_________________

Grabbing the kids off Simeon not named Jabari Parker hasn't worked out too well so far.

_________________

Jabari Parker didn't even give them the complimentary hometown visit. DJ Williams is the most talented of the Simeon guys that they have signed in recent yrs. I hope the kid pans out but I never really had much hope for Dunn or Tate. Dunn is a piece but the problem with him was that he was marketed out of high school as though he was a difference maker. They need pro prospects and they don't have one on the team unless Somehow Hill slips in. The problem with the Simeon pipeline is that they don't have any blue chippers on deck. They have major division 1 players but they don't have one player in the system that will be a major contributor at the college level. Illinois has hitched their wagon to them and I believe that it may have alienated them from other members of the public league. Tate is not a U of I player.

_________________

They need to get the Morgan Park guard Lovett.

_________________

Yes they do.

_________________

Marcus Lovett went for 45 on 20-for-27 shooting today in the tourney.

Illinois needs to get this guy. There's discussion on whether he could get into UofI.

If he doesn't, we're being WAAAYYY too honest and above board these days.

_________________
You know me like that.

Michael O'Brien ‏@michaelsobrien 57m57 minutes ago
LoVett saw #Illini assistant Paris Parham watching at center court. “I looked over at him a few times"

Hey, long time guy, make sure Parham is dangling car keys or throwing money in the air next time he looks over.

_________________
You know me like that.

Don't forget the hookers!!!

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Sure. Throw some hookers in the air, too.

_________________
You know me like that.

Iowa has a Simeon kid coming (Moss) and a De La Salle kid also (Hutton). I'm guessing Groce didn't want either of them.

Lost Illini recruit Wayne Blackshear losing to UC Irvine.

Wouldn't he have rather gone to Illinois and not been in the tournament at all? Save the embarrassment?

_________________
You know me like that.

Lost Illini commit Quentin Snider hits two free throws to give Louisville a last second lead against UC Irvine.

Wouldn't he rather have less stress?

_________________
You know me like that.

I'm not sure the Moss kid is a Big Ten player.

_________________

That is what was said about Aaron White also. Just sayin.

I watch a lot of (mostly bad) high school basketball. I have seen Moss play both at Lincoln-Way East and Simeon. Never once watching him did I think Big Ten Player. He struggled to break the starting lineup at Simeon until this year.

_________________

Is that a product of the system or the player?

I will reserve judgment until I see how he fits Iowa's plan for him. Just like I did with White.

Looks like Illini fans will have the last laugh on Alexander as year 2 of his post high school career will be spent in some backwater D league town for a modest salary.

I can only hope an Illinois grad is his boss when his life's work begins in about 2 years.

I'm sure that shit heel of a dad will continue to be there in support of his son as he was on signing day.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I feel bad for the kid. They probably figured that he was a one and done guy. I'm sure that they believed that he'd be a top ten pick. I'm a little familiar with the key players involved in this situation and it was ugly from the beginning. The dad was fresh out the penitentiary and he took over the kids recruiting after not really being around. His intentions were made clear to everyone that was interested in his son. There were no pretenses. Now the kid is going to suffer because he needs another year of development and he is not going to get it. Bill Self didn't do him any favors either by bringing him off the bench. He was the #2 player in the country and he was playing behind a five year guy that most people wouldn't know was even on the team.

_________________

I'd like to be sympathetic. He is only a kid. If it was simply a matter of him going to another school there wouldn't be animosity towards him. However, he decided to be an ass about it. I'm not really even an Illini guy and I thought it was outrageous.

Well, I hope Kansas is there for him in his time of need and that time of need is most assuredly coming. There aren't a lot of guys dominating the power forward position at his height and with his lack of range

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

His ceiling appears to be Kenneth Faried. If he is that good then that will be a bonus. His motor has been questioned though. To think it was just a year ago when a number of people were saying that he was better than Okafor. There were a number of people saying that and now there is no debate. It took less than a year for that argument to be killed. Not only is that settled he now appears to be fighting for his NBA life which is something none of them would have thought was the case just last yr.

_________________

Looks like Colbert is transferring out and they are getting a transfer in from Charlotte at 6"11 270. Lots of goings on down in Champaign.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

They have been doing a lot of that lately. It's some quirky NCAA rule which allows you to transfer and play immediately if you have athletic eligibility remaining after graduating from college. Illinois has really taken advantage of that rule. There isn't any buzz around the program though. No really big recruits on the horizon or anything.

