Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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I still can't believe this. Muss had Arkansas cooking when he was there. shocked he left and shocked he's been irrelevant in the big ten at best and straight up garbage at worst
I don’t see one guy on their team who can average 15 points / game.
That defense will undoubtedly get worse after losing 3 lottery picks in the front court.
….
You could say the same thing about us as well — bit worse offense (I mean, we were historic) and bit worse defense.
However, our drop-off isn’t near as extreme as theirs on either end. You don’t just lose that front court and automatically become a top 3 team (unless you have those Duke/Kentucky level recruiting classes — which they don’t either).
Ever since his super sexy wife made him put his shirt back on he hasn’t been worth a damn.
I imagine coaching a bunch of relatively broke kids in Fayetteville presents a different challenge than coaching a bunch of millionaires in Los Angeles
I think we know what the top 8 will be, barring a surprise (Stoj, Vaaks, Mirk, Tomi, QC, Morillo, Jake, Z in whichever order).
However, the 9th should be available for spot minutes (think freshman DGL).
…..
I actually think our #9thMan formula is fine. Instead of bringing in X mid major who we’d point to as “the certified 9th man” …. you have 3 freshman, all with equal runway for that position.
Think of it as three lotto tickets. One of them should hit as a fine #9thMan player.
Eric Musselman needs to prove he can win?
Hes legitimately one of the best recruiters in the country and has won a ton. Arguably had a better resume than Brad only a few years ago.
He was a Marques Townes 3 away from going to the final four with Nevada(the Martin twins with Jordan Caroline were awesome). Then he went to Arkansas and immediately turned them around. Went to two elite 8s and a sweet 16 in his first three tournaments there.
The wheels fell off in a single season at Arkansas(would love to know the entire story there). Then he's been at USC for two years and they haven't been good but there's been a lot of factors.
In year 1, he had to completely build the team in the portal. They were mediocre but did have some talent which showed when they handed it to Illinois in Champaign.
Year 2, he lost Claude to a last minute portal but still added a ton of talent. Alijah Arenas had a major car accident where he was put in a coma and then tore his meniscus. Rodney Rice had a season ending injury in December, and then Chad Baker Mazara crashed out and was dismissed from the team(that last part isn't surprising with him on a struggling team). Stuff happens but Rice, Arenas, CBM, and Cofie all playing at the same time could have been a good team.
They've got a ton of talent coming in plus will return Rice and Arenas. USC is definitely a threat to win the big10. Its hard to bet against Izzo but I think USC has a significantly higher ceiling. It wouldn't surprise me one at all if USC ended up having the best tournament run in the big10 this year.
Dude beat Illinois and then #1 seed Kansas in the tournament 4 years ago.
Eric Musselman needs to prove he can win?
Hes legitimately one of the best recruiters in the country and has won a ton. Arguably had a better resume than Brad only a few years ago.
He was a Marques Townes 3 away from going to the final four with Nevada(the Martin twins with Jordan Caroline were awesome). Then he went to Arkansas and immediately turned them around. Went to two elite 8s and a sweet 16 in his first three tournaments there.
The wheels fell off in a single season at Arkansas(would love to know the entire story there). Then he's been at USC for two years and they haven't been good but there's been a lot of factors.
In year 1, he had to completely build the team in the portal. They were mediocre but did have some talent which showed when they handed it to Illinois in Champaign.
Year 2, he lost Claude to a last minute portal but still added a ton of talent. Alijah Arenas had a major car accident where he was put in a coma and then tore his meniscus. Rodney Rice had a season ending injury in December, and then Chad Baker Mazara crashed out and was dismissed from the team(that last part isn't surprising with him on a struggling team). Stuff happens but Rice, Arenas, CBM, and Cofie all playing at the same time could have been a good team.
