All Things Alex Illikainen Recruitment Thread: UPDATED 11/12/18: Illikainen leaves UW

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Winasota Gopher said:
The title says "Big Man".... Is he a 5? Or is he a 4 or even a 3?

His highlight reels are not flashy, which isn't meant to be a jab. Has anyone actually seen his game (not you howie) and say whether or not he would be a fit?
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I've only seen him three times but he's a 4 that if he grows a couple of inches could play center, moves decently in the lane with the ball, not a lock down shooter but stepped out and dropped a few 3's, more athletic, and I think will be more physical than Osenieks or King but not a great leaper like Mbwake or Ellenson.

He can run the floor, play in the open court, and pop a few from the outside, I think he would be a good fit.
 

jovs said:
I've only seen him three times but he's a 4 that if he grows a couple of inches could play center, moves decently in the lane with the ball, not a lock down shooter but stepped out and dropped a few 3's, more athletic, and I think will be more physical than Osenieks or King but not a great leaper like Mbwake or Ellenson.

He can run the floor, play in the open court, and pop a few from the outside, I think he would be a good fit.
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I've seen him a couple times and I would agree with this assessment. Alex is a pretty athletic 4 who can really run the floor and reminds me a little of Cody Zeller. I think he would be a great fit and think we are in good shape with him.
 

Seems like people most commonly compare him to Humphries and Rickert. An athletic 4 that can do a little of everything. I'm sure he could log some minutes at the 5 when going small in Pitino's system.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Seems like people most commonly compare him to Humphries and Rickert. An athletic 4 that can do a little of everything. I'm sure he could log some minutes at the 5 when going small in Pitino's system.
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Nothing at all like Humphries....Could be a Rickert type player once he gets used to playing out of the blocks
 



I agree with most of you. Don't see any Humphries in him though. He's best suited for the 4, but could play some minutes at the 5 in an uptempo system, especially if he grows and/or gets stronger. Skilled and moves/runs the floor very well. I will of course defer to Howie though for a more detailed (and obviously more accurate) assessment after he watches a 30 second highlight video taken from someone's phone (or should I say after he "studies his film").
 

Probably no point in talking about whether or not he can play the 5 because we'll have Elijah Thomas handling those duties. ;)
 


What do we have now?

Elijah Thomas, Jarvis Johnson, Alex Illikainen, Rawle Alkins, Henry Ellenson? That's a nice list, and if we could land 2 of those guys we'd be in great shape!
 





Are the gophers looking at Sacar Anhim or the guard from Hill Murry? Would they take both or are they both back up options right now?
 

SuperSenior13 said:
Was just up in the Grand Rapids area and met a friend who had a son that played a few years back and knows Alex. Still practices with them from time to time. From what they knew he was very very high on becoming a Gopher. Kids from that area rarely venture very far from home after high school, and when they do, they don't tend to head very far. Take it with a grain of salt, as it didn't come from Alex or a family member, as well as how hard it is to say no to some of the other schools pursuing him. But I think Alex would be a great grab for Pitino and keeping the Minnesota pipeline just that; a MINNESOTA pipeline
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Huge grain of salt. I suspect there is more allegiance to the U of M up north compared to the cities but he comes from a family with two siblings playing D1 out on the east coast. He won't be afraid to leave.

Hoping he will be the second great player grom Grand Rapids in recent history to be a Gopher....Dusty Rychart is one of my favorites. Maximized his talents.
 




exiledinduluth said:
Huge grain of salt. I suspect there is more allegiance to the U of M up north compared to the cities but he comes from a family with two siblings playing D1 out on the east coast. He won't be afraid to leave.

Hoping he will be the second great player grom Grand Rapids in recent history to be a Gopher....Dusty Rychart is one of my favorites. Maximized his talents.
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Ya, but I'm guessing every girl wants to play for the gophers, who knows if they even offered Big Al's sisters?
 


This thread is intended for updates on the recruitment of Alex Illikainen. We encourage general 2015/2016 recruiting (re: non Alex Illikainen discussion) to be in the respective recruiting threads for those years. This allows for those looking for quick updates on Alex to come to one spot. Thanks.
 

Duluth News Tribune: Illikainen is Grand Rapids’ center of attention

Illikainen’s phone has taken the brunt of the abuse ever since as the race to land the 6-foot-9 center intensifies midway through his junior season. The number of scholarship offers from Division I programs has reached “12 or 13,” Illikainen said. That list includes Indiana, where Illikainen will make an unofficial visit this weekend, on the heels of recent trips to Creighton and Iowa State.

His first official campus visit — one of five allotted — will be to California at the end of the month.

In a St. Paul Pioneer Press article earlier this month, Illikainen expressed his affinity for the University of Minnesota, specifically its proximity to Grand Rapids. Former Gophers coach Tubby Smith had offered Illikainen a scholarship, and it was re-extended by current coach Richard Pitino, who watched the Thunderhawks take on Lakeville North on Jan. 4 in the Timberwolves Shootout.

