The Illini Basketball Thread

[FirstTimer]

LOL. After this, it makes the rest of your posting look silly. I will not be responding further.

The fuck are you talking about? JJ never mentions Kaminsky.

Also, please show me Rice playing at 280 at Drake.

 

[Parade_Rain]

The fuck are you talking about? JJ never mentions Kaminsky.

No shit, sherlock. I have never stated that JJ specifically mentioned him. JJ mentioned 2^/3*. You however specifically said "...JJ made his thought THEN someone mentioned Kaminsky". Wrong, wrong, wrong you are. Someone mentioned Kaminsky THEN JJ made his thought (about 2*/3* player development).

Also, please show me Rice playing at 280 at Drake.

I can only go by what is reported on weight. The article says he lost 45 pounds. well, here's RR specifically stating what he weighed at Drake-

The biggest difference with Rice has been transforming his body. He says his weight was in the high 260s at Drake. Groce says he’s at about 235 pounds now. (2 years ago in the transfer sitting year)
http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/...ll/2013-02-01/rayvonte-rice-working-hard.html

So even by these reports he dropped a bit over 30 pounds of playing weight. The latest I know of he is at 5% body fat, too.

 

[HighJump31]

I think the point is that if you're pursuing guys like Bill Cole you should have ID'd and gotten a guy like Kaminsky.

Ah Bill Cole. Somehow he was the #90 player in the nation on ESPN. Shame Weber pursued him instead of Robbie Hummel, who by all accounts was waiting for Illinois to recruit him (family ties to the school). But that's hindsight for ya.

 

[FirstTimer]

Ah Bill Cole. Somehow he was the #90 player in the nation on ESPN. Shame Weber pursued him instead of Robbie Hummel, who by all accounts was waiting for Illinois to recruit him (family ties to the school). But that's hindsight for ya.

I covered Cole in HS. Good post/mid post player. Decently dominate in HS. Was top 100 his Jr year(barely) but his Sr year he fell out. Never saw the purpose of the Illinois offer in the larger sense. He goes to Illinois and Weber slowly tries to turn him into a 3pt shooter? It was just a square peg round hole. Cole stopped growing though and never really added weight to his frame(something that was obvious was going to be an issue in HS). I think he only put on like 15 pounds in college.

Once they offered and he accepted they had to do SOMETHING with him but the scholarship offer was really odd at the time(His dad played football at Illinois so maybe it was one of those "legacy" offers)...and in retrospect was a complete waste. I also think Cole was a kid they were just looking to fill in the class a bit with because at the time he committed Illinois had Eric Gordon committed as well so Illinois could afford to take a kid like Cole. Gordon decoms and then you can't rescind the offer to Cole so it's tough to pick up the pieces from there. Cole is a really good kid and was a nice player, maybe more suited for a school like Drake, Depaul etc but he's the caliber of player at a Big10 basketball school like Illinois that really shouldn't get off the bench much, yet he was playing major minutes in a key role of sorts(shooter).

 

[FirstTimer]

No shit, sherlock. I have never stated that JJ specifically mentioned him. JJ mentioned 2^/3*. You however specifically said "...JJ made his thought THEN someone mentioned Kaminsky". Wrong, wrong, wrong you are. Someone mentioned Kaminsky THEN JJ made his thought (about 2*/3* player development).

You're mentally unstable.

"That is literally the exact opposite of what occurred"

I can only go by what is reported on weight. The article says he lost 45 pounds. well, here's RR specifically stating what he weighed at Drake-

.

Drake's official roster never had him over 240. Look at pictures of him at Drake. Tell me he was 260 with a straight face. The funny thing is that article mangles a quote from Rice. He ballooned up when he transferred, not when he was actually playing at Drake. He got fat after his last season at Drake. He wasn't actually playing at 267.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...1_ray-rice-rayvonte-rice-champaign-centennial

 

[Parade_Rain]

You're mentally unstable.

"That is literally the exact opposite of what occurred"

It's not my problem you struggle to read posts in numerical order.

Drake's official roster never had him over 240. Look at pictures of him at Drake. Tell me he was 260 with a straight face. The funny thing is that article mangles a quote from Rice. He ballooned up when he transferred, not when he was actually playing at Drake. He got fat after his last season at Drake. He wasn't actually playing at 267.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...1_ray-rice-rayvonte-rice-champaign-centennial

Of course not. The 2010 class was locked up before Rayvonte's breakout junior season. There were no scholarships to be had. Other teams weren't exactly busting down the door to offer Rayvonte a scholarship, either. He received zero Big Ten offers. His best suitors were VCU and SLU. It appeared that many other schools had doubts about a 6-foot-2 small forward whose weight was ballooning. Rayvonte settled for Drake.
http://www.thechampaignroom.com/illinois-basketball/2014/1/30/5358762/rayvonte-rice-bruce-weber

He regularly had problems. The fact is he has never been as chiseled in the off-season as with Groce. Training/Player development. You can continue your charade, but I won't be discussing anything further with you.

 

[FirstTimer]

He regularly had problems. The fact is he has never been as chiseled in the off-season as with Groce. Training/Player development. You can continue your charade, but I won't be discussing anything further with you.

