This topic contains 20 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by 
mikeyvthedon 9 years, 7 months ago.
- AuthorPosts
- Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 11:36am #57946
i’m jus so offendedParticipantMaking his decision on Wednesday at 4pm central time. Apparently his dad said it’s down to Illinois and Villanova, the only schools he officially visited the last two weekends. Has anyone followed him close enough to comment? Have an opinion regardless? As an Illini fan, we need some good news after what happened last signing day.
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:00pm #948523
Jayhawks2011Participant - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:00pm #948385
Jayhawks2011Participant - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:09pm #948527
mikeyvthedonParticipant[Player: Jalen Brunson] is an absolute gamer and a true floor general. One thing I will say, is that even if he does choose Nova, it appears that [Player: Jawun Evans] has been a pretty strong Illinois lean. Evans is smaller and I have yet to see him live, however am hearing he is in the conversation for the top point in 2015. The "247 Crystal Ball" has Brunson 44% to Villanova at the time I post this, with Michigan St. at 34% (now supposedly out of the running), Temple 20% (Out of the running as well, with what happened with Rick probably playing a role) and Illinois at 2%. The Crystal Ball is not always right, but tends to be fairly accurate in these cases.
As I said, the bright side for Illini fans is, Evans is currently 91% Illinois and 9% Oklahoma St. Major changes can definitely go down and it is a bit of a surprise that a kid playing in Lincolnshire, IL seems like less of a probability than one playing in Dallas, TX (though, Deron Williams ended up at Illinois). Just wanted to give you some hope and I know that people who saw Evans this summer came away highly impressed.
As someone who saw Jalen, I definitely was impressed by his poise, vision and complete offensive package. You really had to respect his jumpshot, though he still absolutely fits the pass first PG mold. His athleticism does not blow you away and I think Evans is definitely quicker, with Jalen having an advantage in size and strength. Either way, Illinois looks to be strongly in the running for a big time freshman PG in 2015-16. Have a bunch of vids of both profiles, though will leave up their latest highlights.
Brunson:
Evans:
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:09pm #948389
mikeyvthedonParticipant[Player: Jalen Brunson] is an absolute gamer and a true floor general. One thing I will say, is that even if he does choose Nova, it appears that [Player: Jawun Evans] has been a pretty strong Illinois lean. Evans is smaller and I have yet to see him live, however am hearing he is in the conversation for the top point in 2015. The "247 Crystal Ball" has Brunson 44% to Villanova at the time I post this, with Michigan St. at 34% (now supposedly out of the running), Temple 20% (Out of the running as well, with what happened with Rick probably playing a role) and Illinois at 2%. The Crystal Ball is not always right, but tends to be fairly accurate in these cases.
As I said, the bright side for Illini fans is, Evans is currently 91% Illinois and 9% Oklahoma St. Major changes can definitely go down and it is a bit of a surprise that a kid playing in Lincolnshire, IL seems like less of a probability than one playing in Dallas, TX (though, Deron Williams ended up at Illinois). Just wanted to give you some hope and I know that people who saw Evans this summer came away highly impressed.
As someone who saw Jalen, I definitely was impressed by his poise, vision and complete offensive package. You really had to respect his jumpshot, though he still absolutely fits the pass first PG mold. His athleticism does not blow you away and I think Evans is definitely quicker, with Jalen having an advantage in size and strength. Either way, Illinois looks to be strongly in the running for a big time freshman PG in 2015-16. Have a bunch of vids of both profiles, though will leave up their latest highlights.
Brunson:
Evans:
0- Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:22pm #948535
i’m jus so offendedParticipantAlways good to hear from MikeyV. Yeah I really like Juwan but I’m not sure he’s on the same level as Brunson. Juwan did look real good at the Elite24 though. We’re in the final 8 for Elijah Thomas and final 5 for Carlton Bragg. Groce is doing a hell of a job but he’s gotta land some of these kids.
