billiken_roy Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/illini/malcolm-hill-waiting-to-hear-from-new-illini-coach/article_08e76998-7aa6-11e1-9df1-0019bb30f31a.html "Hill has heard from "more than a few" schools since Bruce Weber was fired, Hill Sr. said, including coaches from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic 10." hmmmmm. pretty obvious hill isnt necessarily an illini yet. and the 'Atlantic 10 coaches" is intriguing. it is my opinion a billiken hill would immediately be our most talented player. i compare him very much to larry hughes at this point in hughes career (after h.s. junior season). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I'm not one who thinks we need to have local recruits to be successful, but I do believe there is additional benefit to having locals on the team (draws extra interest from casual fans, etc.). Now that we're hopefully back on the local radar, it'd be nice if we can start making progress with local recruits such as Hill. If he were to become available again, it sounds like he'd be a terrific add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 hill is available. he hasnt signed anything and his verbal commit was made to a coach that got fired. the tone of this stltoday.com report is definitely not one of a committment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Between Hill, Jordan Martin, Darius Austin, C.J. Rivers and Austin Gillman we've been mentioned with a lot of St. Louis players lately, moreso than we were early in Majerus' tenure. Perhaps the image of SLU is changing on the local recruiting scene. If Hill were to decommit, not at all unlikely, and if he were to somehow end up at SLU, it would be by far our most highly touted recruit and I think would open the door for a dynamite 2014 class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Not to burst anyone's bubble, but I believe Xavier finished 2nd behind Illinois... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken75 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 That was before we beat Xavier 2 out of 3 meetings. Hill can be recruited as the type of player that can get us to the Sweet 16 and hopefully beyond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doowop Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 It's hard to believe he is of the same talent level as Hughes. Is he a top 15 player? Is he better than KM, JJ and DE? He has not played a second of D1 ball and you have him better than anyone on our team. Would you think that if he was from Missouri? If he IS that good then he could help us but, it is hard to believe he is as good as you say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKA Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 It's hard to believe he is of the same talent level as Hughes. Is he a top 15 player? Is he better than KM, JJ and DE? He has not played a second of D1 ball and you have him better than anyone on our team. Would you think that if he was from Missouri? If he IS that good then he could help us but, it is hard to believe he is as good as you say. Believe it! Roy is spot on. Hill reminds me a lot of Hughes, with the exception that he isn't a one and done. Hill needs development time, where Hughes did not. Roy would agree, but state that Hill is a year younger than his classmates. This kid could take us to the top 10 and be another RM Academic All American. A perfect fit for SLU! Wish his brother needed a heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Believe it! Roy is spot on. Hill reminds me a lot of Hughes, with the exception that he isn't a one and done. Hill needs development time, where Hughes did not. Roy would agree, but state that Hill is a year younger than his classmates. This kid could take us to the top 10 and be another RM Academic All American. A perfect fit for SLU! Wish his brother needed a heart mr rka, i think you are remembering the larry hughes as a college freshmen and not the larry hughes as a high school junior. hill has another high school season to season yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Nick Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 We are a winning program on the radar...we should be able to compete for him. (or at least that's what the majority of this board thinks...). Illinois is where st Louis recruits go to die...hope he knows that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKA Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 mr rka, i think you are remembering the larry hughes as a college freshmen and not the larry hughes as a high school junior. hill has another high school season to season yet. Not at all. I saw Hughes play in high school. I just don't see Hill being a lottery pick after his freshman year like Hughes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For-DaLove Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 The point is that this kid would be a huge get for our program and could propel us to places we've never been. Thanks for posting about this, Roy. I hadn't thought about it until you brought it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Not at all. I saw Hughes play in high school. I just don't see Hill being a lottery pick after his freshman year like Hughes. Brad Beal is, if he comes out, likely going to be a Top 5 pick and won't go any lower than 10. Roy, did you ever see Beal play? Just curious how Hill compares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doowop Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Not at all. I saw Hughes play in high school. I just don't see Hill being a lottery pick after his freshman year like Hughes.Which means he's not at the same talent level as was Hughes. However, the point For-DaLove made is good enough for me to believe in his ability to help our team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbizzle09 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 News today is that Bruce Webber just got hired by Kansas State to be their head coach. Obviously, this is a school that Hill will now be considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Brad Beal is, if he comes out, likely going to be a Top 5 pick and won't go any lower than 10. Roy, did you ever see Beal play? Just curious how Hill compares. Beal is a far better shooter. Imo beal is better than hughes was at the same stage. Hill is not beal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Beal is a much more complete player than Hughes at the same stage. That said, Beal would benefit from another year with the Gators. He is pretty awful on the defensive end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Bill Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about Hughes vs beal. And I disagree. What I always hear is that Hughes was not a shooter and beal is. Yet their 3 point percentages were similar - around 30 