Frantic Francis Okoro
- Thread starter mreeser
- Start date
Interesting.. ..heard Illinois style of play was not his type of deal.
Do we know if Francis is visiting or getting a in-home visit like Malik Hall, Armaan Franklin, Mason Gillis, and TJD next week? We’re visiting Armaan Franklin and TJD tomorrow per tweet(TJD could be on-campus tomorrow it’s unclear). I thought I had saw that we’re having an in-home with Hall as well on Monday or Tuesday. I believe we had an in-home with Timme last week and that Gillis is also getting an in-home Monday or Tuesday. We’ll know more about where we stand in recruiting next week it sure seems⬇️
Cut off my ⬇️
the disrespect
Apparently, we're not allowed to use emojis that's weird I was just trying to send the train emoji with the up emoji with the hammer emoji with that down icon. Must be that I had a hammer in it
the disrespect
Apparently, we're not allowed to use emojis that's weird I was just trying to send the train emoji with the up emoji with the hammer emoji with that down icon. Must be that I had a hammer in it
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We already did an in home visit a week ago before Timme’s. We have also been on him for a long time now.
Guess the whole situation depends how much trust you put in that guy on Twitter.
Looking at other tweets this guy is clearly a UI Homer. In one of the responses he says he will go to UI because that is where his "circle" wants him to go. Hopefully he makes his own choice....
Maybe a Homer but he also covers Illinois prep basketball. I feel like he was the guy saying really early last year that some kid was decommitting from Illinois and he did.
Guess we will see. Believe this situation has been fluid for some time now.
I'm my opinion, Illinios basketball will remain a dumpster fire for several more years. Groce made a mess, and so far I have been unimpressed with the progress of the new guy in cleaning up the mess. To bad for Okoro if he goes there. I think he will sell himself short regardless of what his "circle" tells him.
I understand that with the front court we have coming in, there might be some concern about playing time. Now, I would love to have talented players come to Purdue, however Purdue will be fine with or without him.
I understand that with the front court we have coming in, there might be some concern about playing time. Now, I would love to have talented players come to Purdue, however Purdue will be fine with or without him.
Well he is an ILL guy that covers state HS basketball. He tends to have the inside skinny on recruiting there. Now he may totally off on this one, but he's not just a guy sitting at his home computer spreading 4th-hand rumors.
If this becomes reality,, it will be another recruiting decision that flumoxes those who use logic and reason to suggest what 18 year olds with circles around them should do. This has nothing to do with Painter doing a great or not grata job, or Painter being a good or mediocre recruiter. IMHO
Agreed. Painter can't stop 18 year olds from making their own decision, regardless of how bad they may be.
I'll bite (I know I shouldn't) but why?
How is this a horrible decision, if it is indeed the decision. And how does it have nothing to do with painter? Based on what? And again, why assume there is a"circle" or that his own opinion would be different then said "circle".
UI hadbetter talent coming in than Purdue without him. Could be as simple as that, wants to join a strong incoming class. Or just clicks with the coach much better. Or 100s of other reasons.
Why is it always something nefarious, its as if we get top 50 kids all the time and something must be a miss when we don't. This is the least surprising outcome.
Looks like he’s taking an official visit to Purdue on April 25th.
You really think so? Did you watch Illinois play near the end of the season? They looked pretty damn tough to me. It took Carsen going off for 40 or we leave the other Ass. Hall with an L. I think they’ll finish in the top 5 of the B1G next season, as they got considerably better as the year went on. Just my opinion but Underwood made that dumpster fire look fairly respectable by years end and I do not look forward to playing them with this super young team.
247 shows Purdue having an 80% chance of landing him.
https://247sports.com/Player/Francis-Okoro-94248
I mean, I hope he chooses PU, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if he goes ILL.
ILL is a sleeping giant IMO. Historically elite in the B1G, but they have been down for a bit. And they are a great engineering school as well. Wouldn't surprise me in the least. That being said....
BOILER UUUUUP OKORO!
ILL is a sleeping giant IMO. Historically elite in the B1G, but they have been down for a bit. And they are a great engineering school as well. Wouldn't surprise me in the least. That being said....
BOILER UUUUUP OKORO!
