Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[HailtotheChief]

What about 6'7 215 because thats what Morillo actually measured

Will he wasnt listed that on 247 but 215lbs is way to small in mass. We are not the only one with a power 4 the size of Mirk and has some post game. Heck, someone the size of Domask as a 3 will likely eat vs 215lbs. Vs someone like Pherrell Payne, Mirk, a MSU 4, Rez or a Purdue 4 do you really think at 6'7" 215 Morrillo is a real viable quality option to stop them? Good luck because its not going to happen. Mirk and guys his size or bigger with any skill at all would have a field day vs 215lb freshman. Hell Maryland and others killed our much bigger guys than Morillo. It is totally chugging kool aid to expect Morrillo to guard a power 4 guy well. It was hard enough for Ben. I would be concerned if something happenned to Z or either 1 or both of T n mirk are in foul trouble. I hope we add another at the 4/5

 

[NarrowJ]

DJ Wagner to Maryland, they might be solid.

He would’ve been the perfect Ty replacement. Always loved his size and game.

Averaged 7ppg for Arkansas last season

 

[Battle89]

I don’t think that debating whether or not there is a need for another more experienced guard is looking for the negative. It’s a reasonable talking point.

In my limited number of posts on this board I have always been a defender of the positive side. And I still am. I just don’t think it’s negative to say it’s disappointing if we don’t get Blackwell or some other guard to avoid a overreliance on freshmen. Is that greedy? Of course it is.

It is NOT greedy.

Any championship team needs about 1000 things to go right over the course of the year. You need backups and insurance as much as possible.

Michigan did not even blink when Cason went down, because they were so overloaded with talent. Now we may not have the resources they did, but for sure I wanted Blackwell and for sure I want other decent backups in his absence.

The other issue I wonder (this topic definitely came up last year though I’ve not seen it this year) is the overall size of the pot. I believe there was (extra) donor money for Blackwell but does that same money exist for other options? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2045535855314362494

 

[Oldskoolkoach]

If we lose Lee, I'd even more have no idea how people could feel good about not adding anyone. You'd literally have nobody playable after the top 8.

That is, in the off-season (who knows what develops as things progress).

Would feel like a major settle, IMO.

Ya, we played 9-14 several times this year in the last few minutes of the game. Important to not get anyone hurt when up by 50 against critter schools like the UC santa Cruz Banana Slugs, evergreen state Geoducks, and Scottsdale Artichokes.

Very few teams play more than 8, but we are wanting 15 guys each making 1-5 mil, all B10, entire All-American team 1st-3rd. National title and then take the team over to NBA Finals and win it too. Dream roster is around 40 million

 

[Illinicpa14]

lol these people comparing Vaaks To KJ when KJ averaged a full 2 more turnovers a game on a better team.

 

[WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?]

Ya, we played 9-14 several times this year in the last few minutes of the game. Important to not get anyone hurt when up by 50 against critter schools like the UC santa Cruz Banana Slugs, evergreen state Geoducks, and Scottsdale Artichokes.

Very few teams play more than 8, but we are wanting 15 guys each making 1-5 mil, all B10, entire All-American team 1st-3rd. National title and then take the team over to NBA Finals and win it too. Dream roster is around 40 million

I don’t think one more bench guard puts our roster over 40 million…. wouldn’t think so, no….

 

[BretMyBeachHouse]

I'm mostly a lurker on here, but I've gotta say some of you try awfully hard to find the negative in most any situation. Why not sit back and imagine the great possibilities of this roster?

You don't have to work hard to find the negative in losing out on a player like Blackwell.

Are we going to be an excellent team? Absolutely. Would we better with Blackwell? Absolutely. Should we all be excited? Absolutely. Can I be both excited and disappointed? Absolutely.

 

[Oldskoolkoach]

I don’t think one more bench puts our roster over 40 million…. wouldn’t think so, no….

A tad sarcastic on my part, perhaps. I would love 15 guys that were all American caliber and run 5 on 5 off at all times, full press, grinnell offense with every shot in less than 10 seconds of half court

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

The bottom of the B10 will indeed remain, very bad.

 

[logjam]

So if Quentin is ranked around 30 and Keaton was ranked 150 should we expect Quentin to be 5 times better...? Asking #insiders for clarity and if we should expect this...asking for a friend...

 

[BuckDitkis]

So it’s 100% over for Blackwell? Or should I be making a blood sacrifice to try and change the fates

 

[IlliniReb]

Our system does a good job playing to our strengths. If we were a pressure + deny team with our personnel we’d give up 120 a game. (Interestingly enough, my HS team played a huge team in the playoffs that should have been a wall building team, but they were pressure and deny, and we sliced right through them).

We play a pretty solid zone. A little more matchup than traditional for my preferences but it works, especially on BLOBS/SLOBS. That said, for as a good as a rebounding team as we were, even we had the traditional zone rebounding struggle, which in theory is partially negated by the fact that we play more of a matchup zone. We clean that up, there’s even more room for growth defensively.

Dude, always love the knowledge bombs you drop, both offensive and defensive. Wish you'd post more often

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

If we lose Lee, I'd even more have no idea how people could feel good about not adding anyone. You'd literally have nobody playable after the top 8.

That is, in the off-season (who knows what develops as things progress).

Would feel like a major settle, IMO.

