Conditt said he made his decision on Sunday. So in his case any last minute lobbying would have just been a waste of time that could have been used to watch Dr. Phil.
Talen Horton-Tucker cuts list to 3 (ISU is on it)
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Conditt said he made his decision on Sunday. So in his case any last minute lobbying would have just been a waste of time that could have been used to watch Dr. Phil.
I think it's much more believable that it was ISU or Xavier the whole way and have stood by that for a while. We're both biased so we can agree to disagree but I think the Illinois stuff wasn't really true and was created by Ilinois' staff
Not sure about that nickname, he's already being compared to Niang, no need to give KU fans any ammo.
COME to think of it, that would have been a good nickname for Georges
I'm taking credit for this one. He was going to Illinois until I pointed out that Illinois alumnus Jerry Orbach put Baby in the corner.
Ditto
I don't know if I buy the Illinois drama 100 percent. It seems like some BS that cyclone fans would run with and take as gospel so that's the only reason why I think the Illini fans were sold a bill of goods.
Also, if things really had been smoothed over why did THT follow and then unfollow Ayo as quick as he did? There was absolutely some drama there IMO but I don't think this whole narrative that he was an Illini commit is 100 percent true. I think this is a classic game of telephone where it went from we thought he was a commit to he was a commit based off of "insiders" who know a guy who knows a guy. Given that things escalated and fell apart so quickly I just can't imagine that these mac irvine coaches finally realized what BU was going to do and just now put the kibosh on it. They were tuned in from the beginning and if they really didn't like this then why did it take so long to come to blows? Something about this story stinks to me.
Again my position is based solely off of the fact that if roles were reversed I might believe it too. For a kid who took his time to decide, it just doesn't pass the eye test 100 percent. I am sure there is some truth in it but the narrative is likely embellished.
Reading through all of this and what some posters are saying on 247 it's pretty crazy. I don't buy all of it, but it has been interesting.
I'd say about 90% basketball politics. Again, until this heated up in Illinois' direction this week, no one needed an "excuse for losing" THT because the vast consensus was it wasn't going to happen. Conditt was a much bigger "media" blow because we truly wanted him and were in on him hard. UI got serious interest from THT only at the last minute to the happy surprise of our fans. Him to ISU would be a non-media story in Illinois but this whole Irvin/Ayo thing is going to make this WAYYYY worse PR for Illinois than Conditt and most certainly THT would've been.
Additionally there's no real media pull for Illinois. Chicago media is 95% pro-focused and in many cases is slanted pretty anti-UI.
Crystal Ball up to 62% for Iowa State. We were at 12% like 2 hrs ago.
I just spotted Chris Williams getting on a plane headed for Mexico. He was wearing flip flops and swimming trunks so I am guessing it's a vacation.
If it's true it sounds like the Illini have an incoming locker room cancer.
I really don't think Ayo is the problem, but people are going to pin this on him because of his "camp".
That's fine and it's your prerogative, but just because you've felt good about ISU the whole time doesn't mean you can bury your head in the sand and claim all this was fake. Crystal ball movement early this week had obviously plenty of smoke and if these guys just took a college coach's word then there'd be a lot more crystal ball movement for every recruit.
Again I get you're skeptical but the evidence is pretty damning. I have lived in Champaign, Iowa and currently live in Chicago and the media angle to explain this makes literally zero sense.
Don't want this to sound like sour grapes. ISU is going to get a fantastic player in THT...one I wish UI was in on harder earlier so we could have locked him down. But there is no benefit to UI to create a "smokescreen" as it wouldn't have negatively affected them at all had THT chosen ISU without giving UI an official visit.
Are you saying Illinois truly didn't want a player like THT from day one? That's not a good look either
There is literally no evidence backing up your claim and yes there is a benefit in creating a smoke screen
Agreed. I'd peg it on the MIF guys. Ayo seems to be a good kid. THT seems to be a great kid also.
You guys will be getting a good kid and hell of a versatile, skilled player. Happy he's not going to Northwestern or MSU because he's gunna be a handful for opposing teams.
Told ya.
Congrats! You're getting a good one!
Beat the Squawks!
I'm out...
Congrats! You're getting a good one!
Beat the Squawks!
I'm out...
There is evidence, just premium boards. There is no benefit. General consensus was we never had a chance until the sudden movement this week so if anything this "excuse smokescreen" actively HURTS Illinois. Makes zero sense from UI's perspective.
Media in Illinois (outside of Champaign) doesn't care about UI, it's all pro-focused. A huge difference from Iowa where college sports are everything.
