Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#254      
Illini4Christ
For anyone who interested in getting a hotel room in San Antonio, Texas for next April 5, and 7 2025. Here is a list of your choices.

 
#256      
LTUtd

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#258      
AirNeazy
illini0440 said:
Some people in the world of evaluations and rankings said Kasparas would be a no doubt 5 star top 20 prospect. Add the fact that he has been mostly playing against older and better comp that prep prospects.
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Not gonna lie, to me the best part about grabbing these Euro guys is they have actual experience in playing in Euro style-systems (often against older competition) vs. the hellscape of AAU ”development" nowadays that our homegrown peeps have to go through.

There's a reason why 4/5 of the top players in the NBA are foreign born, without AAU having drilled terrible habits into them from a young age (Jokic, Doncic, Giannis, Embiid* who came here when he was 16).
 
#260      
skyIdub
LTUtd said:
For Kasparas, the accent would be on the first syllable (KAS-pahr-us). Not that it matters though, but it's how we Lithuanians pronounce that name.

Perfect pronounciation:
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Thanks for joining us!!

Can you tell me the current price of cottage cheese in Lithuania? Asking for a friend.

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#263      
abchew2
honestly the thing I will miss most from last years team is TSJ defense when he is at the top of his game. I will be watching closely to see what steps Ty takes on that end as I kind of expected more from him. I believe Boswell is great on that end but that is just what I’ve heard. I think this team will put up points at will. I just hope having a true center at 7 ft matching up with bruisers helps keep the defensive lapses less common.
 
#264      
Brosky
This team is going to annoy plenty of play-by-play guys.
 
#265      
IlliDan
3nDGuy said:
With KJ on board, this team has a ton of versatility. Two(!) natural lead guards, size, and shooters everywhere. Me likey.
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I'm not a CBB general manager,to me this has the ingredients of a championship contending team.One of BU talents is roster construction ,with my rose colored glasses on I see this teams ceiling being very high.
 
#267      
Trueblue777
Fan Since '70 said:
We'll see. However IMO, I anticipate JK will be more ready to contribute and play at a high level than freshmen Ayo, Trent or Deron.
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I’m with you not expecting Marcus Domask part ll right out of the gate. He’s definitely a better passer and ballhandler than Domask right now. Give him time to get acclimated.
 
#269      
Brosky
I think I misspoke earlier. Let's just say this team will have a lot of players getting a lot of minutes. The November games will be for Underwood's mixing, matching and blending. The starting lineup by December may look a lot different than those earlier games. The players are learning but so is Brad.
 
#271      
NarrowJ
Trueblue777 said:
I’m with you not expecting Marcus Domask part ll right out of the gate. He’s definitely a better passer and ballhandler than Domask right now. Give him time to get acclimated.
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Marcus Domask wasn't actually Marcus Domask (the one we now know) right away either. I think as of Christmas '23 he was averaging single-digit points on sub-40 percent shooting.

If it takes him the preseason schedule to get rolling, we'll still be just fine imo.
 
#272      
Brosky
LTUtd said:
New user here, from Lithuania. Registered after I heard Jakučionis committed to Illinois. I believe he's going to be a great fit to the American style of basketball. Šarūnas Jasikevičius, who's currently one of the best coaches in Europe, has said a couple days ago that he thinks Jakučionis is the future PG for the Lithuanian national team. He's typically not the one to hype any young players too much.

Jakučionis might not be a prodigy at any 1 skill (although his vision is very good), but he does a lot of things at a very good level on both sides of the floor. Good character kid too, high motor.
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Welcome to the fray.
 
#273      
redwingillini11
As one of half-Lithuanian descent, I couldn't be more thrilled with this final piece of the 2024-25 team!!! WELCOME KASPARAS!!

I've always been saying we should tap into the Lithuanian connection to Chicago to bring in solid prospects from the country, although I'm sure being aware of and tapping into the Lithuanian-American community in the Chicago area was understandably never on the radar of the staff. Nevertheless, now is as good a time as any to open up the pipeline!

This is a fantastic ending to another stomach turning transfer season. BU and the staff certainly have earned our trust. That doesn't mean I am going to like the process. It is nerve wracking watching 98% of the top tier talent get locked up before we get our primary guy, and it doesn't seem likely that a 10/10 bombshell will walk in the door 5 minutes to closing time every year. But all the credit to BU for waiting things out for the quality player and not jumping the gun and getting into a bad situation. I am so thankful for him as a coach and I can't wait to watch this team take the court this fall.
 
#274      
ILLforever
redwingillini11 said:
As one of half-Lithuanian descent, I couldn't be more thrilled with this final piece of the 2024-25 team!!! WELCOME KASPARAS!!

I've always been saying we should tap into the Lithuanian connection to Chicago to bring in solid prospects from the country, although I'm sure being aware of and tapping into the Lithuanian-American community in the Chicago area was understandably never on the radar of the staff. Nevertheless, now is as good a time as any to open up the pipeline!

This is a fantastic ending to another stomach turning transfer season. BU and the staff certainly have earned our trust. That doesn't mean I am going to like the process. It is nerve wracking watching 98% of the top tier talent get locked up before we get our primary guy, and it doesn't seem likely that a 10/10 bombshell will walk in the door 5 minutes to closing time every year. But all the credit to BU for waiting things out for the quality player and not jumping the gun and getting into a bad situation. I am so thankful for him as a coach and I can't wait to watch this team take the court this fall.
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So happy to get Kasparas! Though we'll miss those rocket speed drives to the hoop by TSJ, I think this team can make up the difference by being a better passing and overall shooting team.
 
#275      
ptgrd23
these were really Brad's choices. I am sure he would have loved to run it back there with TSJ, Marcus, Coleman, Quincy and Ty but that was not an option.
Don't forget we have Humirichous and Morez Johnson coming in as well plus Ty and DGL. That is 9 solid players.

Hated to see Dain, Amani, Luke, Jase and Sencire leave but they were not willing to fight for playing time. Dain is a throwback low post guy that does not fit into Brad's offensive vision. Amani and Sencire were tied to Chester . Luke is an Indiana born an bred who is living his dream to play for IU. No idea about Jase. Just changed his mind.

I do think we have better roster than if Dain, Amani, Luke , Jase and Sencire stayed plus Morez, Ty , DGL and Nico. Maybe we still get Boswell but that team does not have upside of our new roster.
 
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