Illinois is going to be terrible again next year. Like five guys have transferred this offseason. The only reason their recruiting class is ranked somewhat high is because it has six commits, with about two of them looking like solid players. They are going to be way younger than we are. Illinois hasn't had a winning season in the Big Ten since 2009-10, and they haven't made the tournament for 5 straight seasons. Not to mention the fact that Brad Underwood's system is terrible for big men like Okoro. There's a reason he hasn't had a notable center in his five seasons at SFA, Oklahoma State and Illinois.
I saw your tweet with the blank sheet of paper. Fine work.
You really can't understand why Underwood hasn't had a notable center after five seasons at low-major SFA, one season at Oklahoma State, and one season at Illinois? Isn't it pretty obvious what the reasons might be?
Great news, need to close the deal.
agreed. And maybe the silver lining of losing Jacquil is it sways him to come to Purdue for available playing time.
Illinois’ recruiting class is much better than you are giving credit for. Dosunmu is a five star guard. Tevian Jones is a four star ranked #85 by Rivals. Feliz is ranked as the #1 junior college point guard in the country. The player who has blown up in the last month is Alan Griffin, the 6-5 shooter from NY. Shot 48% from three, led his team to NY state title, was MVP of the tourney and Rivals ranked him the number one player in NYC over a five star going to UCLA. His dad was an NBA player and a current NBA assistant.
Okoro is actually perfect for the system. Rim protector/rebounder who can run the court. He will get plenty of touches (Leron Black got a ton as the low post scorer).
Underwood inherited a mess and is remaking the roster. Black was a loss but the others were not encouraged to stay. Any college fan knows that Underwood is a heck of a coach and it is just a matter of time. Okoro, Dosunmu, Jones, Griffin, Feliz would be a heck of a talent boost. And he is not done with this class.
I have no idea where Okoro will go, but Illinois would be a good choice based on opportunity, close to family, and being with a program on the rise.
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That’s a response from mathboy. If you (not mathboy) watched Purdue play at Illinois at the end of the year, it would be hard to argue they aren’t on the rise
Well, I'm not mathbody and it's not hard to argue at all. They lost 3 of their last 4 and 7 of their last 9. That they ALMOST beat a good team at home doesn't move the needle. Every B1G team does that every year, multiple times. Hell, Illinois won 4 of their last 6 the prior year, including an ACTUAL win against MSU, and then they fired their coach. Apparently they weren't on the rise.
I think Ill was improved, but at the start of the Big I stated they would give Purdue fits or at least thought they could. The reason was quite simply their defensive approach and the perimeter players for Purdue..with Vince and Carsen exceptions. Okoro would be fine in either defensive system. However, Purdue's offensive approach is a bit more big friendly or seems that way based upon my very limited viewing of Underwood...and will always be if Underwood's D this year is what we shall see. It is a high risk, high reward D with a lot of pressure and ideally one that creates or desires to create a lot of turnovers...which many times will have the Bigs trailing the ball.
He can be a very good player at each place, but offensively he will be featured more at Purdue it seems to me
Agreed. I've been impressed with BU's impact already. His group last year consistently played with great effort. He just didn't have the horses. It looks like he's addressing that issue with this class. The one thing I would be concerned about if I were an Illinois fan is increased scrutiny on program activity and recruiting that the FBI investigation has brought. The pressure to win now can influence how coaches conduct business and Brad has had some smoke around him in the past. I also agree the Illini are on the rise but it may be a couple of years before they are a significant factor in the B1G and NCAA candidates.If Okoro values winning now and post season experience, Purdue or Oregon are better bets.
Well the guy who posted about his "sources" has blocked his twitter account. Wondering if he got a lot of negative push back on his "story" or what.
He is scheduled to take an official to Purdue on April 25 - unless he is coming to tell Painter no thanks, I think we are okay
He is scheduled to take an official to Purdue on April 25 - unless he is coming to tell Painter no thanks, I think we are okay
We played and won a road game without Vince.
The only teams Illinois beat in B1G play were IU (home), Nebraska (home) and Rutgers (home and away).
No offense but you can't honestly say a player like Finke isn't a loss. Dude is a matchup nightmare if he was used properly. He is 6'10 and 220 pounds and shoots 36% from three for his career along with starting 25 games last year and averaging 25 minutes. In 2016-2017, he shot over 40% from three and with Black leaving...that leaves a huge hole in the 4/5 areas for the Illini.
Couldn't help but notice that Okoro liked a tweet by a mock Roy Schmidt account (Not Roy Schmidt) poking fun at the prediction that he is an Illinois lock. Hopefully that's his way of acknowledging that the info is B.S.
