Gonna be interesting to see what happens with the big recruits still out there and the grad transfers (well, all transfers). Hoping Mizzou lands Ramey and Ryan Turner and Jontay comes back. I also wouldn't hate if Pinson didn't sign and we add Mark Smith.
As of now, certainly. We have Geist as our primary ball handler right now and are bringing in Pinson. In two years that could change, especially if we get Ramey and then there are a couple combo guard types, such as Mario McKinney, that we’re after. We’ve also been in on Rocket Watts and DJ Carton in 2019. I think McKinney is going to be a Tiger regardless, but Smith would definitely get minutes at PG even if we get Ramey.What's the PG situation at Missouri? Will Smith be able to step in at PG in two years based on how things look now? That's one thing that went wrong at Illinois, which is really stupid.
As of now, certainly. We have Geist as our primary ball handler right now and are bringing in Pinson. In two years that could change, especially if we get Ramey and then there are a couple combo guard types, such as Mario McKinney, that we’re after. We’ve also been in on Rocket Watts and DJ Carton in 2019. I think McKinney is going to be a Tiger regardless, but Smith would definitely get minutes at PG even if we get Ramey.
Missouri landed Mark Smith from Illinois. However, the Ramey saga continues. Smith thinks he can help Mizzou recruit Ramey and 2019 target EJ Liddell (who I think will be going to Mizzou). Rumors were that Ramey and Smith didn't want to play on the same team, but they played AAU together and I think could coexist. Getting both might hurt the chances of adding McKinney (another 2019 recruit), but I don't think it will too badly.
Women's Soccer school, tbh. Or at least I think they were.Does Ramey plan on playing mainly PG? If so, that's not going to work with Smith. One of Smith's biggest issues (or it sounds like it was his dad) with Underwood was that he didn't play Mark at PG, even though Illinois had a freshman PG that averaged 14.1 ppg, 4 apg, and 1.5 steals per game... but yeah, Smith should play PG. Lol. Sorry, so salty about that situation. Not that he left or went to Missouri, but hearing why his dad is so mad is freakin hilarious. Too funny, and sounds like a kid that's going to have a lot of issues wherever he goes, at least if he dad continues to be the same way. As for Ramey, my guess is that he ends up back at Louisville. I could be wrong, but I don't think it'll be Missouri. I've seen situations play out like that for Illinois as well, and it doesn't seem to end very well. But it's recruiting, so who knows lol, especially with a weird recruitment like that.
I know Illinois has Bryce Golden on an official visit this weekend, which would be a great pick-up. And they're still working on Okoro, and I think Illinois is in a better position than you indicate - though I agree that Oregon and Purdue are pretty tough to beat at this point.
Besides that, no idea on many 2019 targets. Things are going to change with the Liddell's of the world, so I really don't try to look too much into those recruitment yet. Not worth it considering how much his mind could change in the next month. I really don't even know that many more of the Illini targets in 2019 lol. Been so focused on school and football recruiting, I really haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the basketball side. Which is funny because Illinois basketball has a much better chance at being relevant than football, but whatever. We're a golf school anyway.
Women's Soccer school, tbh. Or at least I think they were.
I think the idea that Cuonzo is selling is that there wouldn't be a true lead guard, but that both guys would get a ton of the ball. The nice thing is that he can point to this past year as proof, because Geist and Robertson both got a lot of the ball. Smith also will be taking a year off, so who knows. Theoretically getting both could hurt the chances of landing McKinney, but that's for the future to worry about.
I do think Illinois is in a good position with Okoro, but I would say the same about Mizzou. Okoro has gone on record talking about Mizzou recruiting him, which is a good sign.
I could write a novel about Liddell, but I think Mizzou is in the pole position, although that could change. Not sure about Illinois targets beyond that. I like basketball recruiting better than football recruiting because I think it's easier to follow.
The Ramey saga is interesting because he released a top 10 - which is laughable at this stage of recruitment - and many teams then removed themselves either by taking a guard or explicitly, in the case of Louisville. However, Louisville then came back around and is visiting Ramey tomorrow. Texas was in yesterday. Missouri was in today. He has two official visits left, having taken one to Oklahoma State and Texas. It seems like these are the four teams left. I still think he ends up at Mizzou. He'll have a chance to play big minutes immediately and be surrounded by talent while being close to home.
If you haven’t heard already, here’s how it’s going to work: The league will keep an 18-game schedule, and play its first 14 games as normal. That means each team will play the other 13 CUSA teams once, plus its travel partner an additional time. After that, the remaining four games will have pre-determined dates, but matchups will be made based on the league standings at the time. That means the top five teams in the conference will play each other, teams 6-10 will do the same thing, and teams 11-14 after that.
As for the conference tournament, teams 1-5 in the standings after 14 games will be guaranteed no worse than the 5 seed, and teams 6-10 will be guaranteed no worse than the 10 seed. This helps ensure that top-tier teams don’t torpedo their tournament position because they lose a few tough games.
www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/ncaa-basketball-rules-new-ranking-system-net-rpi-tournament-seeding-committee/749dmdtkcesf1bbghaav6ch5e
NCAA ditching RPI, adopting NET for determining March Madness seeding
Meh. When Silver ruins the quality of both college and the NBA by foolishly letting 18 year olds go straight into the NBA I won't be watching anyways.
It's McGill
If the draft age becomes 18, the quality of college could improve, because the smarter, more serious players will play 2-4 years of college ball.
You can still see how tight his handle has gotten, his touch around the rim, & how laterally quick he is. I’m still really skeptical about his shot’s release point, but I’m buying him as a perimeter defender and point forward. The kid has vision.
Nassir Little is still my dude, I mean just look at the release point on his pull up:
With his defensive intensity, length, athleticism, & b-ball IQ, I’d love to have him next to KP, Knox & Frank. But Zion looks like what I imagine a young Barkley looked like for those old enough to have watched him in his youth.
The kid is like Larry Johnson if grandmama could turn gravity off when he plays.