Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

Eh, would rather Morillo or Big Z eat those minutes. JT and Morillo are about the same size anyway. If you just want a guy to come in for 3-5 minutes and rebound, I'm not sure that's a role JT wants (he played 28mpg last year).

Ben and Jake are shooters who fit our system, an undersized 4 (215lbs) who shoots 28% from three seems more than a bit out of place here. I doubt the rebounding would translate to Big Ten. Ben and Jake both immediately came in and played (Jake 10 mpg, Ben 25 mpg). Do we have a meaningful role available for a guy who is a slightly taller but less athletic Ty Rodgers that also isn't a ballhandler? I don't know where you put him / what you have him do. If he's just a filler for while Mirk is out, I doubt he sees that as worthwhile.

I think its hard to argue he's a great fit piece like Jake and Ben, but if we want to state the obvious (that he'd be coming here because of his brother) then it makes more sense.

Just skeptical of either (1) we have a role available for a player like him or let alone (2) he'd accept that role knowing it would be a small one.

Hopefully we all agree though that you take him in a heartbeat if it closes the deal with Brady.

Z is a 5.

JT could play the 3 or the 4. The shooting concerns you have for him apply just as much to Morillo.

 

[NarrowJ]

I was the one that said several and yes several is generally a figure of speech but for sake of putting it out there.

I would without any doubt take him over Fagbemi, Landon Davis, and Jakstys. Probably taking him over Brown and then Zens more of a toss up. I really like Zens but still would probably take JT because he's proven he can be an impact player at the D1 level.

So 5 guys Id take him over(plus 1 open roster spot so maybe 6 if you count that over the flexibility of having that spot).

I did note that his efficiency needs to improve(which it did as the season went on) but if he does improve on that then he's going to get a lot of power conference interest next year. If he's ok with coming off the bench behind Mirk then he's a pretty great fit which lends credence to your point that he might not be interested in that role though I do think he plays enough on the perimeter that you could potentially play him next to Mirk too sometimes and be a 6th or 7th man(Physically he kind of reminds me of Malik Hall).

Averaged 12.5 pts, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 asts as a true freshman on .385/.282/.743. Though like I mentioned was significantly more efficient down the stretch and shot the 3 at a much better clip.

Is it reasonable that he could put up something along the lines of 15.1/5.2/3.9 on .436/.352/.824 as a sophomore?

I used those numbers because that was the junior season of everyones favorite Valley transfer Marcus Domask. The rebound numbers are probably lower than what JT can put up and the assists are probably higher but I think him putting up a similar stat line this year is well within the realm of outcomes for him.

Oh, right on then. I was not even thinking about Fagbemi at all in this equation.

I may have gotten too wordy with previous replies, but I think it boils down to this: can he play well enough at this level to get the amount of playing time he'd need to be happy here?

Tend to think Marcus Domask is an exception to a rule that it generally takes a good year for a mid-major guy to acclimate to P4/5 basketball, but then again... if JT Pettigrew came here and a couple years from now is 2nd/3rd team All-B1G... that would just be shooting par at the Annual Brad Underwood Open.

 

[NarrowJ]

Z is a 5.

JT could play the 3 or the 4. The shooting concerns you have for him apply just as much to Morillo.

Did you watch any Illinois games last year or only USC and UConn? Z played some with Tomi and I’d expect to see that even more this year, not just because Mirk is hobbled but they need to get him on the floor for more than 17-18 minutes a game. I wasn’t aware JT played the 3 at all, but if so, another 3 is the last thing we need.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

Did you watch any Illinois games last year or only USC and UConn? Z played some with Tomi and I’d expect to see that even more this year, not just because Mirk is hobbled but they need to get him on the floor for more than 17-18 minutes a game. I wasn’t aware JT played the 3 at all, but if so, another 3 is the last thing we need.

We only played the twins together against teams with bad shooters and guys we could dork.

Against a team with good floor spacing, that lineup will get torched.

 

[Uihoop2023!]

HUH

He's a mediocre Valley player. We are better than that. I said if he develops and if his brother wants him around, pretty logical.

If it gets us his brother than I would take him in a heartbeat

 

[NarrowJ]

We only played the twins together against teams with bad shooters and guys we could dork.

Against a team with good floor spacing, that lineup will get torched.

Then you just don’t play them together against teams with good floor spacing, which is not very many teams at all.

Teams like Illinois that have 4 or 5 shooters on the floor at all times are very rare.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

Then you just don’t play them together against teams with good floor spacing, which is not very many teams at all.