LVille did say:

Coleman and Vaaks will be signing in the next few days.

Once the portal closes, still expect one more addition at some point. Who that is, I am not sure yet.

They have eight guys they feel really confident in. Brown or Lee (if he sticks around) can take that 9th spot. If they make one more addition, they will be in the mix for that as well.

 

[wc_illini]

Ya, we played 9-14 several times this year in the last few minutes of the game. Important to not get anyone hurt when up by 50 against critter schools like the UC santa Cruz Banana Slugs, evergreen state Geoducks, and Scottsdale Artichokes.

Very few teams play more than 8, but we are wanting 15 guys each making 1-5 mil, all B10, entire All-American team 1st-3rd. National title and then take the team over to NBA Finals and win it too. Dream roster is around 40 million

UM, Duke, and UConn all played 9 this year. Last year, Florida had a clear top 7 but 3 more with >13% of minutes, while Duke had 10 with over 20%, and Auburn had 8 with >20% but 3 more with 9-13%.

Not saying we're doomed with 8, but I think 9 gives us a better chance (even if just to weather some mid-season injuries or to keep the top 8 fresher without sacrificing our seed). And to end up with 9 we probably have to go into the season thinking we have 10 in case not everything works out the way we hope.

 

[Perry Range's Van]

Can we calculate the correlation here with our current EGS affected posters to those who trashed Mirk’s skills a bit over a year ago?? There were plenty!!

 

[sacraig]

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

You don't have to work hard to find the negative in losing out on a player like Blackwell.

Are we going to be an excellent team? Absolutely. Would we better with Blackwell? Absolutely. Should we all be excited? Absolutely. Can I be both excited and disappointed? Absolutely.

Understandable, but considering everything that went right this week, if disappointed is anyone’s primary emotion, they need to get a grip. (Not directed at you)
Maybe we didn’t hit a grand slam, but we hit a bases clearing double. That’s worth cheering for, IMO.
I fully believe they did everything they could. I also fully believe they think Coleman will be better than anyone else in the portal, and don’t want to risk losing him for a guy who may not be an upgrade…
From a team building perspective, allocating some minutes for these freshmen to fight over in practice is going to make us much better in 2027.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

“inner circles” or agents telling a to-be senior whose already put up big stats on heavy usage, that what’s needed for nba scouts is heavy usage again is so uneducated.

There is a 99.98% chance John Blackwell will not be asked for heavy/carry the team usage in the nba, and that’s no slight because that’s reserved for literally the 8-9 best basketball players on the planet.

What would make him more appealing is being an integral and big piece in winning. If it’s true that’s the advice he’s getting, it’s bad advice and someone wildly naive on what front offices look for at that level

 

[Trueblue777]

I think it’s really important Z takes a step up next year, puts on muscle, gets stronger. Especially at his base. Also he matures and shoots the 3 at a 33% or + clip. Also further developing his post moves as dog gone it he’s 7’ 2” tall. Nobody will block his shot. I’d like to see him score twice as much in the paint and on putbacks than 3’s. Defensively he’ll be fine if indeed he is stronger and puts on some weight. Fletch! Do your magic!

 

[wc_illini]

At Kalshi, UConn and Florida's championship odds just jumped while Duke's dropped. I see Khamenia is transferring to UConn, but what happened at Florida?

Edit: the jump for UConn happened yesterday evening. Can't get more than four on the graph at one time

 

[DeeIL89]

I remembered reading that some or one of the insiders said that the coaching staff do have a backup plan in place if Blackwell doesn't choose Illinois and that that backup plan was in the portal. Is that still the plan or did the plan change and it is now Quentin Coleman that's Kylan's replacement?

 

[gville90]

Time for my first Kool Aid post. Zero reasons to doubt @LvilleILL1, @Indy Illini Fan - their record speaks for itself.

But as an “outsider” for some reason I’m still (foolishly?) holding out hope that we land Blackwell. Things don’t seem to add up. If our read on Blackwell is true (i.e. he wants to win)…..

1. Contention: haven’t heard he’s canceled the IL visit yet. Staff, players, his Dad, the Flyin’ Illini, can push in all remaining chips on this final piece and sell the vision.

2. Usage: Louisville/Duke/etc. aren’t exactly short on talent either — not sure those situations are dramatically cleaner for his camp.

3. Bag: sounds like were competitive. And who knows… a legacy who catapults his Dad’s Alma Mater to a prohibitive preseason favorite? Extra NIL?

4. Winning: of the finalists, Illinois offers Blackwell the most predictable path to a natty

To be clear — the current roster is already . What a time to be an Illini fan: already set up to be elite and hoping to push into that “inevitable” tier.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

 

[Second place is 1st loser]

I remembered reading that some or one of the insiders said that the coaching staff do have a backup plan in place if Blackwell doesn't choose Illinois and that that backup plan was in the portal. Is that still the plan or did the plan change and it is now Quentin Coleman that's Kylan's replacement?

I think roster that you see is what we're rolling with short of adding an end of the rotation guy should Lee call it a day. I guess we'll find out in the 20th. Isn't that the last day to hop in the portal?

 

[Illin1]

The way I see it, this level of retention, adding Vaaks, and the added freshman have us easily in the running for title contention.

Adding Blackwell would just push us a bit more up the ladder, but it certainly shouldn’t be a be all-end all for us.