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It didn't take ESPN college basketball guru Andy Katz' prediction that Illinois will rank No. 15 in the nation in 2011 to stir emotions in Champaign-Urbana. It all began four years ago when coach Bruce Weber changed his recruiting philosophy and persuaded highly touted freshman Jereme Richmond to commit to the Illini program.
Remember Weber, the Gene Keady disciple who could coach but couldn't recruit? Now, in the wake of his recruiting successes in the classes of 2010 and 2011 and perceived underachieving in the Big 10, he is being described as a great recruiter who can't coach. But if Katz is right, fickle Illini Nation will fall in love with Weber once again.
Katz is asking for a lot, however. Purdue and Michigan State are rated 2-3 in his preseason evaluations behind defending NCAA champion Duke. And Ohio State recruited one of the most talented freshman classes in the country.
Katz issued some warnings, too. "There should be no excuse for the Illini this time," he said. "(Demetri) McCamey has to be a better leader. The streakiness with this squad has to stop."
But the arrival of three top 50-caliber players in Richmond, seven-footer Meyers Leonard and Crandall Head to bolster a roster headed by veterans McCamey, Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis and Bill Cole and battle-tested sophomores D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul and Tyler Griffey is enough to make any Illini fan giddy with excitement and anticipation.
"What many would consider some woes this past year at Illinois was partly a result of some misses (Jon Scheyer, Julian Wright, Sherron Collins, Evan Turner, Derrick Rose) in the recruiting game three or four years ago when Illinois did not capitalize on the magical Final Four team of 2005," said recruiting analyst Joe Henricksen of City/Suburban Hoops Report.
"Those recruiting woes have certainly been corrected as we have seen an influx of talent in the past two classes Illinois has signed and the verbal commitments this far in the class of 2011. We will see the type of talent, up and down the program, that was there throughout the first half of this past decade."
Credit must go to Weber for his program-changing decision to adjust his approach to recruiting and his decision to hire former Illini player Jerrance Howard, who has made a difference in Illinois' approach to young prospects as Tony Yates and Jimmy Collins did during the Lou Henson era.
"Recruiting is at an incredibly fast speed now in comparision to when Weber was at Purdue as an assistant coach ormaybe even when he go his first head-coaching job at Southern Illinois," Henricksen said. "The recruiting cycle is at a faster speed and decisions are having to be made earlier than ever before.
"There is no question that Weber and his staff have targeted kids earlier and offered earlier. While some of the misses Illinois had in recruiting were due to some individual circumstances and out of Weber's control, some were due to simply not being in on kids and developing as strong of a relationship with those recruits early on.
"That has changed. Illinois is more aggressive, identifying prospects and hitting it hard at an earlier stage. The kids soak that up. They feel wanted early. And a key in that strategy is that Illinois is establishing those relationships and getting involved before other programs from outside the state have a chance. That's the way it should be with in-state targets."
Henricksen shares Katz' optimism. The talent level slipped in recent years and the on-the-floor results were predictable. But with this year's freshmen, the incoming freshman class and the promising prospects in the class of 2011, the talent level is back.
"I think we will see a big jump with Illinois, beginning the 2010-11 season with a mix of veterans and some terrific young talent," Henricksen said.
The class of 2011 is one of the most talented in memory, perhaps comparable to the star-studded 1979 (Isiah Thomas, Terry Cummings, Teddy Grubbs) or 1998 (Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette, Joey Range) classes.
Illinois has commitments from 6-5 Mycheal Henry of Orr, point guard Tracy Abrams of Mount Carmel and 6-9 Nnanna Egwa of St. Ignatius.
Weber still is bidding for De La Salle's 6-8 Mike Shaw. And fast-rising 6-10 wunderkid Anthony Davis of Perspective and 6-6 Sam Thompson of Whitney Young are on his list. You never can recruit enough size and athleticism. Weber is eager to improve his rebounding and toughness on the front line.
