Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
Brady Pettigrew commenting on Bentley Lusakueno socials.
I'm going to take the overwhelming silence from the insiders as a sign that we have swooped into the wabbington sweepstakes and snatched him from Arizona. betts is now intrigued and looking at Illinois. pettigrew is already recruiting for us prior to reclassifying to 27 and joining the illini. and cliff Alexander regrets his decision.
Sounds good to me
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
Moussa getting crystal balled to Syracuse. He must like orange.
Jeez. Betts makes Morillo and Mirk look short!
Probably going to be a bit. They are going to want to see how the roster is going to look with Mirk, Stoj, Vaaks, and Coleman NBA potential.
Let alone they are highly touted recruits. I imagine they will want to hear everyone's best offer and see if they can drive up the price.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I’m guessing Cliff Alexander regrets a lot.
Morillo is a pretty big guy and those two make him look like a little kid. Wow.
I have a hard time believing Betts won't reclass to 27 and get the big 2 year JBB-Duke type payday.
That's exactly what he's headed towards!
You'd have to think a lot more kids are going to be doing it - it's a win win for both sides. A kid gets to accelerate his development and grab NIL an extra year, school gets him for two years.
National expert projects Syracuse basketball to land 5-star priority target Moussa Kamissoko
Syracuse basketball could be on the verge of landing a 2027 five-star priority recruiting target. On Tuesday morning, national reporter Joe Tipton of On3/Rivals
insidetheloudhouse.com
Yeah, seems so.
It feels like about 30 programs or so are at least capable of landing a 5-star in today's NIL world. I honestly think that's a good thing for Illinois. We don't need a return to the world were Kentucky, UNC, Duke, and Kansas divvied about all the Burger Boys.
The fact we seem on track to land some # of our own in the coming years (based on the set of visits we just had) paired with:
- NBA Development (see Ayo, TSJ, Will, KJ, Keaton)
- Euro pipeline (Balkan bloc with an Estonian garnish)
- Domestic portal splashes (TSJ, Dre, Vaaks)
... sets us up to get into that MSU tier of B1G consistency challening perennially for a conference title. That in turns positions us well for low single digit seed pathways into the tournament. Can never have enough bites at the apple preferably multiple as the top seed in the Midwest region. How epic would it be to cut down the nets the year Chicago finally lands the Final Four? I'll settle for Detroit in 2027 though just to stick it to scUM and their little brother.
Right now, I feel like Illinois has an unspoken kinship with every program not named UConn and Duke. Hurley is by far and away the best Xs and Os coach in the game. There's a reason he's 2 of 3 in Natty games in the last 4 years. And Duke will continue to stack future all-NBA level talent (ala Kyrie, Tatum, Banchero, etc.) where their players will appear in commercials during their own college broadcasts (glad we're OAD with the Cam Boozer ads occasionally starring Papa Boozer).
Any time I see a 5-star commiting to a BYU, Syracuse, Ohio State, etc. type program, I'm glad it isn't UConn or Duke. Duke could be a two-time defending champion today if not for unbelievable late tournament capitulations with Flagg/Cam Boozer in your lineup. I fear a regression to the mean with Duke - 2001, 2010, 2015... they're kind of "due."
Arkansas I'm not overly concerned about given Coach Cal seems more an effective CEO than a great basketball mind. Kelsey just seems to have a deep purse thanks to wherever the heck Louiville KFC money comes from (shady ah program - see: The Pitino years and vacated title). And Self is just hail mary'ing his final years with the Peterson and Stokes prima donnas. Malone is unproven at the collegiate level - plays a bit different without Jokic and Murray running your offense.
I do think the B1G has the best collective basketball minds in the game given the coaching prowess at MSU, Purdue, Nebraska, and Iowa. And MSU did just land a highly regarded 2027 recruit (Antonio Pemberton) who looks like the heir apparent to The Nutcracker (who imagine will still return for 5 in 5 given limited NBA ceiling). So I hope we can keep our NIL advantage over those programs. Michigan with the Oracle/Elisson money is always a threat. But I hope the shakiness of their football program since the 2023 natty will sway donors to pump more in that direction. Same sentiment with Ohio State.
