Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#503      
My vague recollection is that Iguodala shot up the rankings later in his HS career, was overshadowed by McBride before that. I want to say (very vague memory) Self didn't recruit him right away because of questions about his offensive skill. Definitely more in the spotlight by his senior year than Lincoln Williams for sure, but it's not like Williams didn't have big time offers ... and would have had more/bigger offers and better ranking but for his shaky academics.

And sorry for my geographic shorthand ... to us Chicago area folks, anything south of I-80 and north of St. Louis is central Illinois.
Sorry, it's just a silly comparison based on the dudes both playing in IL and being athletic.

Iggy was a highly regarded top 70 player from his Soph year on, playing AAU with Quentin Richardson, Jimmy Butler & Jon Scheyer while winning a AAU national championship and committing to Arkansas his Jr year...then Zona once Richardson was fired. Ranking wise he went from 70ish to 25ish his Jr summer.

Otherwise they're 170 spots in the rankings, 25 years, 160 miles and multiple NBA championships apart.
 
#505      
It tickles me when fans think the purpose of of a sport is for their entertainment value.
It is. Without the fans funding the sport given the entertainment value....all of the ancillary stuff is moot. Without the fans, there's no NIL, no TV money, no jersey sales, no concessions....nada.

The players benefit from the entertainment they provide. No more, no less.
 
#509      
By "we" I mean college basketball fans.

I trust BU to get good players via whatever methods are available to him, and I want him to do whatever it takes for Illinois to win. But the whole sport is better off if the focus is on high school recruits developing and having their careers at one program as the general national standard.
But we're on a Illinois basketball forum, so 'we' is much narrower; where the current state of college affairs has contributed to the best run of success in decades for Illinois basketball.

Also, do you really think Michigan is less satisfied with their championship because it was fueled by transfers? Florida the year before?

I don't think the whole sport is better off and most importantly 'we' are better off in the current environment.
 
#512      
It is. Without the fans funding the sport given the entertainment value....all of the ancillary stuff is moot. Without the fans, there's no NIL, no TV money, no jersey sales, no concessions....nada.

The players benefit from the entertainment they provide. No more, no less.

Then call me old-fashioned or even naive. I've always thought any sport is about the players who compete in the arena. Capitalism is about extracting as much money as possible from the fans who fund the ancillary stuff.
 
#515      
I know it's just one guy, but I'm surprised we didn't even get to a single game removed from a Final Four run before getting posts unfavorably comparing BU to a coach with an objectively worse track record. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was going to happen...I just expected some basketball to happen first.
I may not have read all the comments, but I took it just as giving Musselman (and some others) the benefit of the doubt for now. I didn't see anything negative about BU
 
#516      
Sorry, it's just a silly comparison based on the dudes both playing in IL and being athletic.

Iggy was a highly regarded top 70 player from his Soph year on, playing AAU with Quentin Richardson, Jimmy Butler & Jon Scheyer while winning a AAU national championship and committing to Arkansas his Jr year...then Zona once Richardson was fired. Ranking wise he went from 70ish to 25ish his Jr summer.

Otherwise they're 170 spots in the rankings, 25 years, 160 miles and multiple NBA championships apart.
Jimmy Butler was on their AAU team while living down in Houston?
 
#517      
Lincoln is rated almost the same as a different freshman last year. Keaton wagler. Don’t doubt our coaches abilities Lincoln could turn out to be a hell of a player
I'm just curious, why was he still looking at schools this late in the process? Why was he still available? If he believed in himself and waited for better offers than he had, then good for him.
 
#518      
Another kid who’s just completely fallen from where he once was … Bounced around 3 different prep schools …

I’m not even sure what HMs are recruiting him anymore … He’s not a top end HM prospect in my eyes …
That's a bummer! Sorry to hear that. I hope he gets it going again.

I'm not from Olney, but I have seen a white squirrel in my yard.
 
#519      
Another kid who’s just completely fallen from where he once was … Bounced around 3 different prep schools …

I’m not even sure what HMs are recruiting him anymore … He’s not a top end HM prospect in my eyes …
Hey kids, maybe stop bouncing around from school to school, learn a system you can excel in. Maybe have a life outside of basketball.
 
#521      
Something about the Lincoln Williams commitment yesterday is special, can't put my finger on it but I think we just landed a Dawg!! Exciting news and can't wait to see this kid on the court!
I think you're right. If Williams, and the people he trusts for advice, believe he can get serious minutes with 5 new guards/wings committed already, then he could turn out to be something special. So now we have 6 new guards/wings who have length and can shoot, you can't really ask for more. And they've all got freshman status except Vaaks. Everyone seems to think Vaaks is a given for the SL, but maybe it's time to put him in the wait and see category. Of course I hope he's as good as advertised. Let's start basketball season right now!
 
#522      
I know it's just one guy, but I'm surprised we didn't even get to a single game removed from a Final Four run before getting posts unfavorably comparing BU to a coach with an objectively worse track record. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was going to happen...I just expected some basketball to happen first.
Musselman has twice as many 2nd weekend appearances in less years, a better winning percentage, never had any of his seasons vacated, and at his 3rd school has started out better in his first two years at a football school than Underwood did at a basketball school. Don't get me wrong, I'll take Underwood as my coach, but Underwood is not objectively better. That's your opinion and maybe your as guilty of being prisoner of the moment as the people who insist on being critical.
 
#523      
Musselman has

Lets see what he actually has since you didn't even bother to look any of this up, apparently:

twice as many 2nd weekend appearances

Underwood: 2 E8, 1 F4
Musselman: 2 E8, 2 S16

Underwood F4 in 2026, Musselman hasn't even made the tournament the last 3 seasons

better winning percentage

Underwood: .688
Musselman: .672

Again, something that's trending in opposite directions

never had any of his seasons vacated

Oh, now we suddenly care about stuff like this, since Chris Beard and Will Wade apparently are no longer available...

has started out better in his first two years

Yes, he's really setting the world on fire at USC

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I know it's just one guy, but I'm surprised we didn't even get to a single game removed from a Final Four run before getting posts unfavorably comparing BU to a coach with an objectively worse track record. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was going to happen...I just expected some basketball to happen first.
I may not have read all the comments, but I took it just as giving Musselman (and some others) the benefit of the doubt for now. I didn't see anything negative about BU

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I see @bavanga3 is no stranger to these types of discussions, though:

 
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#524      
Correction: Brad 1 E8... maybe he was right about the 2nd weekends... wherever we need to set the goal posts to disparage BU, I guess

prisoner of the moment

Underwood has elevated the Illinois program to a higher competitive tier. I hardly think placing value on recency is being "prisoner of the moment", unless you actually think Brad's a poor D1 basketball coach (only way a comment like that makes any sense).

Would you still take Beard over Underwood?
 
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#525      
It is. Without the fans funding the sport given the entertainment value....all of the ancillary stuff is moot. Without the fans, there's no NIL, no TV money, no jersey sales, no concessions....nada.

The players benefit from the entertainment they provide. No more, no less.
The vast majority of sports played on earth at any given time are played in front of zero fans. So, the premise that sports only exist for fans or that athletes are just like these implements toiling around on display solely for the enjoyment of strangers is silly.

Would this particular version of this particular sport exist without fans? No. Would there still be college basketball without fans? Yes.

Why? Because sports don't exist because of fans. Fans exist because of sport.
 
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