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BBall Recruiting Thread 2k18 - Hoard, Mucius, Lewis, and Wright sign NLIs!

Illinois board still seems to feel pretty good about their position on Ayo, and there are a good number of posters that think they are back in the running with Nolley. I think we will find out something on Ayo next week. He is going to take his visit, and then he will have to make his choice. I would say that Wake Fans don't want to see Nolley commit to Illinois. Right now one of our strongest trump cards is our recruiting class, and while Nolley doesn't balance the field, it does give Illinois some credibility when they make their pitch. I honestly find it hard to believe that Nolley would go anywhere other than VT at this point, but recruiting is a strange game. If Nolley doesn't do anything crazy I like our chances of landing Ayo. Underwood and the Illinois program is just about 2 years away from proving they deserve someone at Ayo's level when in a legitimate battle against another high major. We are just farther in the long in the process, and have more credibility in his pro prospects when you look back over the past decade. It certainly has been an entertaining pursuit, and will be fascinating to see who he chooses.
 
It's about a two hour flight to G-boro and about the same drive to Champaign.

I'm sure Danny could get us a game at DePaul for Ayo's family. We could add another with another team within a two hour drive from Chicago. There's also the ACC/B10 Challenge and we could play ND away.
 
I need some good vibes, because im not feeling good about Ayo to Wake.
 
birdman said:
Yeah, but Wake is probably 4 hours from Chicago via Midway and GSO +/- 10 minutes. It’s more expensive but time is hardly a constraint.
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Proximity to friends and family is clearly an advantage for Illinois. Let's acknowledge that. It may be the only one they have.

Chicago to Champaign is 2h 11m and 134 miles. Friends and family could easily do that as a day trip for a Saturday/Sunday home game.

There are no non stops Midway to Greensboro, so I don't know how you are getting around 4 hours. Maybe you are talking about O'Hare.

In any event, Illini would be a day trip. Wake is a flight and hotel stay. Time, convenience and $ are certainly constraints.

This is just one of many factors Ayo will weigh, but obviously we'd be much better off if Ayo and family were living in Asheville right now (which is further away from Winston than Chicago is from Champaign).
 
It would be very curious if Nolley announced his final 2, committed to one of the final 2, then de-committed and subsequently committed to a team not in the final 2.
 
I actually like Nolley's use of the brackets. The initial pairings were likely arbitrary but from an analytical standpoint, comparing School A with School B helps to clarify the thinking. Otherwise, the process becomes a giant game of rock/paper/scissors/lizard/Spock with too many players. I doubt he actually went round-by-round in narrowing the field but it made for an interesting visual.
 
tagsfan said:
I actually like Nolley's use of the brackets. The initial pairings were likely arbitrary but from an analytical standpoint, comparing School A with School B helps to clarify the thinking. Otherwise, the process becomes a giant game of rock/paper/scissors/lizard/Spock with too many players. I doubt he actually went round-by-round in narrowing the field but it made for an interesting visual.
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If you asked me which player committed and then decommitted within 24 hours, I would have guessed the kid that did the brackets to make his choice. Seems about right.
 
SC DEAC said:
If you asked me which player committed and then decommitted within 24 hours, I would have guessed the kid that did the brackets to make his choice. Seems about right.
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Maybe he read "Blink" and then realized his instincts had let him down. The process is only as good as the decider.
 
"Q & A with Ayo

I asked Him if he was looking forward to seeing or looking for this weekend?

“I am not looking for anything in particular this weekend. I have been on campus several times and seen many games.”

I asked him what was his main reason for coming back to Champaign?

“It is a chance for me and my family to spend many hours and days with Coach, the staff and players. Continuing to build on the relationships we already have.”

I wanted to know of this years current class will weigh somewhat on his decision. Illinois currently has no commits. That could change before his visit keep in mind.

” Yes, my current and future teammates are important to me.”

My final question was about a decision date. He told me ” I am definitely deciding before the fall signing period. Most likely within the week after the Illinois OV.”

My Take

This is a very important week for Ayo. Wake Forest has came strong and offered the NBA path to join some Demon Deacon greats. Some takeaways that are important for illini fans. Ayo knows what Illinois offers, the Dosunmu family wanting to strengthen that is a good sign. Also, the relationship with Coach Underwood is important. It isn’t all about Coach Coleman, that’s why I alluded to many thinking Illinois is in the final two mainly due to Chin. Illinois has a chance to seal the deal and give a great final impression. Seeing how many good young players the Illini have and how the team practices is crucial. Illinois won’t get a chance to showcase in game action before a decision. Wake has the advantage with this years recruiting class having already signed a couple four star players. Illinois can’t miss this weekend. Does Ayo want to be a catalyst in Helping bring the illini back to glory? It will be a nerve wracking couple of weeks for illini fans. Fasten your seat belts."

https://illiniscoops.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/why-not-illinois-for-ayo/amp/
 
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Illinois has a 5 man 2017 class with no Top 75 players. Somehow it's the #2 class in the Big Ten. Only 3 of them committed to Underwood. Illinois has no 2018 class.
 
so it seems despite what our ILL-INI friend says, that Landers decision will be important. we already know Ayo is tight with our 5-star commit, if Landers goes to VT it's hard to see Ayo being the only commit of Illinois' 2018 class if he means what he says about caring about who he plays with.
 
Play with a bunch of chumps at Illinois or some ballers at Wake...Seems like a pretty easy decision.
 
CreamyGoodness said:
Not good. Probably some validity to Ayo/nolley wanting to play with each other. Maybe he’s waiting on Ayo decision and was tipped off that he’s definitely going to Illinois.
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myDeaconmyhand said:
That doesnt make sense. If Nolley intended to play with Ayo then he wouldnt have committed to UGA in the first place.
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CreamyGoodness said:
Kids change their minds daily, especially regarding college decisions. Plus, that Nolley bracket was fucking retarded. I was simply saying that over the last 12-24 hours Ayo could have tipped off Nolley that he is firm on Illinois. Therefore forcing Nolley’s hand to decommit and reconsider Illinois. There are plenty of ways to look at it.

Feeling really good about our chances now. I’m high on vibes!
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Fuck Your Couch said:
so it seems despite what our ILL-INI friend says, that Landers decision will be important. we already know Ayo is tight with our 5-star commit, if Landers goes to VT it's hard to see Ayo being the only commit of Illinois' 2018 class if he means what he says about caring about who he plays with.
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Just wanted to reaffirm my point to point to MDMH that recruiting is an ever changing process and kids have motives that none of us will understand until the final decision is made.
 
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