Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#302      
We are in the dawg days of cottage cheese discussions. Whooo boy!
My all time favorite with the cottage cheese…
pineapple GIF
 
#304      
I see many have reached the "We never wanted that guy anyway" IL Loyalty stage for Blackwell. It's the same every year.

I'd very much like him in the starting lineup. With all the money that has been spent on the roster so far, why not go all the way and put together what could be an all-time lineup for IL basketball if the only issue to get Blackwell is money?
 
#305      
Quite a different vibe these days in Tucson than Champaign/Urbana. Cats could possibly lose their entire rotation.

I certainly appreciate the culture and team play that this Illini team and staff developed over the past two years. It has proven to be very special. No guarantees that it will continue, but it is a diamond in the rough at the elite level.
 
#310      
I have waited long enough and can’t believe that no one from central Illinois has given the correct answer………pork and beans.
 
#312      
Lmfao...anyone here that actually.....really.......honestly, believes that a Final Four team returning 65-70% of it's production from the most efficient offense in CBB history....THAT ALSO ADDED a Top 5 portal guard AND 2 top 10 (position) freshman SG's AND Wisconsin Mr. Basketball AND a top 25 (position) combo guard....isn't competing for a NC......needs to take the weekend off of this board.

Sure, I get it's your "opinion", but it's really dumb.

I'll bet all of my Loyalty Beach houses and a gallon of your favorite cottage cheese we will receive pre season #1 votes.
Yeah, our current roster definitely seems good enough to compete for a NC, though that's a subjective term. We're currently somewhere between #4 and #7 in odds, so the consensus there is that it would take more to put us ahead of or equal to the top teams (UM and Duke). It sounds like we are still considering an addition, so I'll hold off on saying much until we see what that is.
 
#316      
Matt Mayer was good. It's not his fault that he was forced to operate in a role and take tough shots because he they had no guards on the roster.

Skyy Clark quit in December, Jayden Epps got progressively worse and then basically quit on the team towards the end, Sincere Harris was atrocious on offense.

That team was basically entirely Shannon and Mayer. Coleman was not good that year, Melendez sucked, Ty was a freshman, and so on.

Mayer would have been a monster if you put him in the Guerrier role the next year or if he got to play with as the 4 next to Kofi.
Mayer openly said the awful shots he took and missed were actually great based on his own analytics. Not the teams analytics, his own.

Never been happier to see a guy never wear the orange and blue again.
 
#318      
Id much rather add a true back up power 4. I know people are saying Morrilo can back up the 4 some but i dont see a 6'7" at best 180lb frame doing that well in the B10. Im not drinking that Kool Aid.
I would love someone besides just Z to back up Tomi and Mirk effectively. He is really the only experienced other big we have. It us especailly concerning iven both Ivisic's leg, ankle and other health issues. For me thats a larger concern than guard play. We have some guys that can fill in to help handle the ball after Vaaks. True size down low its more limited. Only Z has much experience backing up the 4/5. Ben filled that role and now we could use someone beside Jakstys with a frame 6'9" or taller and 250 lbs.
I note some possible transfer big men that are still available. 6'9", 230-pound, sophomore forward Drew Scharnowski (Belmont). He was born in Burlington, IL and went to Camp Point Central HS in rural Adams County. Drew averaged 10.7/6.0//2.6 while shooting 68.1/20.0/43.6 this past season. There's also 6'10", 210-pound, senior forward Kyle Evans (UC Irvine). He averaged 12.1/8.7/0.9 and shot 62.0/20.0/78.8 this past season.
 
#319      
Not concerned about Blackwell. After reading all the posts concerning Quinton and Vaaks, I went in and watched a lot of their tape and came to the conclusion that I am absolutely STOKED for next year. Quinton is absolutely a baller. Vaaks played on a cruddy team. For Vaaks, if he continues to grow on defense, he could work his way into the lottery next year. He is an offensive MACHINE and will be a stud. He is more athletic than I thought and has good handles. He doesn't turn the ball over like K.J did and from my view is a better shooter. An offseason with Fletch will do him wonders.
The problem isn’t Vaaks or Coleman. It’s that we have an extremely light 2nd-unit/bench which provides us very little insurance and no wiggle room.

I can’t find it, but there was a comment earlier basically saying: if we got someone like Adam Miller, would it really make you feel THAT much better. My answer would be an absolute yes.

We need a playable guard off the bench.
 
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#320      
We have a ton of promising freshmen coming in. Hope one of them breaks out. Mirk and Wagler will forever be remembered as one of our best frosh classes. I know some others came in more heralded. But in terms of output, maybe have to go back to Dee and Deron? But they didn’t drive the team to a Final Four in 2003 with a senior Brian Cook.

Mirk and Wagler GOAT’ed.
What’s crazy is that was just after a year when we had two one-and-done first round picks in Riley and KJ.
 
#321      
seems like nobody feels they are the leader for Blackwell
Somewhat interesting.

Now imagine a panel of 5 wise, sage, retired big time college coaches choosing a home for his last collegiate season for him. If you were staking your life on their decision, would you pick any other than Illinois?

However, there are a myriad of influencers selling some very shiney bottles of snake oil.

We truly have no idea what parameters must be met....and they seem to change daily...although that may not be the case. Bottom line at this point is that he may not fit the culture of an unselfish team that only wants to win. But who knows? That also may not be the case.

Maybe this will be another rare case where he ends up at a school not yet mentioned for about half what he could have had. And that also may not be the case.
 
#324      
150 people here have discussed this, but I really wish they were more active in finding another guard. A little more depth at that position would help. As 500 people before me have stated, a 3 and D type guy would be ideal.
Here are a couple of possibilities that may not have been mentioned earlier. 6'4" sophomore PG Christian Bliss (Delaware). He averaged 16.7/5.2/5.9 while shooting 42.4/39.3/84.8 this past season. And 6'3" Junior PG Tylen Riley ((San Jose State). He averaged 15.0/3.9/4.4 this past season.
 
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