_________________

LoVett would be a good get but I don't think he's coming.

_________________
You know me like that.

Nope, he's just breathing heavy.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

They need him. They have to begin to get blue chip type players. Too many mid majors. Jalen Tate is a UIC kind of guard. I can remember when someone related to him dissed the coaching staff because he was not playing. I wanted to tell him that Paris should never have recruited him in the first place. Now I read where Kenny Battle is now taking shots and to be honest there is a lot of truth to what he said.

_________________

I guess I was a bit surprised initially since Kansas and Kentucky had interest in him but I can see why going to Illinois would be a plus for him getting more
playing time and having a much bigger role for a Big Ten team.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

From ESPN..... Brief 2015-16 preview.



It’s never too early to start to look ahead to next season. Over the coming weeks, we will examine what comes next for each team in the Power 5 conferences and also those outside the Power 5 who could make noise on the national stage. Today: the Illinois Fighting Illini.

What ailed the Illinois Fighting Illini is really quite simple: In a game where the object is to put the ball in the basket, the Illini could not, and to almost Seussian extremes.


Point guard Tracy Abrams is expected to return after missing last season with an ACL tear. Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire

Illinois could not shoot it here nor there, the Illini could not shoot it anywhere. Not inside the arc (41 percent), and not out (35 percent). Though they could shoot it standing still (NCAA-leading 79 percent at the free throw line).

No surprise, then, they couldn’t score, either. Illinois averaged only 69.5 points per game for the season, and in a disastrous slide to finish the season – losses to rival Purdue, Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and Alabama in the first round of the NIT – only 57.

All of that added up to a pedestrian 19-14 finish overall and a 9-9 record in the Big Ten, leaving the fan base a little more than restless.

So the question going forward is, how does John Groce solve the problem, especially with Rayvonte Rice, his leading scorer and best shooter, gone?

The hope is that experience matters. The bulk of the roster is back for Groce and will be fortified by transfers, recruits and the return of point guard Tracy Abrams, who missed all of last year with a torn ACL.

But how significantly can the Illini change? That’s the big question.

What the immediate future holds: The secret to the Illini’s future, both immediate and long term, is the same as it has been for decades – winning the in-state and the inner-city recruiting battles.

For years, Illinois didn’t even make the short list for kids coming out of Chicago. Groce slowly is changing that. The big ones – Jabari Parker, Cliff Alexander, Jahlil Okafor and, this year, Jalen Brunson – continue to get away, but Groce at least is making inroads.

His incoming recruiting class is ranked 20th in the nation and includes two ESPN 100 players, and maybe more critically, two guys from Chicago.

Simeon graduate D.J. Williams played high school ball with his future college teammates, Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate and is a small forward with a skilled mid-range game.

Aaron Jordan, meanwhile, is a four-star recruit who not only has the right address but, with a good outside stroke, might help solve the Illini’s shooting riddle.

Illinois remains on the short list for Marcus LoVett Jr., a top-25 point guard also from Chicago. Last month, he tweeted his list in order, placing the Illini behind St. John’s and Memphis. If he swaps the pick, his addition to the class – which also includes shooting guard Jalen Coleman, ranked 34th in his class – would give Illinois an exceptionally strong incoming class.

The freshmen won’t be the only help that’s on the way. Abrams’ return is a huge boost for the Illini. Though Groce is still shopping for a point guard (they lost out on graduate transfer Johnny Hill to Purdue), Abrams is a solid player who brings experience to the position. Before the ACL injury, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.2 assists per game.

Illinois also adds Charlotte transfer Mike Thorne. The big man is a huge addition as the Illini replace Nnanna Egwu. The 6-foot-11 Thorne averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds for Charlotte last season and was a much-coveted graduate transfer who also was on Kansas’ wish list. Redshirt Michael Finke also will be a help inside.

The Illini are loaded at the wing spot – with Nunn, Tate, Malcolm Hill all back – though they failed to add graduate transfer Dylan Ennis. The Villanova guard opted instead for Oregon.

So what does that all add up to for the Illini and reasonable expectations? That’s the tricky part. This looks like a good team, NCAA tournament-good, even. The parts are all there, as is the right mixture of youth and experience. And the Big Ten, while top-heavy once again, looks more wide open in the middle, which means the Illini ought to be able to jockey for position.

But all of those hopes, wishes and promises hinge on one simple thing: Illinois has to put the ball in the basket.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

OK.

_________________
You know me like that.

_________________