Illikainen, though, appears perfectly content to let the process play itself out. For the first time, this summer, he will suit up with Twin Cities-based Howard Pulley, an AAU outfit that travels all over the country and plays in front of gyms teeming with some of the biggest names in college basketball.

While the enhanced exposure of the summer circuit will be nice, Illikainen said that’s not the top priority.

“It’s not mainly what I’m playing for,” he said. “I’m mostly going to play Howard Pulley for the experience and to play against better guys. We’ll see who comes in, if anyone comes in, but I’m pretty content with where I’m at.”

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/288734/group/Sports/

Go Gophers!!
 

Alex playing for Pulley this Spring/Summer could really hurt our chances with him.

It will be exiting to see him and Jarvis playing together though.
 

THE ROCK said:
Alex playing for Pulley this Spring/Summer could really hurt our chances with him.

It will be exiting to see him and Jarvis playing together though.
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I wouldn't even let my kid play in the AAU circuit. It's a bad brand of basketball and a toxic environment.

I firmly believe working on your game by yourself, or with a coach, and weighting lifting will help a kid develop just fine. He won't pick up the bad habits of these ego-fest... all-star games where fundamentals and coaching are lacking.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Junior Alex Illikainen had 28 points in Grand Rapid's 68-59 win over Duluth East. He is making an unofficial visit to Indiana this weekend.</p>— Chris Monter (@collegebbnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/collegebbnews/statuses/424055293203345408">January 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>What a game! Mn vs Wis.</p>— Alex Illikainen (@AIllikainen_25) <a href="https://twitter.com/AIllikainen_25/statuses/426203227038568449">January 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 

An early commit from Alex and Jarvis would be insane. Hoping at least one of those two pull the trigger relatively early.
 

if those guys take advantage of their offers early and commit id put money on us getting at least one more 4 star guy maybe two.. and i would take both jalen adams and jarvis in a second i think pitino would too
 

BleedGopher said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Junior Alex Illikainen had 28 points in Grand Rapid's 68-59 win over Duluth East. He is making an unofficial visit to Indiana this weekend.</p>— Chris Monter (@collegebbnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/collegebbnews/statuses/424055293203345408">January 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
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When Alex compares that egg the Hoosiers laid against Northwestern on Saturday with the game and atmosphere at the Barn last night , it should be advantage Gophers.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Alex Illikainen will take his first official visit this week when he visits California. He will see Cal take on number 1 ranked Arizona.</p>— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanJamesMN/statuses/427653089017868288">January 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Indy Star: IU recruit Alex Illikainen still weighing options

There’s no chance Illikainen, who considers his on-court versatility one of his best traits, trades in his basketball shoes for ice skates. He visited Indiana two weeks ago for the Northwestern game and has an offer from the Hoosiers, as well as several other schools, including Creighton, Minnesota and Oregon. He’s taking the first of his official visits this weekend to Cal.

“The teams he probably hears the most from are Creighton, Minnesota, Indiana and Oregon,” said his father Darin. “Initially he set out to visit all the teams that offered him and, barring a couple, he’ll be able to do that. He wants to try and catch them when the teams are in season so he can get a better feel for it.”

One of the top competitors for Indiana could be Illikainen’s home-state school. New Minnesota coach Richard Pitino made it clear when he arrived that the scholarship offer was on the table. Ben Johnson was recruiting Illikainen as an assistant at Nebraska before taking a job under Pitino at Minnesota.

“Being from Minnesota, I’ve watched the Big Ten growing up and it’s a very competitive league,” he said. “Once (Pitino) got the job there I went down and visited with him and they said they definitely still wanted me.”

http://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ex-illikainen-still-weighing-options/5061183/

Go Gophers!!
 


per Marcus' article:

Illikainen, averaging 26.2 points and 14.7 rebounds, took an unofficial visit to California two weekends ago.

"It was great. It was awesome," said Illikainen, who has a goal of leading the Thunderhawks to five consecutive state tournaments.

Illikainen said he doesn't need to be a college team's marquee player.

"I don't need to be the guy at all," he said. "I'm looking for great character with the team, guys who love the team and work together. I want to be with fun coaches, great coaches who want to work hard. I want the campus to be a great mix of academics and the college experience."

When Illikainen returned from California, Roseville assistant coach Tom Critchley -- his summer coach -- fielded phone calls from college scouts wanting to know if their schools were still in the running.

"It was crazy," Critchley said. "(Gophers assistant coach) Ben Johnson was one of those calls. Coaches wanted to know, 'Where do we stand?' and are they still in the picture. These coaches just love his skill set, his leadership and versatility."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_25116196/rice-lakes-henry-ellenson-tops-talented-group-2015

Go Gophers!!
 


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