> be me 17yo pro prospect
> go to some random prep school in FL, AZ, CA
> OR get paid millions in a better prepatory environment with nationwide media exposure (not to mention the immensely fun campus environment)
Imagine a class of Pettigrew and Betts next year. Phew.
Terrific and highly accurate summary on the state of affairs.National expert projects Syracuse basketball to land 5-star priority target Moussa Kamissoko
Syracuse basketball could be on the verge of landing a 2027 five-star priority recruiting target. On Tuesday morning, national reporter Joe Tipton of On3/Rivals
Yeah, seems so.
It feels like about 30 programs or so are at least capable of landing a 5-star in today's NIL world. I honestly think that's a good thing for Illinois. We don't need a return to the world were Kentucky, UNC, Duke, and Kansas divvied about all the Burger Boys.
The fact we seem on track to land some # of our own in the coming years (based on the set of visits we just had) paired with:
- NBA Development (see Ayo, TSJ, Will, KJ, Keaton)
- Euro pipeline (Balkan bloc with an Estonian garnish)
- Domestic portal splashes (TSJ, Dre, Vaaks)
... sets us up to get into that MSU tier of B1G consistency challening perennially for a conference title. That in turns positions us well for low single digit seed pathways into the tournament. Can never have enough bites at the apple preferably multiple as the top seed in the Midwest region. How epic would it be to cut down the nets the year Chicago finally lands the Final Four? I'll settle for Detroit in 2027 though just to stick it to scUM and their little brother.
Right now, I feel like Illinois has an unspoken kinship with every program not named UConn and Duke. Hurley is by far and away the best Xs and Os coach in the game. There's a reason he's 2 of 3 in Natty games in the last 4 years. And Duke will continue to stack future all-NBA level talent (ala Kyrie, Tatum, Banchero, etc.) where their players will appear in commercials during their own college broadcasts (glad we're OAD with the Cam Boozer ads occasionally starring Papa Boozer).
Any time I see a 5-star commiting to a BYU, Syracuse, Ohio State, etc. type program, I'm glad it isn't UConn or Duke. Duke could be a two-time defending champion today if not for unbelievable late tournament capitulations with Flagg/Cam Boozer in your lineup. I fear a regression to the mean with Duke - 2001, 2010, 2015... they're kind of "due."
Arkansas I'm not overly concerned about given Coach Cal seems more an effective CEO than a great basketball mind. Kelsey just seems to have a deep purse thanks to wherever the heck Louiville KFC money comes from (shady ah program - see: The Pitino years and vacated title). And Self is just hail mary'ing his final years with the Peterson and Stokes prima donnas. Malone is unproven at the collegiate level - plays a bit different without Jokic and Murray running your offense.
I do think the B1G has the best collective basketball minds in the game given the coaching prowess at MSU, Purdue, Nebraska, and Iowa. And MSU did just land a highly regarded 2027 recruit (Antonio Pemberton) who looks like the heir apparent to The Nutcracker (who imagine will still return for 5 in 5 given limited NBA ceiling). So I hope we can keep our NIL advantage over those programs. Michigan with the Oracle/Elisson money is always a threat. But I hope the shakiness of their football program since the 2023 natty will sway donors to pump more in that direction. Same sentiment with Ohio State.
Would seem there is going to be a fairly even distribution as these kids want NIL and PT, and only a couple programs are willing to offer both to multiple 5*. One is Calipari with his outdated broken, excessively stubborn model. Duke somehow has enough prestige to grab multiple and stuff them on the bench.
Otherwise, it's a fairly even spread.
I do agree that Duke/Scheyer are due - if there is a bet out there they win one in the next two years, I'd take it.
Scheyer has underperformed with elite talent, so he's due not to with a possibly lesser team?National expert projects Syracuse basketball to land 5-star priority target Moussa Kamissoko
Syracuse basketball could be on the verge of landing a 2027 five-star priority recruiting target. On Tuesday morning, national reporter Joe Tipton of On3/Rivals
Yeah, seems so.
It feels like about 30 programs or so are at least capable of landing a 5-star in today's NIL world. I honestly think that's a good thing for Illinois. We don't need a return to the world were Kentucky, UNC, Duke, and Kansas divvied about all the Burger Boys.