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:22pm #948397
i’m jus so offendedParticipantAlways good to hear from MikeyV. Yeah I really like Juwan but I’m not sure he’s on the same level as Brunson. Juwan did look real good at the Elite24 though. We’re in the final 8 for Elijah Thomas and final 5 for Carlton Bragg. Groce is doing a hell of a job but he’s gotta land some of these kids.
0- Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:39pm #948537
i’m jus so offendedParticipantAlso, 247 Crystal Ball is a little behind the times…
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 12:39pm #948399
i’m jus so offendedParticipantAlso, 247 Crystal Ball is a little behind the times…
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 4:12pm #948573
mikeyvthedonParticipantAgain, from pretty trusted sources, the divide between Jalen and Jawun is not huge. I could believe Jalen being better, though I know as rankings come out, Jawun is moving up close to 5-star status as well. Kid had a monster summer and looked great in multiple events. For as "behind the times" (do not exactly know what you mean by that) as the "Crystal Ball" may be, it has a lot of people close to recruiting making guesses.
News sometimes comes pretty quickly and obviously people would choose between Villanova and Illinois at this point if that is what you meant. You kind of look at who is choosing as opposed to the percentages necessarily, though I will say, go with the majority in most cases. Thinking Nova lands Brunson and if Evans is the consolation, that is not bad at all. Especially in terms of possibly landing Elijah Thomas. Know Thomas is high on Illinois regardless, though landing a fellow Texan and top prospect certainly looks like it would help matters.
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 4:12pm #948435
mikeyvthedonParticipantAgain, from pretty trusted sources, the divide between Jalen and Jawun is not huge. I could believe Jalen being better, though I know as rankings come out, Jawun is moving up close to 5-star status as well. Kid had a monster summer and looked great in multiple events. For as "behind the times" (do not exactly know what you mean by that) as the "Crystal Ball" may be, it has a lot of people close to recruiting making guesses.
News sometimes comes pretty quickly and obviously people would choose between Villanova and Illinois at this point if that is what you meant. You kind of look at who is choosing as opposed to the percentages necessarily, though I will say, go with the majority in most cases. Thinking Nova lands Brunson and if Evans is the consolation, that is not bad at all. Especially in terms of possibly landing Elijah Thomas. Know Thomas is high on Illinois regardless, though landing a fellow Texan and top prospect certainly looks like it would help matters.
0- Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 5:41pm #948583
i’m jus so offendedParticipantYeah that’s what I was think and agree on all your points. Hey Mikey, how did DJ Williams look at the Global Challenge??
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 5:41pm #948444
i’m jus so offendedParticipantYeah that’s what I was think and agree on all your points. Hey Mikey, how did DJ Williams look at the Global Challenge??
0- Posted on: Thu, 09/11/2014 - 4:19pm #948798
mikeyvthedonParticipantSorry for the late reply, but DJ looks like a nice wing prospect. Decent athlete, will need to work on range and strength, would have more than likely mentioned him in the article had he not sprained his ankle and missed the last game. He and Ed Morrow had the largest cheering section of the event, as their family and other Simeon faithful fully represented. Saw them both briefly in the hallway and we made introductions, seem like good kids. DJ told me about the sprain, said he would be alright in about 3 weeks, shouldn’t affect his season.
Would have liked to see him be more aggressive and defensive awareness was a problem for everyone on that South team. One thing that gets brought up with him a lot is rebounding, which should get better with added strength. He still fits the top 50-60 mold and has a lot of upside with his size and ability. Might take a while to adapt to college, will probably be in the rotation right away with potential to be a very good player in the Big 10 down the line.
Ed Morrow is probably another guy you might be wondering about, DJ’s teammate at the NGC and at Simeon. He is a classic glue guy, undersized PF who gives it his all and is working on his wing skills. Hustler, gets in on the boards and is a good teammate. He does not seem like much of an offensive threat and probably will never be a go-to scorer, still should turn into a solid role player who fans love.