Teams like Illinois that have 4 or 5 shooters on the floor at all times are very rare.

Yup, and that’s where the depth issues come in. We don’t have a PF on the roster to fill that void besides Mirk.

I don’t think Mirk misses significant time, but he’ll probably be unable to play huge minutes just coming back from a significant injury, so you’ll need to find that option. And if he does miss time, we basically have nobody for the position. It’s unfortunate.

 

[RollChief]

I wasn’t aware JT played the 3 at all, but if so, another 3 is the last thing we need.

Can't speak for the full season but KP shows him at the 4 69% of the last 5 games of the season and at the 5 6% of the time.

 

[NarrowJ]

Yup, and that’s where the depth issues come in. We don’t have a PF on the roster to fill that void besides Mirk.

I don’t think Mirk misses significant time, but he’ll probably be unable to play huge minutes just coming back from a significant injury, so you’ll need to find that option. And if he does miss time, we basically have nobody for the position. It’s unfortunate.

Depth issues?

Can't speak for the full season but KP shows him at the 4 69% of the last 5 games of the season and at the 5 6% of the time.

Ah, that's pretty cool. I should just go ahead and pay the $24.99 or whatever it is.

 

[DICKnaggie]

Not much talk about the shift from Europe. Obviously there are some (ongoing) legal conversations but our pivot this years seems notable and a topic of conversation. What are folks thinking?

 

[Noblesville Illini]

Not much talk about the shift from Europe. Obviously there are some (ongoing) legal conversations but our pivot this years seems notable and a topic of conversation. What are folks thinking?

Our AD is a sharp attorney. Our coaches know what the boots on the ground are saying in Europe. We are in tight with the biggest agent in the Balkans. Guess the pivot was pretty obvious I am thinking.

 

[PepeSilvia]

Can't speak for the full season but KP shows him at the 4 69% of the last 5 games of the season and at the 5 6% of the time.

View attachment 51284

But a lot of that is based on size on the roster. Valpo like a lot of mid majors doesn't have a ton of size so a 6'8 Pettigrew will naturally play the 4 and even some small ball 5.

Not trying to keep bringing him up but Domask played the 4 at SIU(big part of why he was so good in the post). Or with ISU last year Ty Pence was kind of their 4 or teams like Miami (OH).

Or at the power conference level Alex Karaban technically was a 4 but he was also just a versatile wing.

If you watch Valpo and Pettigrew play. He's kind of a combo wing/forward. Good athlete, good size and can dribble. The jumpshot looks like it should become at least average as a catch and shoot guy. I think he could become a Malik Hall type of big wing that can play both the 3 and 4.

Obviously, there would be a lot of moving pieces and we would have to see how the roster shakes out but I think the question isn't if we would take JT. It's if JT would be open to coming here and potentially taking a bench role somewhere between 6-8.

 

[Oranges]

Not much talk about the shift from Europe. Obviously there are some (ongoing) legal conversations but our pivot this years seems notable and a topic of conversation. What are folks thinking?

I think we just didn’t need to go that route this year

 

[wc_illini]

We only played the twins together against teams with bad shooters and guys we could dork.

Against a team with good floor spacing, that lineup will get torched.

Note: the below ignores overtime

They played 100 minutes together and were +45. They played the most against Wisconsin (+6 in 22min), Nebraska (+8 in 12min), and MSU (+/- 0 in 10.5min). Michigan (-9 in 2:49) and Rutgers (-5 in 1:41) were their only bad games.

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

Not much talk about the shift from Europe. Obviously there are some (ongoing) legal conversations but our pivot this years seems notable and a topic of conversation. What are folks thinking?

We were ahead of the curve over there, but I think the secret is out. It’s less of a value proposition to spend a bunch of time over there than it was.
I’d guess a combo of increased competition for those players, and increased resources at home to land big time American kids.
I’m not sure it’s necessarily a pivot… The strategy has always been to get the best players you can, whether they are home or abroad.
Having recent post-season success gets you into living rooms you wouldn’t have been invited into previously.

 

[wc_illini]

Note: the below ignores overtime

They played 100 minutes together and were +45. They played the most against Wisconsin (+6 in 22min), Nebraska (+8 in 12min), and MSU (+/- 0 in 10.5min). Michigan (-9 in 2:49) and Rutgers (-5 in 1:41) were their only bad games.

View attachment 51285

I couldn't get another edit in before it locked. They played 2 more minutes together in overtime and were -1 in those, but that doesn't really change the analysis.

