Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#28      
Bacon Butkus Swanson
Second place is 1st loser said:
If we're going into the season with Rodgers and DGL as our only PGs ...that's a complete roll of the dice.

Do you have any links to what Krissa did for you to call him a headcase?

It's the staff's job to mold teams and give them an identity. If they think that he's a fit, then he's a fit.
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I am totally in agreement that we need to upgrade at PG.

My issue with Krissa is this. I have friends in Tucson that are rabid UA Cat fans.
My buddies say good riddance. They also say his Wildcat team mates are hoping the door doesn't hit him in the butt on his way out either.

And we all saw how great this staff was last year at molding renegades into a well functioning team unit :(
 
#30      
sacraig
Bacon Butkus Swanson said:
I am totally in agreement that we need to upgrade at PG.

My issue with Krissa is this. I have friends in Tucson that are rabid UA Cat fans.
My buddies say good riddance. They also say his Wildcat team mates are hoping the door doesn't hit him in the butt on his way out either.

And we all saw how great this staff was last year at molding renegades into a well functioning team unit :(
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I live in Tucson and work at U. Arizona. The range of responses I've heard have been "meh" at  best to "good riddance."

If our staff thinks he's worth the risk then I'll get over it since it's a position of need. But for now...

its a no from me dawg GIF


One positive: it would be a new name for our fans to butcher regularly.
 
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#31      
Second place is 1st loser
Bacon Butkus Swanson said:
I am totally in agreement that we need to upgrade at PG.

My issue with Krissa is this. I have friends in Tucson that are rabid UA Cat fans.
My buddies say good riddance. They also say his Wildcat team mates are hoping the door doesn't hit him in the butt on his way out either.

And we all saw how great this staff was last year at molding renegades into a well functioning team unit :(
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While I don't know how Krissa is the locker room, I do agree with you that the melding of guys with big personalities was not done well last year. I can understand the hesitancy. Last year's team chemistry was a problem.
 
#33      
Sedino
JFGsCoffeeMug said:
I would hardly characterize the role of "locker room cancer" as a "personality." Team dynamics should absolutely come into play when making roster construction decisions.

I don't know how big of a concern this is. But it's certainly a legitimate one, if true.
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That’s fair, but I’d like to see where he was called that besides on this board.
 
#34      
Sedino
Frank said:
I don't understand how this is the "correct" take when we've now had two straight seasons that were tanked in part by unpredictable personalities at PG.
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Because they were bad in the locker room. The only place I have seen anyone say Kerr was toxic in the locker room was on this board. He can talk and mock fans all he wants and still be a good teammate and net positive for his team.
 
#37      
HailtotheChief
ChiefIllinois said:
How did taking bad locker room guys last year go for this team?
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Well only Sky was a PG. So that was a huge part of the issue. Do any of us really personally know Kriisa? I think not. I feel the staff should certainly reach out and try to evaluate him as a teamate for themselves. They know our players better than anyone. If they feel he can help us at PG id be fired up to land him. If they don't feel that way that's fine too.
 
#39      
PasadenaIllini
"He actually made it a cape in the next game. Wearing the headband against Southern four days later, Kriisa pulled off the second triple-double of his career, with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
That followed his triple-double at Utah in 2021-22, the first for a UA player since Andre Iguodala did it three times in 2003-04 — but also one in which Kriisa owed Lloyd a favor.
Kriisa had actually been taken out of that game with 3:02 to go, with UA en route to a comfortable 97-77 win, but at that point Kriisa had only 21 points, 10 assists ... and nine rebounds.
Kriisa “gave me a look with those puppy-dog eyes,” Lloyd said, and the coach reinserted him.
“Totally not my style,” Lloyd said. “But I thought, ‘OK. Kerr Kriisa is probably never gonna be in this position again in his career to have nine rebounds,’ and he just needed one rebound for a triple-double. So I was like, ‘I’ll give him a shot.’ ”

Kriisa finished this season as the Pac-12 leader in assists per game (5.14) and the sixth best in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.98).
Kriisa also shot 36.6% from 3-point range this season but was just 4 of 20 from long range in his last four games while dealing with a separated shoulder he suffered against Stanford in the Pac-12 quarterfinals.
In his final UA appearance, during UA’s shocking 59-55 first-round loss to No. 15 seed Princeton, Kriisa was limited despite playing 36 minutes. He declined to make an excuse for his shoulder or his cut right (shooting) hand but was 1 for 7 from the field, with three points, two assists, four turnovers and little of his usual swag."
https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawi...cle_76a4f082-c9c7-11ed-8a3b-e7defe283067.html

Sounds like a guy who would add a lot to our team. Sounds like a guy who oozes confidence and who plays with a chip on his shoulder.

Face it. This may be the last year we get to enjoy watching Hawkins and Shannon play for us. We need a known commodity at PG right now who will help maximize their talents and give us the best chance at success. That known commodity isn't a power forward who looked like a fish out of water when he was inserted at PG last year. That also isn't a freshman who averaged more turnovers than assists as a prep last season. Saying that we'd be "fine" with either of these guys at PG going into this season is absolute crazy talk, IMO.
 
