Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#376      
IlliniNash
PepeSilvia said:
Hey, I want to see Illinois win a national championship. They are arguably the best program to have never won one.

Now they are coming off a final four run and retained a ton of talent while a lot of the top tier programs lost a lot. It's a unique opportunity that is not going to come around every year(or potentially for several years).

The current roster is awesome with Vaaks, Morillo, Stojakovic, Mirk, Tomislav, Zvonimir, Morillo, and Jake plus potentially Lee and the other 3 freshman.

However, I don't want to see them get complacent and just rely on retention, Vaaks, and the freshman because things don't always go according to plan.

Injuries happen, freshman don't live up to expectations or can take time to adjust. Also, the final four run was awesome but they only beat 1 team(Houston) that finished in the kenpom top 20. They beat the 14, 11, 2, and 9 seeds to get there, it was a great draw and they took advantage but things won't necessarily fall that way again.

Purdue last year opened as the preseason #1 and relied on retaining a good core, adding a good transfer in Cluff, and a touted international prospect in Mayer. They ended up finishing 6th in the Big10 although they did win the conference tourney, and then got soundly beat in the Elite 8.

I think Illinois already has better roster construction than Purdue did last year but you have a chance to make a great team an all timer if you have the type of money Blackwell was asking for that you can go spend on another addition.

To take a page from Coach Yost, I think the goal should be to leave no doubt(or as you saw Jaylon Johnson talking about Ben Johnson wanting to blow opponents out not just win).
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I think Blackwell was less about money and more about fit. Blackwell’s camp wanted higher usage. I was not a big fan of bring him in. Just had a bad feeling about what he would do for team chemistry.
 
#377      
Fly Illini Fly!
lstewart53x3 said:
If Vaaks, Coleman, Andrej, and Mirk each play 30 minutes and Tomi plays 25 minutes, that leaves just 55 minutes for the bench. That’s 20 for Davis, 20 for Z, and 15 for Morillo. Not easy to attract a quality player who’s willing to come in for a small bench role. Werner and Tausk are also decently confident that the freshman (Morillo and Ethan Brown) can provide quality guard minutes + Brandon Lee potentially.
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I don’t think it’d be that small of a role. He’d back up the guard spots. Coleman and Vaaks should sit for around 25 minutes combined. Now, he might not get ALL 25 minutes… but there’s minutes available.

Justin Harmon in 2024 played 19min with Shannon, Hawkins, Domask all over 30min… with Ty and Quincy just under 25.
 
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#378      
KingWolf11
illini0440 said:
Vaaks played the Wagler role for Providence….and he’s actually fairly quick laterally
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Love ya 0440 and maybe (hopefully) Brad will make him use said lateral quickness but there is a legit shot he was the worst defender in the country last year if you watch the tape its so bad. Keaton is also a way better defender than people think.
 
#379      
wncillini
wc_illini said:
I think he wore the mask starting with Southern and ending with USC. If so, he was 34% before the mask (but with a handful of Q4 opponents), 30% with the mask, and 10% after the mask.
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If you watch his shooting at Kentucky his shot movements are much smoother. They were quick but not rushed. Now it looks like hes playing hot potato. Hope he can work out his shot this summer. I feel likes he is just a well of untapped potential.
 
#381      
aaeismacgychel
Trueblue777 said:
I think it’s really important Z takes a step up next year, puts on muscle, gets stronger. Especially at his base. Also he matures and shoots the 3 at a 33% or + clip. Also further developing his post moves as dog gone it he’s 7’ 2” tall. Nobody will block his shot. I’d like to see him score twice as much in the paint and on putbacks than 3’s. Defensively he’ll be fine if indeed he is stronger and puts on some weight. Fletch! Do your magic!
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The biggest thing holding Z back is he still has a freshman body. Needs a full offseason with Fletch in the gym working his rear end off. First in, last out. He's not a bad rebounder or bad in the paint so much as his body is that of a crazy inflatable tube man so he gets bodied and pushed out of the way. An extra 15lbs of muscle is a big ask, but it would make a world of difference for him.

As for 3pt shooting, this Z's college career:
2024: 37.5% on low volume
2025: 37.6% on medium-high volume
2026 thru 2/4: 35.7% on medium-high volume
2026 2/4-April: 10.0% on medium volume

There is a striking anomaly here. Kid id about as consistent as they come 36-38% 3pt shooter who unfortunately went through a deep deep cold spell. Based on his prior history and his good form while shooting I'd be shocked if he doesn't return back to a 37% 3pt shooter next year. I also want us seeing at least 3 rim run 'oop attempts a game designed fir him.

