Yea I wouldn't think so. Pivotal moment Wednesday for us, not so much for any one else recruiting Smith.
Losing this would be a pretty big gut punch. Illinois has a ton of silver medals over the past 5-7 years which is a big reason why we've sucked for so long. If they don't get Smith, I don't know how anyone can be confident about the 2018 guys.
So per Sturdy for what its worth PREDICTION Mark Smith has always wanted to attend Illinois. His family wanted to make sure he was making a sound decision and he has taken visits, explored options and now is ready to make a decision. The bet here is that Smith will choose the Illini on Wednesday night and become the first big recruit for new head coach Brad Underwood.
Supposedly Duke was pushing hard on Smith last night trying to get him to put off his announcement and come visit. Sounds like the announcement is still on for today at 6.
Hell yeah. I feel like his recruitment was even more intense than Tilmon's, because of how late in the process he was. Calipari visited and offered, same with Izzo, and Brad Underwood landed him after just a month on the job. Let's land Badocchi and call it a class (unless a grad transfer wants to join)
Yep. He's thicc. When's the last time we won a recruiting battle this intense? I can't think of one. At first we thought he was in the bag because it looked like only Bruce Weber and Tom Crean were the top competition for him, but then his recruitment blew up. MSU offered and Izzo visited, then Kentucky offered and visited. He visited MSU and left without committing, but it still felt like he was an MSU lean. He even visited Matta and OSU this last weekend. I wasn't even sure about it today, because MSU beat writers (who honestly seem like some of the biggest homers) were scoffing at Loren Tate's article that Smith to Illinois was a done deal. This was so fucking big for Underwood. The fans would have been all over him for not landing Smith and it would have been both understandable and completely unfair. I'm real happy about this.
It's been a while. There have been contested recruitments but nothing that came down to a decision like this. I would have said quentin snyder but then Groce got cucked by pitino on signing day. This is a big deal for Underwood because someone always has to be first. They're going to have a great shot at Ayo
And it should be interesting to see how they recruit nationally. Seemed like Groce's recruiting range shrunk as time went on.
They put out some pretty big offers to national guys. Will be interested to see if Antigua can get them on campus
That would be pretty awkward for all the Illinois writers that have trashed the kid in the past few weeks.
From the alioneye interview with Mark Smith, he seemed hesitant as if to say "that's Underwood's call". Like... he doesn't want to piss off the coach he just signed with. It would probably be more awkward for Tilmon than anyone else. I don't read most articles about Illinois sports, so I'm not sure which Illinois writers trashed Tilmon. What's left to report though? The feel good story was just written by Smith. His re-committment story would probably not contain any feel-good quotes. Just a summary of his shady recruitment.
I don't really care about Tilmon either way, but he's a big body and Illinois could use a big next year.
Underwood mentioned something about how some grad transfers are waiting for the NBA to grade them before they decide if or where they're going to transfer. Two in-state options are intriguing in Marin Maric (NIU big man) and MiKyle McIntosh from Illinois State. We could use the depth and there's hardly any downside to taking a 5th year guy.
No the problem is the teams are shitty so you notice it more. Ohio State guys get in trouble with the law all the time but it doesn't matter because there are 10 more guys right behind them to take their spot.
Sounds like JCL is transferring. Really need to land Alstork today or we are going to be short on bodies.
I'm cool with it. 2018 is a shit year for big men and it's not likely we land someone too much better.
G - Lucas, Frazier G - Smith, Jordan G - Alstork, Kipper F - Black, Vesel F - Finke, E-Boig Yea... we could still use some help
Forgot about him. He is coming off an ACL tear, so it's possible he won't be ready until November or December.