#40      
Sedino
The funniest part about this is the fact that:
1. He has not made any indication he will leave WVU
2. Has any interest in coming to Illinois if he does leave WVU

Obviously both those things can change, just still amusing that we're debating over someone like that.
 
#41      
PepeSilvia
Frank said:
So he's basically a merging of Matthew Mayer and Andre Curbelo except he's also a bad defender? Call me crazy but I think we'd be stupid to pursue.

I understand the need for a steady PG but there's a major downside to putting the ball in the hands someone erratic. We want decisions and shots being made/taken by our best players and not having them held hostage by the whims of our PG.
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All that I said about him there is some serious upside. When he's healthy he is very capable of getting the ball to scorers, plays with confidence, and he can really really shoot when he gets good in rhythm shots.

If you could coach some of the off the dribble threes out of him and turn him into a John Paxon/Steve Kerr(pardon the namesake) bulls type of point guard that moves the ball and hits spot up 3s he could be extremely effective.

Much like you got with a bunch of illini guys last year but I think Kerr easily shoots 40+ percent from 3 if he reigns in the attempts a bit.
 
#42      
ptgrd23
KK Starting PG 33-4, 28-7 teams

Arizona 2023 season
28-7 2nd in Pac12
Won conference tournament
#2 seed - upset by Princeton - probably does not happen if Kriisa did not seperate his shoulder vs Stanford in Pac12 tournament
2nd year coach Tommy Lloyd

Does not look like team which had chemistry problem or a bad PG. I think he moved for NIL$

Not sure if this is correct but wow!
1687193463435.png
 
#43      
aaeismacgychel
Spoke with my Arizona insider (the same one who said Epps was likely gone several weeks before anything public came out) regarding Kriisa with regards to locker room and fit. He had the following to say:

Teammates and coaches really liked him and no known locker room issues. A player you love to hate as an opponent but a good teammate. Transferred because with the new talent coming in minutes were going to be reduced for him and he'd be more of a 6th man role. Frustratingly inconsistent- when he's on, he's straight fire. When he's off he can lose you a game. Not viewed as an NBA prospect but should have a decent future overseas. Loves and works best in a fast-paced or transition offense. If you have a team that runs the court hard and wants to get on the other end of lobs he'll work out well for you, but you will need to deal with inconsistent play.

Overall though, he thinks Kerr would be a solid addition to our team if we were to go after and get him. Take what you will of that.
 
#44      
PasadenaIllini
Sedino said:
The funniest part about this is the fact that:
1. He has not made any indication he will leave WVU
2. Has any interest in coming to Illinois if he does leave WVU

Obviously both those things can change, just still amusing that we're debating over someone like that.
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The coach who recruited him just resigned under a lot of controversy and the WVU program has immediately been thrown into complete uncertainty. Yeah, we don't know his Krissa's plans, but putting two and two together, there's a good chance he'll be looking for a different destination very soon. We are a program with really good returning talent everywhere else on the floor and with a glaring need at PG. Considering our program would definitely make sense for him.
 
#45      
ptgrd23
Bacon Butkus Swanson said:
I am totally in agreement that we need to upgrade at PG.

My issue with Krissa is this. I have friends in Tucson that are rabid UA Cat fans.
My buddies say good riddance. They also say his Wildcat team mates are hoping the door doesn't hit him in the butt on his way out either.

And we all saw how great this staff was last year at molding renegades into a well functioning team unit :(
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33-4, 28-7 teams can let star PG go because they have 4 star freshman on bench (Boswell), just signed #1 European player, and have Caleb Love coming in from UNC.
 
#46      
redwingillini11
aaeismacgychel said:
Spoke with my Arizona insider (the same one who said Epps was likely gone several weeks before anything public came out) regarding Kriisa with regards to locker room and fit. He had the following to say:

Teammates and coaches really liked him and no known locker room issues. A player you love to hate as an opponent but a good teammate. Transferred because with the new talent coming in minutes were going to be reduced for him and he'd be more of a 6th man role. Frustratingly inconsistent- when he's on, he's straight fire. When he's off he can lose you a game. Not viewed as an NBA prospect but should have a decent future overseas. Loves and works best in a fast-paced or transition offense. If you have a team that runs the court hard and wants to get on the other end of lobs he'll work out well for you, but you will need to deal with inconsistent play.

Overall though, he thinks Kerr would be a solid addition to our team if we were to go after and get him. Take what you will of that.
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Don't say any of this to the majority on here. They will tell you he must be a bad teammate because he gets animated on the court and riles up opposing fans....
 
#47      
ElGran
This kid led the Pac 10 in assists! Seems like he'd get along very well with Shannon, Hawk & Co. And he's also a good 3-pt and FT shooter.

Hope we reach out and see if he's interested. Not sure many teams have more to offer a good PG than us. We've got an excellent roster at the 2-5 spots and a giant hole at PG.
 
#49      
ILLI die hard
Do any of our esteemed insiders know if there's a chance to scarf a legitimate 5 Big that WVU. may have that is a possible transfer to ILL?
 
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