Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#752      
PepeSilvia
ElGran said:
And Clark and Epps are not small (6'3 and 6'2 respectively and neither skinny). I'm not worried that much about DGL's size. Defense is about willingness, quickness, and basketball intelligence. Neither Clark nor Epps seemed that willing to play defense and neither is that quick.

DGL is not going to be defending Ekey. He doesn't need to look like a LB.
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Epps ain't 6'2. Clark looked like he had decent size but just seemed slow.
 
#753      
Axeman21
Not exactly sure where to post this since it’s off topic, but if any of you guys/gals miss the old NCAA basketball video games. Somebody on NBA 2k23 on “user created rosters” took the time to create a bunch of college rosters from this past season. Illinois’ roster is the Portland Trailblazers. Obviously not the same quality, but it’s been fun burning time while home sick today. TSJ has been scorching the nets all day for me lol

ILL
 
#754      
Chickenmane
WyattEarp said:
Oh no, it’s much more fun to double down ad naseum.

Not sure what’s more ridiculous at this point:
1.)The people who wanna rag on the staff about Pods. Which is ridiculous.
2.) The people who wanna rag on Pods for Pod’s success. Which is also ridiculous.
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I mean the staff did mess up, pretending otherwise is silly, it’s just a mistake that plenty of other coaches make and that every coach will make if they coach long enough at high level programs.
 
#755      
SampsonRelpenk
Boskydell said:
Bardo was a great player for CCHS. Saw him in '86 sectional final and supersectional. He carried that team all the way to Assembly Hall, where his game against Gill was amazing! Yes, amazing!
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Any chance your username comes from Boskydell Road in Carbondale?
 
#756      
Chickenmane
Old Farm Illini said:
He flourished in a different role where he had the green light. Good for him. It doesn’t mean we would have seen the same product here had he stayed.
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Podz has the talent to be a first round pick in the NBA, if he wasn’t going to be put in position to succeed because the coaches couldn’t identify his ability thats on them.

That being said it’s a mistake plenty of coaches make.
 
#758      
BashCtIllini
alexander58 said:
OK insiders…. How did Podz leaving come about? Was there a conversation with coaches saying they saw him getting deeper in the roster with the freshmen coming in? The one thing everyone knew was he was a tireless worker. He’d put on a lot of muscle in his short time here with the help of Fletch. Maybe no one saw it coming, but I’d take a roster of overachievers.
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They basically said Podz wanted a starting spot and Underwood said no.

People need to realize how the world works, let's just say Podz stays, Shannon comes in and Mayer does not. So basically Podz gets Mayer's spot. Podz still wouldn't have started. It would have been Skyy, Shannon, Melendez, Hawkins, and Dainja. Now potentially he could have got a starting spot in that scenario with Goode's injury, Melendez's struggles, and Skyy's transfer.

But the other thing is, Podz took 460 shots last year, 185 3s. Theres no chance he gets even close to that many shots at Illinois, even if he did end up starting. Shannon had our most shots at 360. Even if you give him all of Mayer's shots, that's only 327. So it wasn't just Podz ability, it was the opportunity Santa Clara gave him. If he would have transferred to Wisconsin or Marquette, he wouldn't have gotten even close to the opportunity he got by going to a weaker Santa Clara.

So when people talked about Jakstys and compared him to Kaminsky. It is so much more than just ability that leads to someones success. They have to be a good fit for the system and they have to be given opportunity. No P6 school was going to give Podz 36 mpg or 460 shots, they have too many other good players on their rosters. So what looked like, see knew it, he's not P6 calibre, turned into a windfall for Podz.
 
#760      
WyattEarp
Chickenmane said:
I mean the staff did mess up, pretending otherwise is silly, it’s just a mistake that plenty of other coaches make and that every coach will make if they coach long enough at high level programs.
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I can’t decide if you expect the staff to be infallible or not. You’re saying they messed up; but you’re also saying everybody messes up. I guess we agree? I don’t realistically expect them to be infallible do you?

1.) They undoubtedly made assessment(s) based on his level of performance. I wasn’t in practice for the duration of his time here. So I can’t cavalierly say one way or the other. It’s entirely possible he took a leap unbeknownst to the staff. Like you said: stuff happens.

2.) * They however, certainly assessed his potiential talent in their recruitment of him.
Unlike the flagship school in his home state. Other schools as well…
We were ahead of the curve there; and definitely had more vision than a heck of a lot ofschools…at least initially, correct?
 
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#761      
HensonHall71
ptgrd23 said:
Pods did not look like NBA material at Illinois and at UC Santa Clara he could not get them into the NCAA tourney. They only played 2 power 5 teams - beat 3-29 Cal team and losing to 19-15 UCF.

Somebody is making a huge projection to draft him (even in 2nd round). Maybe his growth plates are still open and he will be 6'9" Larry Bird clone He is only 20.

