One of the hot button issues with the Illinois basketball team is the class of 2017, more specifically superstar center Jeremiah Tilmon.
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Tilmon is a big time talent that is rated by Rivals as a 5-star center that attends La Lumiere School in La Porte, IN.
Starting on Thursday March 31, La Lumiere begins play in the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School Nationals Tournament.
La Lumiere is the No. 5 seed and they will be taking on the No. 4 seed St. Benedict’s Prep from New Jersey.
This tournament features eight of the elite schools in the nation. But the main school all of Illini Nation will be focused on is La Lumiere.
It has been reported by name outlets and people that it is possible Tilmon commits this weekend to Illinois.
Derek Piper of Scout mentions that there have been rumors that Tilmon may have been contemplating committing before the Dick’s event.
The talk of the town is that Tilmon is Illinois’ to lose and that is some of the most exciting news I have heard regarding the Illinois basketball team in quite some time.
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So what this all boils down to is this weekend. Starting on Thursday and ending on Saturday, will we find out if the future of the Illinois basketball team is changed forever?
I sure hope so because there is nothing more that I want out of my sports fandom than seeing both of my primary sports teams in the news for all the right reasons.
All of this recruiting talk also has me thinking.
I have been driving the get John Groce out of Illinois bandwagon for quite some time. I have put that bandwagon in idle because I know he is not going anywhere any time soon.
But this recruiting thing has me thinking, is Groce just one superstar laden recruiting class away from being a good coach?
I witnessed all of these “great coaches” this weekend get knocked out of the NCAA Tournament with more 5-star players than Illinois has ever had in the history of the program.
If you give those coaches the same players and circumstances Illinois has right now would they be regarded as the same level of coaches anymore?
Recruiting is a part of the coach’s job. In fact it is probably somewhere in the ball park of 70% of the reason a lot of coaches get hired or still have their jobs.
So if Groce can get this big time recruit this weekend and some more follow, would that change the entire playing field?
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There is a lot of opportunity out there for the Illini. Snagging Tilmon this weekend not only changes the future of Groce, but it also changes the future of the program and fans of the Illini everywhere.
My personal opinion, if Groce can manage to get Tilmon to commit then that changes everything for me.
The Illini were missing two key positions this past season. They needed a point guard and a center that was Big Ten ready.
Maverick Morgan emerged as a solid player but I think he is still clearly a backup player at best. The point guard situation was a mess and there was no fixing it last season either.
We are still going to have to use Morgan to the best of his abilities this upcoming season, but we have a new face in Te’Jon Lucas who will be a great addition.
Illinois then adds Da’Monte Williams to the point guard rotation with Lucas. They then add in Tilmon as well. That creates the best team I have seen Illinois put on the floor since the 2005 National Championship run.
Groce getting Tilmon to commit would change everything. It would cool down Groce’s seat for a little while and help clean off the nasty reputation of not being able to reel in the big fish.
Getting Tilmon would also wipe the slate clean for me as well. One of the main issues I have had with Groce is that he couldn’t get the big fish. This would change that and change my stance on Groce.
But more importantly, getting Tilmon would give great hope to an Illinois fan base that hasn’t been able to find it in quite some time.