Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#576      
Emerson Bigguns
A lot of the same scouting experts around here were saying Ben shouldn’t be on the court for anything but practice last April. They had lots of clever nicknames for the kid, too.
Brad believed in things we couldn’t see, because he is better at this than any of us.

If he was half as worried as many people on this board the rumor mill would still be churning. It’s quiet, because he’s pretty happy with what we’ve got.

You guys can think less. Many of you might be smarter than him, but when it comes to coaching basketball? You aren’t. The man always has a plan. I guarantee he wants it more than you.
 
#577      
OrangeKrushRush
Im Out GIF


Me catching up on all the posts from today
 
#582      
My2Cents
Time for a break I think.
 

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#583      
Fighter of the Nightman
Dragons89 said:
If AS wasn’t hurt, twice for that matter, Jake wasn’t taking anything from him. Get real, Jake is a role player, spark off the bench type and doesn’t handle pressure at all. The ball was a hot potato in his hands in the BTT AND NCAA tournament. I like Jake and he has a role but don’t get carried away.
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I have no real opinion on who should start, but this is unfair for the sole reason that Jake stepped up and sank two FTs to tie the game at MSU with no time on the clock to force OT, in front of the MSU student section.

That takes stones.
 
#584      
BIG_G2332
I doubt this will be posted, because i seem to be shadow banned, but I’m going to fire it off anyways.

Insiders right after the final four: we’re bringing everyone back and getting Blackwell

Fans: Hell yeah!

Insiders: we’re no longer going after Blackwell

Fans: What, why?

Insiders: Are you serious? We’re the deepest we’ve ever been, stop complaining about a pipe dream.

Fans: You said we were getting Blackwell. Are we deep enough? Are we targeting any other options to fill the shoes that Blackwell was slated to fill?

Insiders: You are all insufferable idiots who know nothing about basketball. Ungrateful. This is literally the best we can be.
 
#587      
Chillinini
Insiders, do me a favor, avoid this board for a while. Enjoy some peace, prosperity and a nice drink of your liking….on me. Come back when u want to and provide us with your valuable information when the time comes. Don’t get caught up with some of this noise and nonsense.

Thanks!
 
#588      
Jack's Raging Bile Duct
20 pages today, 2 weeks after the end of the season, on little to no new news?? Noice. Never change, Illini Nation <3


"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." - Mark Twain.


Lotsa rageba(i)ting going on 'round these parts... Some of youse are either dense, or just love to argue for the sake of arguing. Have the majority of you only been fans for like the last 7 years or something? Step away from the keyboards and touch (or smoke) a lil grass, eh?


Maybe a lil trollin' going on a bit around here too. In house, and out... literally. 💩


Gotta love the offseason! Some of y'all need to get some Bobby McFerrin in ya life!

Bobby Mcferrin Grammy Winners GIF by Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
 
#589      
Chase321
EmeraldCityIllini said:
No idea what the staff thinks. only said "if the staff thinks that" then I trust it.
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OK. But the implication you seem to make sure seems to be to say we don’t need another player because the staff doesn’t think we do.

I too trust this staff. If in the end they add no one I’ll trust it was for good reasons. I just don’t know why someone can’t discuss adding more without be called miserable or negative. Sort of what this forum is for.
 
#591      
wc_illini
LvilleILL1 said:
WE DO NOT NEED THE THREE FRESHMAN TO BE PERFECT OR GREAT. ITS NOT CRAZY TO ASK TOP 50 RECRUITS TO BE THE FIFTH AND EIGHT OPTIONS ON A REALLY GOOD TEAM.
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I'm not concerned about the eighth option, and while I wouldn't use the word "crazy", I would say it's "risky" to expect a #27 recruit to be our fifth option because not many freshman around #27 were good enough to be the fifth option on a really good team last year. Arizona, UConn, and Florida all had guys in this range, and they were #8-9 in minutes played. That's saying nothing about Coleman himself- he might be great and people said much worse things about Keaton last year. It's just my perspective on roster risk.

Bringing in a star (or anyone meaningfully better than Jake) and planning for Jake & Coleman to come off the bench would be an upgrade (at least regarding risk; nothing is guaranteed). Without that, Jake is our "floor" if Coleman needs more time to adjust. And that's not a bad option, but it just adds more pressure for our top four to take bigger steps forward if we want to reach another level.

If we tried and/or are trying to get such a player, then it seems like the staff at least agrees that there's room for an upgrade. If they can't find the right player who wants to come here, that's a bummer, but it doesn't mean wanting more is crazy either.
 
