a dip! Brings up the beer topic!

 

[Altuve27]

6'5" sophomore SG Paul McNeil Jr (NC State) would also be a nice addition, and keep Stojakovic at SF.

Did someone say Paul McNeil???? I should be Paul’s hype man at this point. Hope he appreciates the increasingly creepy interest.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

If Blackwell goes to UCLA, they are going to be stacked. I would have them and Michigan ahead of us. I think we would be number 3 in big ten and for sure finish top 4 or 5

What am I missing on UCLA. Why would they be stacked?

 

[SescIllini]

Wilkins just committed to Kentucky, not sure what that means for J Cox. Like McNeil, but he seems like a positional size guard who can stroke the 3, but seems like we have 4 of those on the roster.

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

We benched a pro euro PG so we could put the ball in Wagler's hands and play through him. Incoming freshmen must be licking their lips, knowing you can earn your minutes and this staff readily rewards performance and ability.

 

[travelin' man]

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

Ya, you may not be the only one who puts sugar on their cottage cheese, but I don't know anyone else that does. Pepper... sure; sugar...not so much.

 

[ThePortalMadeMeDoIt]

I don't know where you saw that at but they have +6500 to win it all. You must be thinking UConn because UCLA is nowhere near a favorite to win it all.

Kalshi. It is Michigan, Duke, Florida, UCONN, Illinois, Gonzona, Arizona, UCLA , Houston, Louisville.

 

[travelin' man]

nothing but berries or cut up fruit for me

Never have done, but my wife gives a thumbs up.

 

[Nuke Dukem]

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

My Dad would usually put sugar on his but occasionally he would use pepper instead. Miss you Dad.

 

[fatboyslim]

Kalshi. It is Michigan, Duke, Florida, UCONN, Illinois, Gonzona, Arizona, UCLA , Houston, Louisville.

I don't know what that is but whatever is UCLA is not a favorite to win the title next year and nor should they be. I told you their odds.

 

[travelin' man]

Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Thank me later.

That sounds good. Makes me think Old Bay would work too.

 

[BillyBob1]

If Blackwell goes to UCLA, they are going to be stacked. I would have them and Michigan ahead of us. I think we would be number 3 in big ten and for sure finish top 4 or 5

You remember Cronin has issues winning on the road in the BIG.

 

[travelin' man]

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?

I'm not saying that this would be remotely the same situation, but it does look like wherever he ends up, he's going to want his shots and he's going to obviously want to be featured and not be part of a shared ball, winning cures all approach.

Hey, he sees his dream and money at the end of the rainbow so close that he can smell it and wants that spotlight. I can totally understand that line of thinking. Can't fault a guy for that.

However, if you're Illinois and you already have a bunch of mouths to feed.....you need to be careful to keep that balance in your locker room. Part of what made last year's team special was that there were no me first guys. Drej could have definitely been that way, but he put the team first and came off the bench. Something tells me, he got some assurances that won't be the case again, which might be where the bottleneck is? I'd hate to be a coach trying to manage all of this and putting together a team that fits vs a team that has resentment towards the guy at the locker next time him.

There are a lot of teams out there with a really, really good roster, but they just don't mix. That's not us thankfully and BU needs to make sure that stays the case.

I think that this recruitment process is also a good way to guage the character of a player that might not be so evident in the scouting reports.

 

[Aillini32]

If we have millions to spend on Blackwell and don’t get him, I’ll be mad if we don’t add anyone else with that money.

Don’t let the insiders tell you different, calls were made. You don’t go from all in to pay a top transfer guard to suddenly being happy with freshmen… Someone wasn’t happy

 

[Chase321]

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

Already posted before you I have known people that did. As a kid I did because my mom did. And I had a mother in law that did.

 

[Altuve27]

We benched a pro euro PG so we could put the ball in Wagler's hands and play through him. Incoming freshmen must be licking their lips, knowing you can earn your minutes and this staff readily rewards performance and ability.

Wagler was AWESOME! He would have played a ton regardless, but he played even more than expected because Petrovic sucked. The staff CERTAINLY believed in Keaton, but Mihailo didn’t give them much choice when he showed absolutely nothing in those early season games against lesser competition.

 

[Chase321]

You remember Cronin has issues winning on the road in the BIG.

Cronin has issues, period. Who would want to play for that guy?