They've got a ton of talent coming in plus will return Rice and Arenas. USC is definitely a threat to win the big10. Its hard to bet against Izzo but I think USC has a significantly higher ceiling. It wouldn't surprise me one at all if USC ended up having the best tournament run in the big10 this year.
8 paragraphs in near mouth-frothing level defense of an opposing B1G coach with a 51-49 record over 3 seasons in which he’s made the tourney zero times
Weren’t we firing Brad after the BTT?
Wonder how much of Lincoln's ranking slide had to do with the off court / academic issues (and not exactly basketball). When we first recruited him, and he was visiting all those games, he was ranked alot higher.
I agree and couldn't say it better.
To be fair, we did just bring back basically our entire team from the year prior. That should help with cultural continuity.
You are giving Musselman way too much credit.A great recruiter and good eye for talent is two different things. How many conference championships has Musselman won at the Power 4 level. He got to 2 Elite 8 but that was all about matches. Arkansas and USC pay real good for players. It's one thing to win games but can you sustain winning consistently and Musselman hasn't proved that yet. He will be just like the previous USC coach and will leave because he didn't win enough.
Eric Musselman needs to prove he can win?
Hes legitimately one of the best recruiters in the country and has won a ton. Arguably had a better resume than Brad only a few years ago.
He was a Marques Townes 3 away from going to the final four with Nevada(the Martin twins with Jordan Caroline were awesome). Then he went to Arkansas and immediately turned them around. Went to two elite 8s and a sweet 16 in his first three tournaments there.
The wheels fell off in a single season at Arkansas(would love to know the entire story there). Then he's been at USC for two years and they haven't been good but there's been a lot of factors.
In year 1, he had to completely build the team in the portal. They were mediocre but did have some talent which showed when they handed it to Illinois in Champaign.
Year 2, he lost Claude to a last minute portal but still added a ton of talent. Alijah Arenas had a major car accident where he was put in a coma and then tore his meniscus. Rodney Rice had a season ending injury in December, and then Chad Baker Mazara crashed out and was dismissed from the team(that last part isn't surprising with him on a struggling team). Stuff happens but Rice, Arenas, CBM, and Cofie all playing at the same time could have been a good team.
They've got a ton of talent coming in plus will return Rice and Arenas. USC is definitely a threat to win the big10. Its hard to bet against Izzo but I think USC has a significantly higher ceiling. It wouldn't surprise me one at all if USC ended up having the best tournament run in the big10 this year.
Same neck of the woods, but I believe Chris Gandy went to nearby Bradley-Bourbonnais. But I agree, great to have another Illinois kid on the roster
It's telling that he didn't commit until his Senior year grades would be available.
Have to assume that academics scared off a lot of teams...less eyes = less chatter = lower ranking
Where do you rank Zens at each role to think he will play much in nig games? He is buried even further down the depth chart in his role than Ty who decided to redshirt 2 years ago and Lee last year was at the 2/3. Where are you thinking Zens fits or placing Zens at the 2/3 in the rotation? Its easy to say he id the 9th best player and he likely is but he can still be buried. The 2 i feel is QC, Dre. Lucas and the 3 is Dre, Jake. Lucas and then Zens. Ty redshirted 2 years ago in a similar spot and Lee barely played and was a pretty good player.
Too soon
Seems like a real possibility. If he's a dominant erupt I hope he sticks around and we get to see it
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
He sorta didn't though.
Top 10 in the preseason to an 8 seed, then top 15 in the preseason to 16-17 (6-12). Then he left and has continued to disappoint with NIL create-a-teams at USC.
I can't say I really understand WHY Musselman isn't succeeding since portal world and NIL really intensified, but the downturn in his performance has been sharp and continuous.
Totally, and I'm thrilled about #TheRetention, but those are proven star players.
Purdue is spending their NIL money on unproven bench guys who they have recruited and developed to step up into the spotlight. That was the past of this sport, and we want it to be the future too.
Depends on if the 9th man gets hurt...then Big trouble!
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