#592      
Illinirog70
Thaillini22 said:
This is where I think the concerns about adding a high-usage Blackwell are legit. Sure, he'd score a lot more and make more "wow" plays than Jake, but it's not hard to imagine the offense as a unit being just one step away from firing on all cylinders consistently.

Starting tomi, mirk, andrej, jake and vaaks doesn't give me the same concerns about 'efficiency' as having blackwell in there instead of jake. But it sounds like we'll just never know.
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we WILL never know... but Jake is a virtual non-scorer and we know Blackwell can score...in bunches. Likely, we will be somewhat efficient...in the 60's not the 80's. Remember... the best thing about freshmen is that they ultimately become sophomores... unless they're named Keaton.
 
#593      
LvilleILL1
Bootheel Illini said:
Hope Coleman can transition from a small private school in St. Louis County, MO to the BIG. The change in completion will be a huge change for him. Being Wagler 2.0 would be like finding 2 needles in 2 haystacks or discovering 2 matching snowflakes. Sure hope he is IT. Wagler has certainly spoiled us.
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He's a 5 star recruit, this isn't a needle in a haystack.
 
#594      
wc_illini
LadyLoyalty said:
Ugh, These takes. Flashback to last May when all the doomers, who think they know everything said our season would be awful, we wouldn’t finish in the top half of the Big Ten, outwardly hostile to Ben, none of the incoming freshmen would play minutes, and BU reached his ceiling. Seriously, stfu and be grateful. This staff is amazing and they always have a plan.
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I don't see many (any?) doomers- just people wishing for what could make us even better. I don't get why the expectation is for everyone to unquestionably sing the praises of whatever the current roster is (especially as the staff is said to be looking around for improvements).
 
#595      
chiefini
I consider myself an optimist, one who tries to see the glass half full. I have had a hard time reading these recent recruiting threads, but I’ve read every single post. I often don’t monitor game threads in real time because too many naysayers make it too difficult to read. I think there’s a few people here on Loyalty who need to take a break (or leave altogether). To keep on negatively questioning Brad’s recruiting strategy after the wonderful season of accomplishment our Illini team and coaches had must really make for a miserable existence. I’m still extremely proud, and I’m still happily celebrating a Final Four season, and I’m truly looking forward to watching these fantastic and loyal players come back to make another run at a NC. Here’s to toasting we get it. Victory, Illinois, Varsity! #IlliniForLife

Celebrate Chin Chin GIF by Arrow Video
 
#597      
EmeraldCityIllini
Chase321 said:
OK. But the implication you seem to make sure seems to be to say we don’t need another player because the staff doesn’t think we do.

I too trust this staff. If in the end they add no one I’ll trust it was for good reasons. I just don’t know why someone can’t discuss adding more without be called miserable or negative. Sort of what this forum is for.
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I never called anyone miserable or negative when it comes to this, so if that is directed at me, I think you have the wrong man.

And yes. Correct interpretation by you - I believe if the staff thinks they’re set with the rotation then I trust their evaluation of the current roster and what is currently available to them literally throughout the world. and it seems like you agree?
 
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#598      
March2TheArch
For context the 5th options on the other Final Four teams this year were Burnett (Michigan), Demery or Ball (UConn), and Kharchenkov or Krivas (Arizona).

I hope Coleman can fill these level shoes in a year that may not have as dominant a team as this year's Michigan and Arizona. But it's still pretty early in the roster process (given NBA withdrawal deadline drags this out to late May). Florida and Michigan can still emerge as yet another couple top-to-bottom monster rosters. Michigan could already run a starting 5 of Cadeau, McKenney, McCoy, Morez, and Estrella and that's BEFORE any further roster upgrades.
 
#600      
Aillini32
illini0440 said:
1. Vaaks
2. Mirk
3.Andrej
4. Tomi
5. Coleman
6. Jake
7. Big Z
8. Morillo
9. Davis/Brown/Transfer

The odds of you finding a player that wants to be the 8th or 9th guy that wants to play maybe 10 minutes a game that really is more talented/better than Morillo is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Every guy you mentioned played over 20 mpg here…we don’t really have that to sell. First off the bench is going to be Davis or Coleman followed by Z. Would a Blackwell put you in the top 3 for a championship absolutely….the player type you’re describing doesn’t.
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You could tell a guy like Jalen Cox that he will play a minimum of 10 mpg and more if you beat out Coleman or Morillo… I think you could definitely find a player who would take that offer. Especially one who strikes out on the big market deals/roles like Cox has
 
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