Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[Joel Goodson]

our serious pursuit of Bowman has already been mentioned, but here's more ($ article):

https://twitter.com/x/status/2055144650545979587

how nice is it to be getting serious interest from elite kids? (not saying it isn't warranted)

the blueprint and stellar results are there now. we're in a great place

 

[HailtotheChief]

This is not exactly a Muppet news flash, but he is such a gifted shooter. The thought of Coleman and Davis on the court together for stretches is exciting. As great as our offenses have been, and they have been excellent, we have struggled to make wide open shots consistently.

Coleman will help that.

Plus, with this group around Vaaks , better looks on less volume, i kind of expect Vaaks to be as good or better than anyone from 3. I think he is NBA bound too along with Colena one day.

 

[ChiefGritty]

I wish 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 weren't all Big Ten teams as well.

 

[PasadenaIllini]

Way more athletic and can put the ball on the floor.

And what I like is I also think he can challenge for PT and soon given he's fully capable of being a catch and shoot piece immediately with strong base physically

Likely he sees much PT this season? Likely not barring injury but I also don't think he'd be overmatched in limited minutes role player if Jake/Mirk/Andrej went down.

LOVE his fit here. If he were the 2nd most productive freshman here this season (given his ability to play role off ball) wouldn't shock me.

It would shock me if he were more productive than Lucas. We're going to need Lucas to play some minutes given our depth chart at 1-3 at the moment.

 

[Hessel Blvd]

Sorry, but I have no interest in us being responsible fiduciaries. Let's wildly and irresponsibly spend donor money to get a championship.

ask kentucky how that works out

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Free article:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2055298630613930272

​

“SF Stefan Vaaks, Illinois​

Stefan Vaaks had a very loud season for a very quiet Providence team last year. And, the 6-foot-7 guard simply got better as the season continued on. Vaaks is a confident shooter, with range that extends beyond the arc and the ability to self-create space to get clean looks. The unique part of his game is the ball-in-hand creation. He is a quick processor, especially in pick-and-roll situations, making reads in the teeth of the defense.

It will be interesting to see the role that Vaaks picks up at Illinois. Brad Underwood will most likely employ a PG by committee-type scenario. However, one in that committee, possibly even the lead guy of that committee, could be Vaaks. The spacing that Illinois has played with over the past couple of seasons has been conducive to a player like Vaaks’ skill set. Can envision a scenario where he is lined up in different areas of the court, in different roles, acting as the play finisher, play initiator, and first pass initiator.

Regardless, there is a big step available for Vaaks to take. As a freshman last season, the Estonian national averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while knocking down 2.9 threes per contest. NBA Draft talk could heat up if things go according to plan.“

 

[Calvin]

our serious pursuit of Bowman has already been mentioned, but here's more ($ article):

https://twitter.com/x/status/2055144650545979587

how nice is it to be getting serious interest from elite kids? (not saying it isn't warranted)

the blueprint and stellar results are there now. we're in a great place

I know BU has a blueprint he's working off, but how cool is it also that he's won with a very different mix of personnel, and every knock on him since the rebuild is something he's overcome? He's pulled in some legit stars at both the college level and guys succeeding in the NBA.

Whitman swiping him from Ok St looks better and better every year!

 

[Deacon05]

I’d prefer not; rather see every other team as bad as possible while we dominate.

That would not prepare us for the NCAA tournament though. Great for Big Ten titles

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

They are getting wise to our staff's scouting ability. The whole Wagler thing has to be a bit embarrassing if you run one of these organizations...

Does it? He'll be the first lottery pick EVER who didn't play on a shoe brand circuit or national event.

He chose to stay hidden in a small public school in Kansas.

 

[AnnoyedWithGarza]

Does it? He'll be the first lottery pick EVER who didn't play on a shoe brand circuit or national event.

He chose to stay hidden in a small public school in Kansas.

Who won that state's player of the year? He wasn't a complete unknown; they got lazy and didn't do their homework on him. That is what the embarrassment is.

 

[Iamgroot]

our serious pursuit of Bowman has already been mentioned, but here's more ($ article):

https://twitter.com/x/status/2055144650545979587

how nice is it to be getting serious interest from elite kids? (not saying it isn't warranted)

the blueprint and stellar results are there now. we're in a great place

And we got a coach who is determined to capitalize on our prior success. It's a great time to be illini fan. ILL

 

[Iamgroot]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48778523/purdue-men-basketball-lands-top-10-7-foot-junior-isaiah-hill

Purdue just landed a big recruit in more ways then one

 

[Mobi]

Constanza's really fallen in the rankings.

Alex Constanza, SPIRE Academy , Small Forward

Constanza transferred from Westminster Academy in Florida following his junior year.

247sports.com

I remember the first time QC's name appeared on this board (Landon Davis commitment thread) -- he was a 3star, outside the top 100. Constanza was certified top 20.

This is the ILL filter? They must not be good if we stop recruiting them. /s

 

[Joel Goodson]

And we got a coach who is determined to capitalize on our prior success. It's a great time to be illini fan. ILL

imagine if he knew what he was doing

 

[blackdog]

Who won that state's player of the year? He wasn't a complete unknown; they got lazy and didn't do their homework on him. That is what the embarrassment is.

He had chances to join those higher profile AAU teams but he made a deliberate choice too stay where he was.

 

[ChiefGritty]

He had chances to join those higher profile AAU teams but he made a deliberate choice too stay where he was.

And what the ranking thing really shows is how AAU-centric and HS not-centric the recruiting process has become.

There are logical reasons for that, you learn a lot about players going best-on-best, but you also miss a lot.

Wagler facing well prepared HS teams who had spent real practice time focused on stopping him specifically and cutting them to ribbons anyway to win games demonstrated something important about him that AAU wouldn't have.

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

Does it? He'll be the first lottery pick EVER who didn't play on a shoe brand circuit or national event.

He chose to stay hidden in a small public school in Kansas.

He was the 6A POY in Kansas. I'm not sure how that could have been hidden from anyone whose job it is to evaluate prospects... They knew of him. He had a ranking. They just thought 149 other guys were better.

He chose not to leave the AAU coach who helped turn him into a monster. His coaches were making calls & sending tapes, trying to get people to take notice, (That's how Tyler found him) but many didn't bother.

Probably a chicken/egg situation where the scouting sites didn't take him seriously because he wasn't getting major offers, and the schools not taking him seriously because he was barely rated.

It should bother every coach in the Midwest, that they didn't make that call. I understand with KU & Arkansas because Self & Cal can get pretty much anyone they want, so they aren't looking for diamonds in the rough, but if you are Kansas State, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, OK ST... and you haven't bothered to check out the POY in Kansas, you are doing something wrong.