IlliniOX08
- Bucktown, Chicago
Been a while since I've posted but here are my thoughts:
1. If forced to choose, the staff made the right call.
2. Ayo committed first. THT could have been told last Thursday/Friday that we were moving on - before the visit. And none of this becomes a problem.
3. Unfortunately the staff read the situation so poorly that we and our shiny new 5* both came away with egg on our face.
4. This was a big boy recruiting situation - again the staff made the right call - they just looked like amateurs doing it.
5. Us Illinois fans have been wanting to land a player like Ayo for over a decade. We've wanted the top dogs from the MIF for a long, long time. Now we played the game, got our player and suddenly don't like the look in the mirror? Our reaction to Ayo and MIF is stupefying. Blame the staff for letting this get out of control - not the kids. They made their intentions known. Again - the staff look like amateurs.
6. We've been deifying THT but his camp has made enough shots towards Ayo that I see why the rift is still there. Remember, the proverbial olive branch from THT and THT's mom wasn't extended until there was something for THT to gain. He handled the situation 100x better than our staff did, but he shouldn't be absolved of all blame in letting it get this far.
7. In terms of those hand wringing over Robert Smith and Simeon potentially black balling Illinois - name me the last 5 Illinois commits from Simeon. Better yet, I'll do it for you: DJ Williams, Kendrick Nunn, Jaylon Tate, Stan Simpson, Calvin Brock. Before that? Bryant Notree and Kevin Turner.
7b. In terms of the above - the last Simeon players to play for Illinois in an NCAA tournament were Calvin Brock and before him, Kevin Turner.
7c. You know who we didn't get from Simeon in that time? Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, hell we didn't even get Ed Morrow. The Simeon pipeline is a mummers farse for Illinois fans to hold on to the 80's when it was real. Since that time it's been used a fall back for Illinois to take all of the B and C rated talent. We're not losing a pipeline, we opened a new one.
8. All that said, again THT didn't deserve to be publicly embarrassed. In any way, shape or form.
9. Make no mistake - we're in bed with the Irvin's now. It feels slimy and gross at the moment but if we start winning games and the Irvin's keep producing the "A" talent (see: Miller, Adam) for Illinois, isn't that what we've all wanted? Let's not be complete hypocrites - if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
10. ... on a more light hearted note - isn't this the most friggin Illinois thing that could happen?
Agree, disagree or anywhere in between - that's where I see things from after seeing many, many different viewpoints and sleeping on it for a night.
1. If forced to choose, the staff made the right call.
2. Ayo committed first. THT could have been told last Thursday/Friday that we were moving on - before the visit. And none of this becomes a problem.
3. Unfortunately the staff read the situation so poorly that we and our shiny new 5* both came away with egg on our face.
4. This was a big boy recruiting situation - again the staff made the right call - they just looked like amateurs doing it.
5. Us Illinois fans have been wanting to land a player like Ayo for over a decade. We've wanted the top dogs from the MIF for a long, long time. Now we played the game, got our player and suddenly don't like the look in the mirror? Our reaction to Ayo and MIF is stupefying. Blame the staff for letting this get out of control - not the kids. They made their intentions known. Again - the staff look like amateurs.
6. We've been deifying THT but his camp has made enough shots towards Ayo that I see why the rift is still there. Remember, the proverbial olive branch from THT and THT's mom wasn't extended until there was something for THT to gain. He handled the situation 100x better than our staff did, but he shouldn't be absolved of all blame in letting it get this far.
7. In terms of those hand wringing over Robert Smith and Simeon potentially black balling Illinois - name me the last 5 Illinois commits from Simeon. Better yet, I'll do it for you: DJ Williams, Kendrick Nunn, Jaylon Tate, Stan Simpson, Calvin Brock. Before that? Bryant Notree and Kevin Turner.
7b. In terms of the above - the last Simeon players to play for Illinois in an NCAA tournament were Calvin Brock and before him, Kevin Turner.
7c. You know who we didn't get from Simeon in that time? Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, hell we didn't even get Ed Morrow. The Simeon pipeline is a mummers farse for Illinois fans to hold on to the 80's when it was real. Since that time it's been used a fall back for Illinois to take all of the B and C rated talent. We're not losing a pipeline, we opened a new one.
8. All that said, again THT didn't deserve to be publicly embarrassed. In any way, shape or form.
9. Make no mistake - we're in bed with the Irvin's now. It feels slimy and gross at the moment but if we start winning games and the Irvin's keep producing the "A" talent (see: Miller, Adam) for Illinois, isn't that what we've all wanted? Let's not be complete hypocrites - if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
10. ... on a more light hearted note - isn't this the most friggin Illinois thing that could happen?
Agree, disagree or anywhere in between - that's where I see things from after seeing many, many different viewpoints and sleeping on it for a night.