Anyone catch this kid over the weekend? He led Simeon to the state title, and he's only a junior. I'd love to see him in an Illini uniform in 2 years.

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"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." ~ H.L. Mencken

Simeon has a $200 million school? Holy shit, how about spreading it around to some of the other schools.

it's too bad Illinois has been checked off his list of schools. Interesting how Indiana is in his top five. I hope this doesn't spell trouble for Eric Gordon retracting his commitment to Illinois if Rose chooses Indiana. Supposedly, they are pretty tight.

It seems Rose is going to be at the Orange & Blue Scrimmage tonight and they are reconsidering Illinois.

From the downstate Herald & Review -

Derrick Rose, who previously did not include Illinois on his list of five finalists, is making an unofficial campus visit along with brother, Reggie, who is helping Derrick through the recruiting process.

"Sometimes you have to step back and re-evaluate the whole process," Reggie Rose told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We don't want to look back after it's all over and realize we made the wrong decision.

"We have discussed it with some close confidants and believe Illinois is a great place. The school has a great program, and it is in our home state. And no decision would be valid without giving Illinois a serious look."

It's eerie how these comments echo what Gordon said about Indiana before his decommitment to Illinois. I still think Rose is going to Memphis, but as an Illini fan, I still hold out some hope. The guy is a stud.

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You know me like that.

"We"

Didn't you know? It's a package deal. One scholarship gets you Reggie spotting up for 3s on the kickout from Derrick's penetration...

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You know me like that.

haven't had a chance to listen to the radio, did Rose finally make a commitment? Memphis, right?

Yes, Rose is headed to Memphis. And this is why Weber should be fired:

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Don't tell me the guy who believes the WTC was blown up by the government is going to accept this statement on its face. Look at the schools on his list and tell me where you would rank Memphis as an attraction to a young man. Now this does not make you question the decision a little bit?

For the record, I don't believe the government blew up the WTC. I simply don't believe the official 9/11 story as it has been told by the U.S. government.

I'm not sure what you mean about Rose's list. His final 3 schools were Indiana, Illinois and Memphis, no? Cal was another school he was considering, but they were a distant 4th. If I had to choose between his top 3, I would go with Memphis, too. It has the best combination of recruiting and coaching, so there's also a great chance to make an immediate national impact.

And I do think the Illini's recruiting of Rose somehow changed recently. Why else would Rose have first taken the Illini off his list and then come to visit several weeks later? The goofs on the Illini Board say Rose was just playing Weber, but they'll say anything except the obvious--Weber can't recruit! Every top Illinois H.S. player has gone somewhere else during Weber's tenure, and he isn't getting elite out-of-state players, either. Illini fans better pray that he can win with the 2nd- and 3rd-tier talent he's getting because as the Illini get further away from their Final 4 appearance, Weber is even less likely to be able to attract top recruits than he is now.

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Another thing I will add is that Wainright is putting together a very impressive recruiting class. He has at least 2 top 50 players coming while Weber has only recruited 1 top 50 guy in his entire tenure. Once DePaul becomes a fixture in the top 25--and that should happen next year if not this year--Illini Nation will start getting really pissed, especially if the Illini fall off, as many anticipate.

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DePaul's recruiting class ranked #16 by Scout; Illini nowhere to be found and trailing at least five other Big 10 schools:

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=9&cfg=bb&c=14&yr=2007

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