He can't win 'em all, of course. It doesn't figure that Morgan Park's Wayne Blackshear, the state's No. 1 player in the class of 2011, will be wooed away from Louisville. And Henricksen believes "the ship has sailed" on Rock Island guard Chasson Randle. But who knows for certain? Do you think there still is a place for Sterling's Joe Bertrand in all of this?
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Coach Weber's decesion to take another approach with respect to recruiting was an excellent adjustment. Now that the peices are falling in place Coach Weber will have to make the right moves to drive Illinois to the upper excelon of the Big Ten again. Let us remeber that the 2005 squad was actually recruited by Bill Self. So these past 2 classes are more so in effect Webers "best" classes at Illinois. Time to do away with the mid level players such as Shaun Pruitt who do not prove much but come to Illinois with a attitude they have proven everything. In with the top tier prospects that may be a little edgy but yet instill have high ceilings and upsides.
Thats where Illinois fell off the last couple of years. Overvaluing players that came into a situation unprepared. IVe seen Jereme & Brandon Paul play, Ive heard about Leonard, Head and Henry and these kids all are obviously coming to Champaign more prepared skilled and developed.
I look at message boards and the Illini nation speculates as to where the Illini will conlude their season ie. Sweet SIxteen Elight 8 etc. However, Id say be patient hope for at least a top 3 Big Ten finish, Win Their ACC Big Ten Challenge Game get into the tournament and win a game and this Illini squad can do really nice big good things!
Illinois, like many other "major" programs; are in need of a wake up call. In today's world of high profile recruiting... changing your "Modus Operandi" is not the only thing that has to be adjusted for the top prospects to "seriously" consider your program.
By the way, we may want to take a wait-n-see approach, before we begin to compare the 2011 Class against the 30-player depth of Div. I players the Chicago area enjoyed in the Class of 1979.
Back to Illinois...
Illinois, in my opinion, will not be an "annual player" in the top talent pool until it brings in a recruiter whom can seriously relate to players on a national recruiting level. Sure... Illinois will always be in the hunt in the Land Of Lincoln, but; recruiting on the national level is a huge challenge for this particular staff.
Prediction...
St. John's, in a mighty way, will show De Paul why its important to have a staff that is capable of locking down the top area recruits, but; can also take meaningful fishing trips and come back with a big catch recruit on the national level... Take a good look at the St. John's coaching staff make up.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
JERRANCE HOWARD HAS BEEN A GODSEND FOR HIS ALMA MATER, HE HAS THE ABILITY TO BE LIKE HOUDINI IN HIS RECRUITING EFFORTS ASSISTING COACH WEBER!
ILLINOIS LEFT NO STONE UNTURNED RECRUITING JEREME RICHMOND AND CRANDALL HEAD, AND THE MEYERS LEONARD YOUNGSTER HAS A GREAT WORK ETHIC, ILLINOIS DESERVES THIS RATING FROM ANDY KATZ!
ILLINOIS DIDN'T SIT ON THEIR HANDS, THEY LEARNED FROM PAST SITUATIONS AND GOT BETTER IN THEIR RECRUITING EFFORTS!
THE BIG TEN CONTINUES TO BE A SPECIAL PLACE TO PLAY COLLEGE SPORTS, ESPECIALLY ON THE HARDWOOD!
MCCAMEY HAS TESTED THE WATERS (NBA), HE KNOWS HE HAS A BETTER CAST OF TEAMMATES, HE WILL GET THE JOB DONE, HIS DRAFT STATUS DEPENDS ON IT!
HIS FORMER TEAMMATE EVAN TURNER IS GOING TO MAKE SOME SERIOUS CASH NEXT MONTH, MCCAMEY KNOWS THIS COULD BE HIM, A YEAR FROM NOW, HE MUST GET THE FIGHTING ILLINI TO THE BIG DANCE AND BEYOND!
Caps lock dude. seriously.
again
and again
and again
and again
we tire of you shouting at us in ALL OF YOUR POSTS.
Seriously suntimes, why keep posting his yelling?
