Recruiting news is the drug of choice possible for college basketball fanatics.
It’s the hardest drug available in the sports media world too. Illini basketball fans know this truth as well as any fanbase; perhaps even more so. Now more than ever blue chip freshmen have major influence on whether a team rises for falls.
It also doesn’t help that Illinois is coming off the worst season in school history, and no one really expects them to do anything special this season.
Thus, you can’t help but look to the future instead.
That future was perhaps dealt a big blow with the news that 5-star big man Jeremiah Tilmon, who already made his verbal commitment to Illini basketball, would not be signing his letter of intent on national signing day. He has until Wednesday to do so, otherwise he would then have to wait until the next signing period, in April, to do so.
Tilmon’s mother has said publicly that her son has not de-committed; he’s only just holding off on the signature part of this process. Many Illini basketball fans are on the ledge about this.
That’s understandable given what’s happened over and over and over and over and over and over and over again when it comes the program recruiting the blue chippers.
We’re here to help! Take a deep breath, relax and we’ll get you through this Illini basketball fans. This post may have been inspired by the Tilmon developments, but they actually apply to all recruiting news cycles moving forward.
Recruiting news updates are insanely addictive, but they can also be self-destructive. That’s why recruiting news usually gets 2o times the number of page views as other forms of content.
In continuing with the drug analogy, we took Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ten Crack Commandments,” (which Hamilton sampled and then turned into the “Ten Duel Commandments) and made our version, for Illini basketball fans.
- Rely on the Inoculation that’s Already in Your Body
Illini basketball coming oh-so-close, but missing on a 5-star recruit? C’mon, you’ve seen this story before, multiple times. This narrative has been rehashed more than the Police Academy series, or the Fast and Furious movies.
You’ve done this, you can do it again. You survived Eric Gordon and Cliff Alexander and Quentin Snider, if this next one doesn’t work out, you’ll survive again.
2. Recruiting Services are Like Cable News Networks, they Overhype Everything
And just like cable news they pander to our worst neuroses and fears; you’ve been warned. Adjust accordingly. Social media amplifies everything, but remember that it also makes your feelings, high or low, wear off quicker.
That said, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the McDonald’s All-American Game at the United Center in Chicago era for once had….a player going to a SCHOOL IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS?!! FINALLY!
What a time to be alive that would be in March 2017. The game has been at Chicago’s UC every single year since 2010 and the state’s college hoops programs have been shut every single year.
3. Remember that Blue Chip College Basketball Recruits are Like iPhones, There’s Another New Version Coming Out Next Year
Player XYZ is the second coming. Until next year when player ABC is the next big thing. Look at John Calipari and Kentucky, he reloads and reactivates another new set every season.
Do I sound like someone who has covered every single McDonald’s All-American Game, and the corresponding events every single year since 2010? Let’s just hope Tilmon commits by Wednesday because if he doesn’t….MCDAAG is going to consist of pretty much nothing but “reading the tea leaves,” as media will all try to overanalyze every single thing he does, hoping to extrapolate his decision out of minutia.
4. DO NOT Tweet at Jeremiah Tilmon, or Tag him in your Tweets
The only exceptions to this rule are “Congratulations on joining (insert name of school here)” or if he signs with Illinois, “Welcome to the Illini basketball community.”
5. Don’t give in to the “He’s a kid” Fallacy and Therefore Absolved of Reasonable Critique/To be Treated with Kid Gloves at All Times
A major problem with covering college athletics is that too many people revert to “he’s a kid, how dare you say such things about a kid!” Listen, when you play in front of a crowd of 15,000 people you’re a public figure, and that means you’re open to criticism. If you play a varsity sport at the high school level, you are a public figure, and hence subject to scrutiny.
Anybody who calls attention to their recruitment/national letter of intent signing process is hence opening themselves up to being criticized for such process. However…and this is really KEY…and it’s the next point:
6. But again STAY CLASSY at ALL TIMES Illini basketball fans! Always
I should just repeat this commandment over and over, because it’s the most important one. Maybe I should have somehow opened and closed with it. “Flipping” is commonplace in the recruiting world, in both sports, everywhere. It’s not just Illinois who have been “jilted at the altar” with recruits.
Yes, even the goofy childish manner in which Cliff Alexander did it, with the hat fake switcheroo gag; that’s actually quite commonplace. No need to freak/lash out over it. “Flipping,” even in the Alexander manner, goes on all the time.
7. High Rankings Doesn’t Guarantee Anything
The last Illini basketball McDonald’s All-American was Jereme Richmond. How’d that work out? Illinois had a top 15 national class, arguably the best in the B1G last season, how did 2015-16 go? Development is just as important, if not more, than recruiting. Look at how Alexander’s career went at Kansas. Also, remember Deron Williams was just a three star recruit.
8. Take a Closer Look at the Great Players that Illini Basketball have Already Signed
On Wednesday, Illinois announced the signing of four-star guard Trent Frazier (Wellington, Fla.), three-star guard Javon Pickett (Belleville, Ill.) and four-star guard Da’Monte Williams (Peoria, Ill.)
Take a break from trying to keep up with Tilmon speculation and instead read up on the newest Illini. Get to know more about them.
9. Enjoy the brilliance of Malcolm Hill, one of the nation’s best players
He hung 40 on the Northern Kentucky Norse, read this article about him. Now you’ll feel better.
10. Overanalyze the Two Early Season Illini Basketball Wins
Again another distraction, but this is of course a much more pleasant one. Early season college basketball is like M. told James Bond early on in Casino Royale; “all that effort just so you can kill a nobody?!”
However, there are some valid takeaways from these games. Here’s a link to a good example.
So vaya con dios Illini basketball fans, these ten life lessons were only learned the hard way, via real life experience, much of which wasn’t positive.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.