I never mentioned "training". Ever.

"You are literally mentally unstable"


Rice was a hell of a player at Drake and did not play at 260lbs. I fail to see what part of Rice's game "developed" under Groce.

 

[JimJohnson]

Lots of movement on 247 Sports with regards to Coleman going to Illinois. Jerry Meyer switched his crystal ball prediction today from UNLV (long thought to be the leader) to Illinois. Coleman visits Illinois next weekend.

 

[HighJump31]

Coleman is visiting THIS weekend with Elijah Thomas.

Jeff Johnson tweeted this a while ago "Sure sounds like the Illini hoop zealots could be getting fed soon....hungry, very hungry."

 

[HighJump31]

Elijah Thomas told Eric Bossi that the Illini are his leaders.

Illinois is selling Jalen Coleman on being a point guard, combo guard in our ball screen offense. Which seems to be working. He was still on campus today.

Meanwhile, Jawun Evans' mentor Lamont Simmons tells Daily Illini writer Alex Roux that John Groce will be in Texas Tuesday for an in-home visit. Also, Simmons says that he could see Evans playing alongside Coleman. Unlike Evans and Brunson.

 

[HighJump31]

And a few Crystal Ball picks are switching back to Illinois for Elijah Thomas, including Jerry Meyer. Gonna be a few days or so before the rest of the 247 guys will switch it to Illinois, since it was Rivals that got the quote from Thomas saying Illinois was his leader.

 

[JimJohnson]

Jalen Coleman has committed to the University of Illinois. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=169&f=2616&t=13180400&p=1

What a class so far. If we can round it with Evans and Thomas, Holy Shit!!!!!! We're Back!!!

 

[FirstTimer]

Great pick up. These are the type of guys Groce needs to target.

 

[HighJump31]

Amazing pick up by Groce. 5 star guard on 247. Out of INDIANA. When was the last time we got a big time player out of Indiana? That's three commits so far this class. Two for sure spots left available for four guys: Elijah Thomas, Jawun Evans, Carlton Bragg, and Doral Moore. Gotta think Thomas takes one of them.

EDIT: according the the twitterverse, it's been 30 years since there's been an Indiana player on the Illinois roster. Wow. It was Scott Haffner in 1984.

 

[HighJump31]

Actually...

Hoops Hype Canada ‏@HoopsHypeCA 1h

Illinois lands 5-star American prospect Jalen Coleman (La Lumiere) huge component for luring 16' Jamal Murray to reclassify to 2015

Jamal Murray is a stud PG

 

[HighJump31]

Comparisons I've seen so far for Coleman: Jamal Crawford, Steph Curry, Ben Gordon. I'll take any of those.

Illinois now has commits from arguably the best two shooters in the Midwest- Coleman and Aaron Jordan.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Jalen Coleman has committed to the University of Illinois. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=169&f=2616&t=13180400&p=1

What a class so far. If we can round it with Evans and Thomas, Holy Shit!!!!!! We're Back!!!

Yep. Solid class already. If they got one or both it would have to be considered the best ever in IL history, wouldn't it?

 

[JimJohnson]

Yep. Solid class already. If they got one or both it would have to be considered the best ever in IL history, wouldn't it?

If they get both, absolutely.

 

[JimJohnson]

FYI, Elijah Thomas re-tweeted the Jalen Coleman verbal announcement.

 

[HighJump31]

Yep. Solid class already. If they got one or both it would have to be considered the best ever in IL history, wouldn't it?

I got curious so I looked at our classes since 2002 (first year Scout started). Here are the five best since '02 (in chronological order):

2002
5* #5 PG Dee Brown
4* #12 PG Deron Williams
4* #11 C Aaron Spears
4* #14 PF James Augustine
3* NR PF Kyle Wilson

2003
4* #7 SG Rich McBride
4* #14 SF Brian Randle
4* #18 PF Warren Carter

2009
4* #12 SG DJ Richardson
4* #15 SG Brandon Paul
3* #31 SG Joseph Bertrand
3* #34 PF Tyler Griffey

2010
5* #6 C Meyers Leonard
4* #4 SF Jereme Richmond
4* #18 SG Crandall Head

2011
4* #9 C Nnanna Egwu
4* #13 PG Tracy Abrams
4* #15 PF Mike Shaw
4* #18 SF Myke Henry
3* #32 SG Devin Langford
2* NR C Ibby Djimde

Geez, '10 and '11 look good on paper. Those two classes are proof that you gotta stay grounded when it comes to recruiting rankings. I'd say 2002 is the leader right now though.

Let's say we got both Evans and Thomas to close out this class. Here's what our class would look like on 247 (my personal favorite service):
5* #2 PG Jawun Evans
5* #4 PG Jalen Coleman
4* #11 PF Elijah Thomas
4* #14 SF DJ Williams
4* #27 SG Aaron Jordan

Or swap out them two with any of these guys:
5* #4 PF Carlton Bragg
4* #9 C Doral Moore

And if he reclassifies to 2015
4* #6 PG Jamal Murray

We have reason to be excited again about recruiting!