Nice of him to throw Depaul a bone. He's gonna pick Kentucky.

He is mormon.

U of I fans are melting down right now about how they couldn't even make his top ten .

I'm guessing Kentucky will offer the highest signing bonus. Duke could always offer a parent a job.

I am an Illinois guy, but I never thought they had a chance. That said, him and his family actually seem like good people. I wouldn't be surprised if he picked a University for reasons other than what you would normally expect from the top HS player in the country (money, family jobs, cars, women, ect.)

I am an Illinois guy, but I never thought they had a chance. That said, him and his family actually seem like good people. I wouldn't be surprised if he picked a University for reasons other than what you would normally expect from the top HS player in the country (money, family jobs, cars, women, ect.)

He's a one year player. Probably not what Illinois needs right now anyway. In a different situation they may have been a player, but I don't consider it a disaster.

but landing a guy like this makes any school more of a desirable destination for others in the future.

True. That was what Richmond was supposed to do.

I think in a different situation they could have been a player. A situation where Illinois has a respected basketball program would've increased their chances one would think.

I don't know either of them personally, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Parker will not be nearly the headache for what ever school lands him......

True. That was what Richmond was supposed to do. Illinois is loaded with high school talent in the next few crops. I really don't see how Groce is an upgrade over Weber.

I don't think in a million years DePaul has a shot at Parker, but stranger things have happened. In a two years he's going to be in the NBA and traveling all the time. He may want to stay close to his family for one final year before that happens.

What do you mean by "respected basketball program"? Respected by whom?

He's still gotta play 2more years of amateur basketball BC.

Still has senior high school season to play.

Good call. 2 years, then. Bulls suck.

Jabari Parker, other top recruits, top coaching prospects, fans, other Big 10 schools, the sporting community in general. It's usually not a sign you are held in high regard when your top 37 coaching choices basically laugh at you and then choose schools like VCU.

I don't think you can claim Top 25 program when you are consistently out of the top 25.

They've been terrible to mediocre since 2005. Maryland has a much stronger program. St John's is comparable. Purdue sorta is but Purdue has had more success. Butler is a better program. I think you can name 30 or more schools that are comparable to Illinois, and another 20 that are indisputably better.

But Butler isn't really a better program in a sustainable way. You know that. I'd probably say Maryland is a better program simply because they play in a conference where hoops is king. But they're really similar to Illinois. And they really haven't been "mediocre to terrible" since '05. In fact, they haven't been close to terrible. They've average over 20 wins per season over that time.

But Butler isn't really a better program in a sustainable way. You know that. I'd probably say Maryland is a better program simply because they play in a conference where hoops is king. But they're really similar to Illinois. And they really haven't been "mediocre to terrible" since '05. In fact, they haven't been close to terrible. They've average over 20 wins per season over that time.

Why isn't Butler sustainable? You think Boise St's football success is unsustainable also?

They have been closer to terrible than good, but you're right. They haven't been either. Mediocre is a perfect word. You have to make the tournament almost every season to be a top 25 program, and you have to have success in the tournament more often than once a decade. The ACC excuse doesn't explain why OSU, MSU, Wisconsin, and probably Indiana and Purdue are all better basketball programs than Illinois.