 

[March2TheArch]

I couldn't get another edit in before it locked. They played 2 more minutes together in overtime and were -1 in those, but that doesn't really change the analysis.

All I want for Xmas is a healthy Mirk.

 

[NarrowJ]

Note: the below ignores overtime

They played 100 minutes together and were +45. They played the most against Wisconsin (+6 in 22min), Nebraska (+8 in 12min), and MSU (+/- 0 in 10.5min). Michigan (-9 in 2:49) and Rutgers (-5 in 1:41) were their only bad games.

View attachment 51285

Appreciate you grabbing this, I'm hoping we can figure out how to play them together more this year so this is cool to look at.

So that's +18 per 40 minutes?

Noting that +13 vs Jackson St means vs power conf teams we're talking +32 in 90 minutes which is more like +14 per 40 minutes.

Michigan and Rutgers wasn't having it, it appears.

Seems they actually did pretty well vs two teams that spread you out / everybody's a shooter.

All small sample sizes here but I still have fun overanalyzing it lol.

 

[DICKnaggie]

We were ahead of the curve over there, but I think the secret is out. It’s less of a value proposition to spend a bunch of time over there than it was.
I’d guess a combo of increased competition for those players, and increased resources at home to land big time American kids.
I’m not sure it’s necessarily a pivot… The strategy has always been to get the best players you can, whether they are home or abroad.
Having recent post-season success gets you into living rooms you wouldn’t have been invited into previously.

This makes sense. It just occurred to me that we had this great model, and seemed to move away from it with little conversation on the board while we discussed 9th men and cottage cheese ad nauseum, lol!

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

Not much talk about the shift from Europe. Obviously there are some (ongoing) legal conversations but our pivot this years seems notable and a topic of conversation. What are folks thinking?

With the retention this year, I think it was a lack of a need. I think if either Ivisic left, Suigo is here. And Vaaks is kinda* an overseas guy

I’m not sure, im not looking too much into it yet. I personally think our next center is a European.

What I do think is here to stay though, is Brad looking to fill his role players and depth (it’s true, we have it) with the hs kids

 

[PasadenaIllini]

We were ahead of the curve over there, but I think the secret is out. It’s less of a value proposition to spend a bunch of time over there than it was.
I’d guess a combo of increased competition for those players, and increased resources at home to land big time American kids.
I’m not sure it’s necessarily a pivot… The strategy has always been to get the best players you can, whether they are home or abroad.
Having recent post-season success gets you into living rooms you wouldn’t have been invited into previously.

Post season success will get coaches into living rooms, but as we saw after 2004-5, coaches still need the salesmanship and savvy to close deals. Brad, Orlando, and company undoubtedly have these ingredients in spades.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

With the retention this year, I think it was a lack of a need. I think if either Ivisic left, Suigo is here. And Vaaks is kinda* an overseas guy

I’m not sure, im not looking too much into it yet. I personally think our next center is a European.

What I do think is here to stay though, is Brad looking to fill his role players and depth (it’s true, we have it) with the hs kids

Not even kinda. He straight up is, we just didn't get him year 1 but I don't think that makes him less of a Euro.

And in the current atmosphere retention = recruitment so we re-recruited Mirk, Tomi, and Z which means we kept up our good relationship with their agent, which has been one of the key drivers of our Euro recruiting.

 

[ugottabjoshinme]

Eh, would rather Morillo or Big Z eat those minutes. JT and Morillo are about the same size anyway. If you just want a guy to come in for 3-5 minutes and rebound, I'm not sure that's a role JT wants (he played 28mpg last year).

Big Z won't even be here next year. A lot of guys probably won't be here next year, so they are going to need to look at all levels of the portal anyway.

 

[NarrowJ]

Big Z won't even be here next year. A lot of guys probably won't be here next year, so they are going to need to look at all levels of the portal anyway.

Correct, and I'm hoping we can shoot a tad higher than 3rd team MVC players.

But for the 100th time, if it gets Brady here, you take him.

 

[goillini30]

Not even kinda. He straight up is, we just didn't get him year 1 but I don't think that makes him less of a Euro.

And in the current atmosphere retention = recruitment so we re-recruited Mirk, Tomi, and Z which means we kept up our good relationship with their agent, which has been one of the key drivers of our Euro recruiting.

And it was probably an advantage to get Vaaks in year 2 so he could be here all summer (except FIBA) working out with the team instead of dealing with paperwork/visa issues