Seems like the Crystal Ball was right about Brunson, Nova got a really good one. Think Brunson has some Kyle Lowry in him and will be an awesome college PG. Still think you should be cautiously optimistic about your chances at Jawun Evans, he is definitely a better athlete and from what I have heard a very nice PG in his own right. Sorry to hear about Tracy Abrams, that is a big time bummer for a guy who looked primed to have a great year. Hoping he has a nice recovery and comes back for the start of 2015-16. Still think Illinois has a very bright future with Groce at the helm, he has done a very nice job thus far.
0 - Posted on: Thu, 09/11/2014 - 4:19pm #948661
mikeyvthedonParticipantSorry for the late reply, but DJ looks like a nice wing prospect. Decent athlete, will need to work on range and strength, would have more than likely mentioned him in the article had he not sprained his ankle and missed the last game. He and Ed Morrow had the largest cheering section of the event, as their family and other Simeon faithful fully represented. Saw them both briefly in the hallway and we made introductions, seem like good kids. DJ told me about the sprain, said he would be alright in about 3 weeks, shouldn’t affect his season.
Would have liked to see him be more aggressive and defensive awareness was a problem for everyone on that South team. One thing that gets brought up with him a lot is rebounding, which should get better with added strength. He still fits the top 50-60 mold and has a lot of upside with his size and ability. Might take a while to adapt to college, will probably be in the rotation right away with potential to be a very good player in the Big 10 down the line.
Ed Morrow is probably another guy you might be wondering about, DJ’s teammate at the NGC and at Simeon. He is a classic glue guy, undersized PF who gives it his all and is working on his wing skills. Hustler, gets in on the boards and is a good teammate. He does not seem like much of an offensive threat and probably will never be a go-to scorer, still should turn into a solid role player who fans love.
Seems like the Crystal Ball was right about Brunson, Nova got a really good one. Think Brunson has some Kyle Lowry in him and will be an awesome college PG. Still think you should be cautiously optimistic about your chances at Jawun Evans, he is definitely a better athlete and from what I have heard a very nice PG in his own right. Sorry to hear about Tracy Abrams, that is a big time bummer for a guy who looked primed to have a great year. Hoping he has a nice recovery and comes back for the start of 2015-16. Still think Illinois has a very bright future with Groce at the helm, he has done a very nice job thus far.
0
- Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 7:27pm #948585
Robb_CParticipantI love this kids game.. he is a straight up Pitbull of a PG on the Basketball court… I hope he goes to Illinois but Villanova would be a great fit as well.
0 - Posted on: Mon, 09/08/2014 - 7:27pm #948446
Robb_CParticipantI love this kids game.. he is a straight up Pitbull of a PG on the Basketball court… I hope he goes to Illinois but Villanova would be a great fit as well.
0 - Posted on: Tue, 09/09/2014 - 5:27pm #948514
NCarmean18ParticipantAs an Illinois fan, I obviously would love to have Jalen Brunson. I have watched him carry his high school team to two back-to-back Class 4A high school championships, only to lose to Jabari Parker and Simeon, and then Jahlil Okafor and Whitney Young.
Even if we do not land Brunson and he commits to Villanova, I won’t be all too hurt. Great things are coming in Illinois’ direction. John Groce has been amazing for our University in terms of both recruiting and coaching, and I think that it is only a matter of time until we will be back at the top of the Big Ten. competing with Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
0 - Posted on: Tue, 09/09/2014 - 5:27pm #948652
NCarmean18ParticipantAs an Illinois fan, I obviously would love to have Jalen Brunson. I have watched him carry his high school team to two back-to-back Class 4A high school championships, only to lose to Jabari Parker and Simeon, and then Jahlil Okafor and Whitney Young.
Even if we do not land Brunson and he commits to Villanova, I won’t be all too hurt. Great things are coming in Illinois’ direction. John Groce has been amazing for our University in terms of both recruiting and coaching, and I think that it is only a matter of time until we will be back at the top of the Big Ten. competing with Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
0 - AuthorPosts
| You must be logged in to reply to this topic. | Login |