I guess they would not put him in green room unless somebody is sure.
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I think you are completely missing the point of how analytics has taken over NBA front offices and the analytics favor Podz’s skill set - the latest ESPN mock has him at 19 to the Warriors and moving up- the Bulls drafted Patrick Williams #4 overall who didn’t even start at FSU and averaged 9 points a game. College success just isn’t much of a factor for NBA teams anymore- or Kofi would have been a first round pick

www.espn.com

2023 NBA mock draft: The latest on Charlotte's plans at No. 2

Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson at No. 2? The latest intel on Charlotte's plans for the pick.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
#762      
fulton steamer
BashCtIllini said:
PG is not a size, it's not even really a skill set, though the skill set does help. It is a mindset. It is about WANTING to setup teammates, it is about knowing how to do it. It is about knowing where I need to place the pass, not just being able to pass. It is about knowing when to push tempo, and when to slow it down. When to feed the hot hand. They need to know how to read a play developing, how to create a play when everything breaks down. That is what makes a good PG, not just being able to dribble and pass.

I think you're right on with the chucker mentality, and that is my fear with DGL. All of his clips show more of a scorers mentality than a PG mentality. So a guy with the skill set can play PG, but without the proper mentality, you're just a 5th player. A true PG is a force multiplier. They make their teammates better. The elite guys make their teammates better and can kill you themselves.

With the amount of talent on the roster, we don't need an elite PG. We just need a real PG that is good enough offensively that he can't be ignored. I'm not sure we have that guy. Well I feel confident saying we don't have that guy, the question is can we create one? Not that hard to work on your passing, but the mindset shift is more challenging.
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The entire first paragraph is an excellent description. It is a mentality that few have and is difficult to find and even harder to create in someone who is not naturally inclined toward that mentality. I am hoping the Illini can be successful in doing so, but I have serious doubts. Insightful post, (take), Bash.
 
#764      
IllinoisFan733
Let’s bury the Podz talk. If Trent and Damonte don’t come back for their super senior years, Podz would have played more his freshman year and maybe he would of stayed?

Is anybody upset that Trent and Williams came back? I’m not… so let’s chalk it up to extenuating circumstances.

If he was demanding a starting slot or he walked, then the staff made the right call to not guarantee it. Those starting spots should be earned by the play in practice and in games. This is Illinois.
 
#765      
InDaAZ
Evidently, the former player who shall not be named will go down in Loyalty lore as having morphed into the elusive ‘more athletic Larry Bird,’ thus making Underwood the new Bobby Knight.
sarcastic make sense GIF
 
#766      
WyattEarp
InDaAZ said:
Evidently, the former player who shall not be named will go down in Loyalty lore as having morphed into the elusive ‘more athletic Larry Bird,’ thus making Underwood the new Bobby Knight.
sarcastic make sense GIF
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Lol. I think there’s one bottleneck in your comparison…and that is Bird went back to French Lick WAY before he even played there AT ALL. It was way too big; and he got homesick. He more or less just left in the dead of the night I believe.
 
#767      
Goldtop
WyattEarp said:
I can’t decide if you expect the staff to be infallible or not. You’re saying they messed up; but you’re also saying everybody messes up. I guess we agree? I don’t realistically expect them to be infallible do you?

1.) They undoubtedly made assessment(s) based on his level of performance. I wasn’t in practice for the duration of his time here. So I can’t cavalierly say one way or the other. It’s entirely possible he took a leap unbeknownst to the staff. Like you said: stuff happens.

2.) * They however, certainly assessed his potiential talent in their recruitment of him.
Unlike the flagship school in his home state. Other schools as well…
We were ahead of the curve there; and definitely had more vision than a heck of a lot ofschools…at least initially, correct?
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This right here.
 
#769      
Actually...
WyattEarp said:
Lol. I think there’s one bottleneck in your comparison…and that is Bird went back to French Lick WAY before he even played there AT ALL. It was way too big; and he got homesick. He more or less just left in the dead of the night I believe.
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There's a bottleneck in your post and I don't know if it's an autocorrect or a bottleneck and now I'm bottlenecked about it
 
#775      
Poe's Law
ptgrd23 said:
Pods did not look like NBA material at Illinois and at UC Santa Clara he could not get them into the NCAA tourney. They only played 2 power 5 teams - beat 3-29 Cal team and losing to 19-15 UCF.

Somebody is making a huge projection to draft him (even in 2nd round). Maybe his growth plates are still open and he will be 6'9" Larry Bird clone He is only 20.

I guess they would not put him in green room unless somebody is sure.
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But he faired well against Gonzaga and St Mary’s who would be above average P5 teams. The young man had a great season and tonight should be a special night for him as well.

…We now resume the recruiting thread already in progress.
 
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