Z's a big piece for us next year, if he can put on the strength and conditioning, sky really is the limit for him.
 
#382      
Geno33
RichardKeene’sHair said:

After a 30 second clip, I am also all in on Ethan Brown. This guy can run the point. Perfect Underwood positionless basketball guy.
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Very calm, not an emotional player, AKA Keaton. Missery is going to regret not getting this kid. Right down the road from them.
 
#383      
Illynois
SkyysNotFalling said:
DJ Wagner to Maryland, they might be solid.

He would’ve been the perfect Ty replacement. Always loved his size and game.
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Catching up in the thread here, they also got bishop boswell from TN..Someone else i would've liked (Not sure how realistic or if interest was ever there, but me being an armchair gm). He's got size, good defender, and can shoot. Boswell v2 would've been quite the coincidence, ha.
 
#384      
RabidDawgClassic
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#385      
JoeJ
I could understand Purdue guy on BTN criticizing signing of Petrovich, or perhaps Tomi at the time. Mirk was much more of a true FR.

At least nobody on the board wants to fire Brad this week!

Anybody on the board fess up to saying Wagler was unplayable a year ago?

If my count is correct we have 5 incoming FR, at least two of which are highly ranked. Expect a couple to be at minimum valuable contributors.

Vaaks looks exciting on O.

Thrilled to see the ILLINI in the Final4 and have an impressive football season plus the Bears won a playoff game!

:hailtotheorange: :ah: :hailtotheorange:
 
#386      
RML
Fly Illini Fly! said:
I don’t think it’d be that small of a role. He’d back up the guard spots. Coleman and Vaaks should sit for around 25 minutes combined. Now, he might not get ALL 25 minutes… but there’s minutes available.

Justin Harmon in 2024 played 19min with Shannon, Hawkins, Domask all over 30min… with Ty and Quincy just under 25.
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Lol, if you were a reigning all-B1G conference player, would you come here for a Justin Harmon role?
I like to think he's just taking his time. If he chooses to come (at a bag commensurate with what others on the team are getting) fantastic! He has the chance to be part of something epic! If he decides to go somewhere else, that's fine.
 
#387      
Illinicpa14
Mullins back for UCONN

Really setting up that Florida, Illinois, UCONN, Michigan (if either big stays) and maybe Duke are a notch above the rest at least heading in

Maybe you throw Michigan state in there but I just don’t see their ceiling; that rank is already with fears playing great.
 
#388      
RML
Geno33 said:
Very calm, not an emotional player, AKA Keaton. Missery is going to regret not getting this kid. Right down the road from them.
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Kept waiting to see how he passes off a drive. The one pass that was shown was ok, but not spectacular. (Obviously, the fact that the reel only shows shooting doesn't mean he doesn't ALSO have the vision and ability to pass well.)
 
#391      
sdiver68
aaeismacgychel said:
The biggest thing holding Z back is he still has a freshman body. Needs a full offseason with Fletch in the gym working his rear end off. First in, last out. He's not a bad rebounder or bad in the paint so much as his body is that of a crazy inflatable tube man so he gets bodied and pushed out of the way. An extra 15lbs of muscle is a big ask, but it would make a world of difference for him.

As for 3pt shooting, this Z's college career:
2024: 37.5% on low volume
2025: 37.6% on medium-high volume
2026 thru 2/4: 35.7% on medium-high volume
2026 2/4-April: 10.0% on medium volume

There is a striking anomaly here. Kid id about as consistent as they come 36-38% 3pt shooter who unfortunately went through a deep deep cold spell. Based on his prior history and his good form while shooting I'd be shocked if he doesn't return back to a 37% 3pt shooter next year. I also want us seeing at least 3 rim run 'oop attempts a game designed fir him.

Z's a big piece for us next year, if he can put on the strength and conditioning, sky really is the limit for him.
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15lbs of muscle is not a big ask at all. Honestly it should be the minimum given Z's aspirations and resources being thrown his way.

Speaking from personal experience on the lean weight gain.
 
#392      
Homecoming 2019
KingWolf11 said:
Love ya 0440 and maybe (hopefully) Brad will make him use said lateral quickness but there is a legit shot he was the worst defender in the country last year if you watch the tape its so bad. Keaton is also a way better defender than people think.
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There were a lot of questions of Andrejs defense too before last year. Defense is mostly effort, playing for a final four caliber team with solid defenders around him will improve most of his flaws.
 
#400      
pruman91
lettuce , tuna , cottage cheese , pineapple chunks , salt , pepper , poppyseed dressing..............yum yum..........
 
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