Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[jamarvelous31]

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.

"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.

 

[RowdyFromRow22]

Normally things like this would wreck our fan base. But are these signs of good things and Denzels to come??

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

View attachment 50967
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…

 

[RowdyFromRow22]

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….

 

[March2TheArch]

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

Exciting time man.

I love that NIL and our proof of concept as an NBA factory paying dividends!

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

View attachment 50967
Normally things like this would wreck our fan base. But are these signs of good things and Denzels to come??

He’s struggled a bit this summer.

It’s interesting Purdue backed off as well

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

From a Kentucky source, but…

https://twitter.com/x/status/2079646221418070121

 

[PepeSilvia]

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.

That was also my orihinal understanding but after reading it I'm not entirely sure.

The rule for age based people who enroll after 19 is "The start of the regular academic year immediately following the student-athlete’s 19th birthday, if the student-athlete turns 19 years old before Sept. 1."

The NCAA academic year begins on August 1st and ends July 31st.

The twins were born on August 9th so the start of the academic year after they turn 19 would be fall of 2023 which would give them an additional year of eligibility after this year. However then it it states the part about September 1st.

So my guess would be no and that the age cutoff is September 1st but then the academic year also starts before August birthdays(unless they are changing the NCAA calendar) so wouldn't the the twins have the argument that the academic year following their 19th birthday was fall 2023 since fall 2022 was already occuring when they turned 19?

 

[Illini 993]

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

Pettigrew turned 17 on June 1 this year (06-01-09.) AJ Williams turned 17 on June 28 (06-28-09.)

 

[Joel Goodson]

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

some of this is a bridge to far, but I'll have what you're having

also, major kudos on your handle...bravo!

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

Exciting time man.

I love that NIL and our proof of concept as an NBA factory paying dividends!

We’ve come a long way from 50% of the board going into the tournament (as a 3 seed) saying Brad should be fired or on the hot seat.

 

[Joel Goodson]

That was also my orihinal understanding but after reading it I'm not entirely sure.

The rule for age based people who enroll after 19 is "The start of the regular academic year immediately following the student-athlete’s 19th birthday, if the student-athlete turns 19 years old before Sept. 1."

The NCAA academic year begins on August 1st and ends July 31st.

The twins were born on August 9th so the start of the academic year after they turn 19 would be fall of 2023 which would give them an additional year of eligibility after this year. However then it it states the part about September 1st.

So my guess would be no and that the age cutoff is September 1st but then the academic year also starts before August birthdays(unless they are changing the NCAA calendar) so wouldn't the the twins have the argument that the academic year following their 19th birthday was fall 2023 since fall 2022 was already occuring when they turned 19?

too much math, bro

 

[WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?]

I think it's really stupid that all these guys that played in the summer league are getting eligibility through lawsuits and I wish some superior court ruling would just strike them all down.

However, if Keyshawn Hall is going to play in college next year, does anyone have a spare 5-6 million to ensure he is playing for Illinois?

If you somehow added Hall to the current roster I don't think the question is if Illinois can win a national title but whether they can go undefeated. Vaaks, Stojakovic, Hall, Mirk, Tomislav with Coleman and Zvonimir as your top two off the bench would steamroll the big10.

The team has enough high usage players. Whether you like it or not, it was clear Blackwell would be the last of that type of player we’d target (and really we stopped that pursuit entirely by the end).

The problem with our roster construction is on the bench (depth). Not the guys at the top of the roster who will be getting all the shots.

 

[Rap47]

Pepe makes sense.

 

[March2TheArch]

We’ve come a long way from 50% of the board going into the tournament (as a 3 seed) saying Brad should be fired or on the hot seat.

Perspective is a difficult thing.

The Big 10 has two title winners this millennium. MSU is 1 for god knows how many Final Fours at this point since 2001. Michigan lost in the title game in the 2010s. As did Wisconsin. As did Purdue more recently this decade. As did we a few months ago.

The title or bust mentality is toxic. We’re fortunate that we can keep getting “bites at the apple.” Making two Final Fours in 20 years is no guarantee we’ll even make another Final Four till 2047.

We need to employ a mentality of incremental goals. Can we at least be competitive down to the last possession vs. UConn the fourth time around? Can we make Duke sweat at home as they are still figuring out how to get all their new and existing pieces to fit? Trust the process. And hope a bit of luck bounce-wise like Andrej FTs and Kylan’s layup that would have put us up 6pts in the first half vs. UConn this past April.

Is Tomi healthy? Does Z have even more bounce and lateral quickness? Can Mirk and Vaaks get their lateral speed to avoid getting blown past by a Fears or Cadeau?

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Can we at least be competitive down to the last possession vs. UConn the fourth time around?

I think our stint against UCONN, is a lot like UCLA's stint against Gonzaga.

2021 Final 4: Gonzaga win in OT 93-90
2022 Neutral Site: Gonzaga win 83-63
2023 Sweet 16: Gonzaga win 79-76
2024 Neutral: Gonzaga win 69-65
2025 Neutral: UCLA win 65-62

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

I think our stint against UCONN, is a lot like UCLA's stint against Gonzaga.

