Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
Forget the exact rationale. But - yes - confirmed that the twins are gone after this year.
No insider here, but pretty sure the staff's vision for Andrej is to turn him into an NBA 1st rounder after we win the NC this season.
He was bad from 3 last year but he shot 32.2% from 3 across his freshman and sophomore season on decent volume. Plus he's an 80%+ free throw shooter.
Definitely a candidate for some positive shooting regression.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
That’s good because between Vaaks / QC / Andrej / Mirk — we need to get a few to stay.
We go thru this every offseason. Folks are convinced everyone’s a first round pick…. but then when it comes down to it, and guys are in that fringe first / second round range, those same folks will unanimously want them to come back.
Is this mostly due to all the money that will be freed up with departures? Or mostly due to new donations?
Understand the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, but just wanted to confirm it’s not only because we have so many guys graduating/going pro and the actual overall budget remains the same
(Edit - appreciate all your info btw)
They were born August 2003. Their clock woul begin the 2022-2023 season because of their 19th birthday. They get 5 years and this would be the fifth.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Future lawsuits pending, of course.
Their age
Theirs seems like the least likely situation to succeed. Former pros that were given eligibility consistent with 5 for 5 e.g., Tomas was playing in the Adriatic league when he otherwise would have been a frosh.
The guys that weren't given a 5th year because they were already Sr's will undoubtedly win, but those go away afte next season.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I think Tomi could have a legitimate lawsuit -- not that he would pursue it necessarily. Remember, when he enrolled, the NCAA arbitrarily said he was a Sophomore, negating his freshman season. A reasonable argument could be made that he was unfairly denied a full season long before 5 for 5 came into play. The NCAA hasn't had a good track record in court of late with its arbitrary rulings.
Hadn't seen this posted here yet...
When you look at our 2026-27 class, it's insane to think about what we could be losing off of this roster following this season, to what we could be gaining with 3 potential top 15 reclass options in...
1)Pettigrew
2)Betts
3)Williams
All three are top 15 in their class respectively, and all 3 are said to be looking to jump into 2027.
With Kitt and Marin already in the fold, could you imagine what a reload could look like if we landed Bowman, plus somehow got Betts and Pettigrew to jump up a class and join them in 27?
Betts would likely reclass to play 2 years in college and then jump to the NBA, & I think Brady may be looking to do the same thing (but I can't remember if he's turns 17 this year or next, which would determine when he's eligible to jump to the league if I recall the rule correctly)...
Guards like Pettigrew and Bowman could compliment each other nicely, replacing Vaaks and Coleman.
Then if Luigi Suigo doesn't go pro you could possibly nab him in the portal and have two 7'4 guys who can shoot replacing the exact spots the Ivic twins hold right now.
This is all a dream scenario of course, and I haven't even mentioned AJ Williams and if we somehow become players there...
But the main thing is that it looks like we are going from #TheRetention to the five-star #Reload with all the 5 star attention we are getting from 2027 & '28 classes.
This is certainly different times we are living in for our Beloved basketball program
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"He was playing professionally when he would've otherwise been a freshman" is a pretty defensible position if Tomas is arguing on a economic basis.
IMO It'll take a lot of mental gymnastics for a judge to get to 'your twin brother has no eligibility but you do' based on the 5 for 5 landscape.
Normally things like this would wreck our fan base. But are these signs of good things and Denzels to come??
With a list like this, it seems he is likely down to 2…
For sure.
I fully expect him to have a career game against us at some point and the announcers will beat the dead horse about how he was from IL.
Then, invite Jelly Roll to be the guest commentator….
Exciting time man.Hadn't seen this posted here yet...
When you look at our 2026-27 class, it's insane to think about what we could be losing off of this roster following this season, to what we could be gaining with 3 potential top 15 reclass options in...
1)Pettigrew
2)Betts
3)Williams
All three are top 15 in their class respectively, and all 3 are said to be looking to jump into 2027.
With Kitt and Marin already in the fold, could you imagine what a reload could look like if we landed Bowman, plus somehow got Betts and Pettigrew to jump up a class and join them in 27?
Betts would likely reclass to play 2 years in college and then jump to the NBA, & I think Brady may be looking to do the same thing (but I can't remember if he's turns 17 this year or next, which would determine when he's eligible to jump to the league if I recall the rule correctly)...
Guards like Pettigrew and Bowman could compliment each other nicely, replacing Vaaks and Coleman.
Then if Luigi Suigo doesn't go pro you could possibly nab him in the portal and have two 7'4 guys who can shoot replacing the exact spots the Ivic twins hold right now.
This is all a dream scenario of course, and I haven't even mentioned AJ Williams and if we somehow become players there...
But the main thing is that it looks like we are going from #TheRetention to the five-star #Reload with all the 5 star attention we are getting from 2027 & '28 classes.
This is certainly different times we are living in for our Beloved basketball program
I love that NIL and our proof of concept as an NBA factory paying dividends!