during their freshmen seasons. Hughes was a better playmaker and defender. He scored 20 ppg vs 14 and led an otherwise mediocre team to the second round of the tourney. He was national freshman of the year. What did beal do this year that was so great? His team underachieved and probably didn't finish any better than the 1998 billikens team. I can't think of many freshman guards who have ever had a better season than Hughes. Beal is a much more complete player than Hughes at the same stage. That said, Beal would benefit from another year with the Gators. He is pretty awful on the defensive end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about Hughes vs beal. And I disagree. What I always hear is that Hughes was not a shooter and beal is. Yet their 3 point percentages were similar - around 30 during their freshmen seasons. Hughes was a better playmaker and defender. He scored 20 ppg vs 14 and led an otherwise mediocre team to the second round of the tourney. He was national freshman of the year. What did beal do this year that was so great? His team underachieved and probably didn't finish any better than the 1998 billikens team. I can't think of many freshman guards who have ever had a better season than Hughes. Beal had to play with Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. Beal was the 2nd best freshman in the country behind Ant Davis, the projected number 1 pick in the draft. The Gators didn't underachieve this year. They made it to the elite 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about Hughes vs beal. And I disagree. What I always hear is that Hughes was not a shooter and beal is. Yet their 3 point percentages were similar - around 30 during their freshmen seasons. Hughes was a better playmaker and defender. He scored 20 ppg vs 14 and led an otherwise mediocre team to the second round of the tourney. He was national freshman of the year. What did beal do this year that was so great? His team underachieved and probably didn't finish any better than the 1998 billikens team. I can't think of many freshman guards who have ever had a better season than Hughes. And remember that Hughes took a bad fall in the last exhibition game badly injuring the wrist on his shooting hand. According to Spoon, it affected his shot for the entire season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbizzle09 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about Hughes vs beal. And I disagree. What I always hear is that Hughes was not a shooter and beal is. Yet their 3 point percentages were similar - around 30 during their freshmen seasons. Hughes was a better playmaker and defender. He scored 20 ppg vs 14 and led an otherwise mediocre team to the second round of the tourney. He was national freshman of the year. What did beal do this year that was so great? His team underachieved and probably didn't finish any better than the 1998 billikens team. I can't think of many freshman guards who have ever had a better season than Hughes. I didn't realize that the 1998 Billikens team made the Elite 8. I guess you learn something new everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 To assert hughes was ever a good shooter, injury or not is a stretch. Hughes was indeed a scorer, but he was not more than a mediocre shooter. Beal is far more of an outside threat than larry was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Bill Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Their shooting percentages were almost the same. Yes Florida made it to the elite 8 after knocking off the mighty Norfolk st in the round of 32. I wish slu had played them instead of Kentucky. We may have made other elite 8 in 1998 like flor did this year. And yes Florida did underachieve. They were a 7 seed in the tourney despite elite talent. Hughes was the only real talent on his team and we were an 8 seed that year I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKA Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Which means he's not at the same talent level as was Hughes. However, the point For-DaLove made is good enough for me to believe in his ability to help our team. When a kid is 1st team All-State in Illinois and verbals to U of I after receiving offers and interest from most of the top programs in the country, you shouldn't need DaLove to tell you he can help us. Hill would take us to the elite level IMO, not only because of his talent, but I think other top St. Louis kids would then see SLU as a viable option. Get one local star and the ball may start rolling our way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbizzle09 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Their shooting percentages were almost the same. Yes Florida made it to the elite 8 after knocking off the mighty Norfolk st in the round of 32. I wish slu had played them instead of Kentucky. We may have made other elite 8 in 1998 like flor did this year. And yes Florida did underachieve. They were a 7 seed in the tourney despite elite talent. Hughes was the only real talent on his team and we were an 8 seed that year I believe. We were a 10 seed that season and Kentucky was a 2 seed. And agree to disagree about what should be considered an 'underachieving' team. If a team makes an Elite 8 run and is a minute away from getting to the Final Four, I just have a hard time calling that team undearchieving. You should've been around on this board last year at this time, as we had a weeks long discussion about what success in the NCAA tournament means to a team (the great 'Big East is overrated' thread.) And, unkowingly, I think you've made the point about those comparing Beal favorably to Hughes. Earlier, you pointed out that Hughes scored more than Beal in his freshman season. However, you also just pointed out that Hughes was the only real talent on his team. Beal, obviously, is surrounded by tons of other talented players. Thus, it would make sense that his scoring numbers wouldn't be on par with what Hughes did. I would venture to say that if Beal was on the 1998 Billikens, he would have put up similar, if not greater, numbers than Hughes did that season. Beal shot 34% from three this season. Hughes shot 29% in his season. That is not 'almost the same'. That is a significant difference. Also, just off of observation, Beal's shooting stroke is much better than Hughes' was at that same level. It should also be pointed out that Beal is a much better rebounder (despite being shorter) and better free throw shooter than Hughes was as a freshman. Hughes was a great freshman, and probably the best talent we will ever have seen play at SLU, but I agree that Beal is a better talent at this point in their respective careers, and I feel that Beal will have a larger impact in the pros than Hughes did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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