2021 Final 4: Gonzaga win in OT 93-90
2022 Neutral Site: Gonzaga win 83-63
2023 Sweet 16: Gonzaga win 79-76
2024 Neutral: Gonzaga win 69-65
2025 Neutral: UCLA win 65-62

I use the eye test on this. Which I know is lame because the “eye test argument” just means you can avoid stats and hard facts to fit your narrative.

But the last UConn game was certainly progress to me. Much the way the previous time we had played Houston compared to last year. Just looked like a closer and closer on talent level and we missed gimmes - and still were in it.

We talk a lot about brads coaching. But at the end of the day, the biggest steps of growth from this program has been brad increasing the talent level by leaps and bounds.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

I think our stint against UCONN, is a lot like UCLA's stint against Gonzaga.

2021 Final 4: Gonzaga win in OT 93-90
2022 Neutral Site: Gonzaga win 83-63
2023 Sweet 16: Gonzaga win 79-76
2024 Neutral: Gonzaga win 69-65
2025 Neutral: UCLA win 65-62

Gonzaga beat UCLA last season.

"2025" on this list is the 24-25 regular season

 

[Det_Illini_fan]

We talk a lot about brads coaching. But at the end of the day, the biggest steps of growth from this program has been brad increasing the talent level by leaps and bounds.

I also keep reflecting on the past 4-5, and keep noticing along that talent level leap, Brad has incrementally improved elements of the team year over year. We’ve gone from a high athletic offense through a star like TSJ, to a more balanced approach focusing on perimeter threats and NBA-style offense where everyone can hit a 3. Learned from the days where we couldn’t even buy a bucket against UConn in the EE. Building our defense so that we control the pacing of the opposing teams offense. Going from something like the 80th defense (per kenpom) to 15-20th, while ramping up our offense to number 1.

Last season, our mental fortitude was even looking tougher. Some games had some factors like injuries at play, but beating Tennessee in Nashville, Houston in Houston, robbing the bank in an electric Nebraska, all were examples of winning in hostile territory that I honestly haven’t had much confidence in the past couple years. Add in all of our road losses within 1-4 points (with those injuries) or the first UConn game where we’re robbed of a late game comeback.

Basically, maybe it’s another eye test, but I see a program and our coach incrementally improving weaknesses in the formula from each previous season, and with more money being pumped into the program I am excited about what could be coming our way soon.

 

[HensonHall71]

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.

Yes, they are three weeks too old. Every rule needs a cutoff but they get screwed on this one. If their birthday was Sep 1 instead of Aug 9th , they would get one more year under 5 in 5

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

That was also my orihinal understanding but after reading it I'm not entirely sure.

The rule for age based people who enroll after 19 is "The start of the regular academic year immediately following the student-athlete’s 19th birthday, if the student-athlete turns 19 years old before Sept. 1."

The NCAA academic year begins on August 1st and ends July 31st.

The twins were born on August 9th so the start of the academic year after they turn 19 would be fall of 2023 which would give them an additional year of eligibility after this year. However then it it states the part about September 1st.

So my guess would be no and that the age cutoff is September 1st but then the academic year also starts before August birthdays(unless they are changing the NCAA calendar) so wouldn't the the twins have the argument that the academic year following their 19th birthday was fall 2023 since fall 2022 was already occuring when they turned 19?

This was my initial interpretation as well, but everyone was so insistent that they wouldn’t be eligible I just assumed I must’ve been wrong. But I read it the same way you do.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

UConn’s offensive scheme and floppy actions are what gives us problems because our teams are so big and lack footspeed.

 

[HensonHall71]

UConn’s offensive scheme and floppy actions are what gives us problems because our teams are so big and lack footspeed.

IMO stopping them hasn’t been our issue- we just can’t score on them. We were the most efficient offense in the history of Kenpom for much of the season and scored 62 points in the final four. Whatever it is, they have found the kryptonite for Tyler’s offense the last three years. I believe their coaches commented that “we weren’t that hard to guard”

Beating UConn at the UC is the most important preseason game IMO

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

IMO stopping them hasn’t been our issue- we just can’t score on them. We were the most efficient offense in the history of Kenpom for much of the season and scored 62 points in the final four. Whatever it is, they have found the kryptonite for Tyler’s offense the last three years.

100%.

Each of our 3 meetings, we've scored under 1 point per possession (which means more possessions in the game than points).

It's hard to beat ANY college basketball team when you do that -- even cupcakes. Let alone UCONN in the Elite 8 or Final 4.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

IMO stopping them hasn’t been our issue- we just can’t score on them. We were the most efficient offense in the history of Kenpom for much of the season and scored 62 points in the final four. Whatever it is, they have found the kryptonite for Tyler’s offense the last three years. I believe their coaches commented that “we weren’t that hard to guard”

Beating UConn at the UC is the most important preseason game IMO

This is where my “eye test” theory comes in.

I didn’t feel UConn stopped us at all in the final four. I feel we just missed bunnies.

Previous games, sure. Although the MSG UConn game was a comedy of missed wide open threes as well