The fact we seem on track to land some # of our own in the coming years (based on the set of visits we just had) paired with:
- NBA Development (see Ayo, TSJ, Will, KJ, Keaton)
- Euro pipeline (Balkan bloc with an Estonian garnish)
- Domestic portal splashes (TSJ, Dre, Vaaks)
... sets us up to get into that MSU tier of B1G consistency challening perennially for a conference title. That in turns positions us well for low single digit seed pathways into the tournament. Can never have enough bites at the apple preferably multiple as the top seed in the Midwest region. How epic would it be to cut down the nets the year Chicago finally lands the Final Four? I'll settle for Detroit in 2027 though just to stick it to scUM and their little brother.
Right now, I feel like Illinois has an unspoken kinship with every program not named UConn and Duke. Hurley is by far and away the best Xs and Os coach in the game. There's a reason he's 2 of 3 in Natty games in the last 4 years. And Duke will continue to stack future all-NBA level talent (ala Kyrie, Tatum, Banchero, etc.) where their players will appear in commercials during their own college broadcasts (glad we're OAD with the Cam Boozer ads occasionally starring Papa Boozer).
Any time I see a 5-star commiting to a BYU, Syracuse, Ohio State, etc. type program, I'm glad it isn't UConn or Duke. Duke could be a two-time defending champion today if not for unbelievable late tournament capitulations with Flagg/Cam Boozer in your lineup. I fear a regression to the mean with Duke - 2001, 2010, 2015... they're kind of "due."
Arkansas I'm not overly concerned about given Coach Cal seems more an effective CEO than a great basketball mind. Kelsey just seems to have a deep purse thanks to wherever the heck Louiville KFC money comes from (shady ah program - see: The Pitino years and vacated title). And Self is just hail mary'ing his final years with the Peterson and Stokes prima donnas. Malone is unproven at the collegiate level - plays a bit different without Jokic and Murray running your offense.
I do think the B1G has the best collective basketball minds in the game given the coaching prowess at MSU, Purdue, Nebraska, and Iowa. And MSU did just land a highly regarded 2027 recruit (Antonio Pemberton) who looks like the heir apparent to The Nutcracker (who imagine will still return for 5 in 5 given limited NBA ceiling). So I hope we can keep our NIL advantage over those programs. Michigan with the Oracle/Elisson money is always a threat. But I hope the shakiness of their football program since the 2023 natty will sway donors to pump more in that direction. Same sentiment with Ohio State.
Statistically, sure. But the common factor in underperforming in the easiest environment to succeed in CBB is him.
Last edited:
Like him or not he was a great pick for Duke. I agree he will win one at duke soon
It's not often in this day and age of college athletics a program can bridge to one of their own quite like Duke did. There was nothing reactive, rushed about it, fully seamless. He's been able to uphold their brand and momentum without missing a beat really.
9 years as an assistant under K at age 28 is how you want to do it. It did help he had the unfortunate eye injury that shortened his pro career.
To think he was lobbying for the DePaul job in 2021.
Will be curious to see how some of these others do it, Kansas. UNC tried to keep it in the family until there were no options.
UConn will be interesting as Murray is up the road at BC as a HC now - do they let him cut his teeth?
Just as a counterpoint to this, it seems like there's something to the fact that relying on one elite player (usually a Freshman) to have a 28%+ usage rate isn't conducive to winning championships. Perhaps Duke's roster this year is more conducive to winning it all.
David Mirkovic suffers left foot injury
Mirk is going to apply the same level of tenacity to getting back as he was to working hard this summer. Sometimes when you have these injuries, guys don't work as hard as they need to. I would not be shocked if Mirk beats the timeline even more than expected, we are talking about a guy who...
www.illinoisloyalty.com
The last time a team had a player with 28%+ usage and won a championship was UConn with Shabazz Napier in 2014. Since then, there hasn't been a Championship team with a guy with usage 28%+. Since Scheyer took the helm at Duke, they've had a Freshman with 28%+ usage in 3 of the last 4 years. As elite as these guys are, it seems like it's not sustainable to have a go-to-guy go out and win 6 games in a row against teams who may be more experienced in the situation and may have more options when it comes down to the wire.
There may also be something to the fact that: who wants to win an NCAA National Championship more? A guaranteed top-5 NBA prospect, or 5 juniors/seniors who may or may not go on to play professionally? Or this could totally be a case of correlation without causation...