Curtis, I agree that the Illini need to get more active in national scene. Also agree that DePaul needs more of a local approach. St. Johns did a great job of hiring coaches with local connections. What doesn't DePaul hire a local head coach or ex-CPL player? Especially when they lost a coach recently and replaced him with another Clemson guy. Ugh!
The Illini need a world class point guard. Maybe that will be Tracy Adams in another year. I have watched McCamey play in high school and college. He clearly has a great deal of skill and can dominate at times, but am not sure he is a world class (for college) point guard.I like him better as a Pro. Like Phil I am hoping that seeing his friend Turner become a millionaire in a few weeks will drive him to perform consistently at a high level.
Okay Guys:
You know I have to "tell it like it is". I'm waiting to see Weber win with players he recruited. Then I will sing his praises, and Howard's. Jereme has got to be what he is thought to be, and we will find out soon because in college the great ones stand out early. The big kid has things to prove too. Hopefully, Head gets his head straight because he could be the most talented one. Bonafide players are easy to identify once they perform at the next level. Remember, the last two rookies of the year in the NBA only played one year of college ball so don't tell me how young these kids are. The jury is still out on these recruits.
I am big fan of Coach Weber and believe him to be a very good coach. However, I wonder if he is getting in too deep with recruiting every big name in the state. In order to win there needs to be good chemistry on the team and I wonder how well some of these kids are willing and able to accept roles that are less than they are accustomed to (with the possible exception of the Abrams kid).
As I recall, his national runner-up team had guys (Powell and Augustine,in particular) that were very comfortable being complimentary players. Is this growing list of players that he is recruiting and signing going to be coachable and mature enough to sacrifice stats for the sake of the team? Keep in mind that most blue-chip athletes have never been asked to do that. I've seen the Head kid play several times and he doesn't project as the type of kid who is willing to listen to his coaches and do what's best for the team if it doesn't involve him dominating the basketball.
Again, I am pulling for Weber but I hope he is cognizant, as I'm sure he is, of the type of kid he is getting as well as the physical talent that they possess.
WOULDN'T IT BE NICE IF SEAN T. HAD A COMMENT ABOUT SPORTS ONCE IN AWHILE!
CONGRATS TO DANIEL DAVIE, 2010 NEBRASKA STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPION IN THE 100 AND 200!
I FLEW IN TO SEE HIM IN PERSON, WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND!
DANIEL DAVIE FROM BEATRICE, NEBRASKA, BEATRICE HIGH SCHOOL!
NEBRASKA UNIVERSITY HAD A SCOUT AT THE MEET!
Darnell, team chemistry is tough to determine. You recruit the best players you can. Players who understand that team success is bigger than individual success, and that team success shines a very favorable light on each player. I am not sure if you can recruit chemistry though. You just don't know how someone will react under the pressure of big time college basketball.
Phil, I love your passion and your knowledge and I enjoy reading your comments. You are a terrific poster. However, using all capital letters is just difficult to read and it detracts from your comments. Go lower case if you don't like the shift key. I look forward to reading your comments regarding Taylor's next story.
Is Daniel Davie a junior in high school? Is he a family friend or relative? I know that you have brought him up before as a terrific athlete...and he must be to win both the 100 and 200.
HE IS MY NEPHEW, AND HE IS THE FASTEST MAN IN THE STATE OF NEBRASKA!
GO TO BEATRICE DAILY SUN, LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, OMAHA WORLD HERALD, DANIEL DAVIE SHOCKED THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, AND TOOK HOME 4 MEDALS THIS PAST SATURDAY!
10.73 IN THE 100
21.95 IN THE 200
6'2" 190, A JUNIOR AT BEATRICE HIGH SCHOOL IN BEATRICE NEBRASKA!
RUNNING BACK/ RECEIVER, DB/ SAFETY
DANIEL DAVIE WAS JUST OFFERED A SCHOLARHIP BY TURNER GILL AND THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS!
WHEN YOU DO POSITIVE THINGS IN LIFE, YOU RECEIVE POSITIVE THINGS IN YOUR LIFE!