Consensus top 10 player in his class and the top PF in the country according to the composite, we are not holding back!!
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Kitt, Wabbington, pettigrew 
I'll allow itKitt, Wabbington, pettigrew
I may be wrong here. In fact I must be, because it's been hammered into this board all summer long that that it's a quality we don't have. But, this kind of sounds like....depth?
How many deep-threat 5's are also rim protectors? I'm not sure that anyone can ask for both a starting five who can all hit from deep (i.e., prevent the D from clogging the lane) and a rim protector in the starting 5.
I think you're sorta asking, which one do we go with this year?
"very mediocre" is definitely a stretch.
If you look at our 2P defense through 2P% and average 2PA distance the last two years, our defense was ranked 14th in 2P% and 11th in 2PA distance in 2025, and 39th in 2P% and 10th in 2PA distance in 2026. In 2026, teams opted to take 3's against us 37.3% of the time, which was 20th in the nation.
We weren't the best in the nation at clogging the lane but the stats would indicate that we were pretty good at it. I don't recall very many big men that we didn't have a good answer for, and most the time when our defense got torched, it was by guards, not 5's. I don't think this was just because of Mirk and Z.
The phrasing "very mediocre" just lends to the OP needing to find the most negative language possible to describe it. Could have just said average, but mediocre carries a disappointed or dismissive tone, and then adding 'very' acts as an intensifier. So instead of 'average' (who cares, really) he stresses himself to achieve the more utterly uninspiring and underwhelming framing instead.
If we find Tomi is an average rim protector, that is fine and nothing to be upset about. Illinois allowed 47% on 2s last year, which for reference the OP's favorite team to talk about (UConn, with the long athletic defenders that Illinois had no hope of scoring against) allowed 46% on 2s last year.
If we find Tomi is an average rim protector, that is fine and nothing to be upset about. Illinois allowed 47% on 2s last year, which for reference the OP's favorite team to talk about (UConn, with the long athletic defenders that Illinois had no hope of scoring against) allowed 46% on 2s last year.
It’s rare, but Z fits that criteria perfectly IF his shot gets back to normal.
(Assuming “deep threat 5” means stretch 5? Have never heard that term before)
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I mean, after Davis and Z our bench does get pretty thin.
Unproven, but not necessarily thin.
I would argue the youthful competition will allow the cream to rise and provide all the depth this team needs.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
We are now the one who knocks.
Do you have LW as our 8th man?
Yes. The recent reports suggest that he is.
Illinois Basketball Offers Nation's No. 1 2028 Power Forward Bentley Lusakueno
The Illini officially entered the race for Lusakueno, a five-star forward with an ideal skill set for Illinois' system
www.si.com
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
So… all this time we had a #9thman disguised as a #8thman. Who knew?
It's rare, but there's another one out there Illinois is recruiting who could be here next year, NOT named Wabbington...
247 is reporting the number 20 ranked prospect 6-7forward Moussa Kamissoko will visit Illinois.
In tight games our rotation will tighten up. Its likely to be 7 or 8 guys and when Tomi sits it will likely be Z for those 10 to 15 minutes and when Mirk sits it will be a lot of Z too. Z will play the 6th most minutes would be my guess, then Jake. Thats plenty to have an impact defensively at the basket. He did that last year with Ben here and he is obviously gone.
For me what guys are ranked doesnt indicate where we may be thin. We are very deep at the 2/3 and guys are ranked and skilled. Were we lack depth and size with the scare of Mirk's foot is at the 4. We dont have anyone like Ben or 75% of Mirk on this roster. We have Z and a bunch if 6'6"-7" guys around 215 lbs. We dont have anyone like Ben or Georgi B to back up Mirk. Id love a 150ish guy like Georgi instead of one of our 6'6" higher ranked threes that coming off the bench. That may be nit picking but really the inly thing i dont like about our roster and that was prior to Mirk getting hurt.
I don't think you'll see it in the starting lineup but if Mirk misses playing time, we'll probably see a lot more twin towers, especially situationally if we're dealing with an opposing front court that plays two 6'9"+ guys.
Yep, kinda why i was hoping for a guy like Ben or Georgi B instead of another 3 but hopefully Mirk heals and one of the 6'7" guys has an inner Kenny Norman and can battle at the 4 if needed.
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