Illinois gets committment from Crete-Monee point guard Michael Orris

[Da Coach]

Michael Orris is a 6'2" point guard, class of 2012, from Crete-Monee High School in Crete, Illinois. He originally committed to Creighton four months ago, then decommitted a month and a half later. Some reports said it was because he was getting interest from several major schools, including Illinois. The final decision came this weekend during an official visit to the Illini campus.

http://ilprepbullseye.com/Orris_Illinois.html

Michael Orris profile

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Michael-Orris-119316

[Future Walk-On]

[lake Camelot]

I'll post it here also. This thread wasn't here when I posted in the other recruiting thread.

Anyway if I was a U of I fan I would be very disappointed in this. I like our comit (Bell) as much as Orris or more. I think U of I needs a higher caliber recruit. I think Bruce is slipping again.

[Future Walk-On]

I'll post it here also. This thread wasn't here when I posted in the other recruiting thread.

Anyway if I was a U of I fan I would be very disappointed in this. I like our comit (Bell) as much as Orris or more. I think U of I needs a higher caliber recruit. I think Bruce is slipping again.

Illinois clearly wanted a PG for 2012....getting over that....who else were they going to get after everyone else picked elsewhere, Rozier UL, Paige UNC, Ferrell IU....those losses are nothing to be ashamed of.

Jalen James is #76 for 2013
Malcom Hill is #50 for 2013 (UofI in final 3)
Then there are a boatload of 2013 and 2014's

You might know all this...but it doesn't seem like it.

TL;DR: Bruce is not slipping.

[Da Coach]

I'll post it here also. This thread wasn't here when I posted in the other recruiting thread.

Anyway if I was a U of I fan I would be very disappointed in this. I like our comit (Bell) as much as Orris or more. I think U of I needs a higher caliber recruit. I think Bruce is slipping again.

You are right. I know a couple Illinois fans who do not like this commit at all. There are many point guards left nationally that are better.
Orris is rated 0 stars by Rivals. By comparison, Ka'Darryl Bell is 3-stars.

I have also heard that Bruce Weber is not convinced Tracy Abrams is his point guard of the future.

[Future Walk-On]

There are many point guards left nationally that are better.
.

.

That is like saying why did Bradley recruit Ka'Darryl Bell when Kyle Anderson and Rodney Purvis are still available......

[Da Coach]

Are you suggesting that Bradley can recruit nationally as well as Illlinois can? That just isn't close to being true. Illinois should be going after the best PG available. They have only 1 scholarship available for 2012, and they settle for a Zero star kid from Crete-Monee, when there are better players available, including some in Illinois.

I have yet to hear from an Illinois fan who is happy with this commitment.

OTOH, Bradley got the best PG available to them.

And BTW, Purvis and Anderson are the top rated point guards still available, but they are far from the only good PGs still available nationally.
Here is only a partial list from Rivals of some of the hundreds of point guards from the class of 2012 that are rated higher than Michael Orris.
This list only contains those who are still uncommitted, and does not include the many great PGs who the Illini already missed out on, nor the myriad of very good junior college PGs still available.

[Future Walk-On]

Yeah I am suggesting that....????? I'm suggesting that Illinois doesn't offer 100 PG's a year. They don't bring in 4-stars from Florida typically....

Maybe they thought Rozier would commit...I doubt Orris was their first choice...If shit hit the fan they can't just start up a new recruitment this late.

Like I said they had offered Paige, Rozier, etc.... and missed

Go to the Orris thread on Illinois Loyalty if you want to see people who are content with it.

I am not saying I am jumping up and down, just that this doesn't mean BW is slipping and Illinois is losing its recruiting prowess.

[45otseoj]

Orris is rated 0 stars by Rivals.

He hasn't been rated yet.

[tornado]

but even that answer is hard to swallow -- there's something up --
Orris has been everywhere -- taking visits, AAU ball, 25 different articles about his getting offers, taking visits, giving interviews, flirting with schools, etc...

His high school team has also gotten tons of additional publicity and he had 3-4 other D-I recruits playing with him at Crete-Monee including two on his team who are playing at the D1 level this year ....how did this team not win State or at least get to State?
Hardly a single player since last spring in the Illinois Class of 2012 has gotten so much attention and coverage as Orris -- and they haven't "rated him" yet? Odd?

[Buesch N Chips]

As an Illini fan, one recruit does not a team or program make. I don't know thing one about this kid, but I do know they can be good with him on the roster, even if he sucks. Maybe he is the key to an even better recruit. Maybe Bruce wanted to lay some claim to that area. Maybe the kid is a locker room guy. Hard to say. No one really knows their intentions and/or motivations. I like Bruce Weber, I hope he finds a group of guys that he can motivate. They've had way to many "mutiny guys" that they are finally rid of. Looking forward to see what he can do with a group of guys who aren't questioning his every move.

[lake Camelot]

As an Illini fan, one recruit does not a team or program make. I don't know thing one about this kid, but I do know they can be good with him on the roster, even if he sucks. Maybe he is the key to an even better recruit. Maybe Bruce wanted to lay some claim to that area. Maybe the kid is a locker room guy. Hard to say. No one really knows their intentions and/or motivations. I like Bruce Weber, I hope he finds a group of guys that he can motivate. They've had way to many "mutiny guys" that they are finally rid of. Looking forward to see what he can do with a group of guys who aren't questioning his every move.

Overall I agree with your point. Howver they already tried to compete with good kids and didn't do well. Last year they had some problems with players, but in my opinion they were a lot closer to an elite team than they had been. I really think they need a higher level of recruit to compete in the big ten. Especially when you have only one scholarship to give out. I have been wrong many times before though, and they could gel and be a perfect team.
The best part is I don't care. I would rather Illinois be good so I can watch a game once in a while, but if not it is no big deal to me.

[Da Coach]

He hasn't been rated yet.

Scout.com and most premium recruiting services have rated him.
Scout rates him 2-stars.

And the other recruiting sites that have evaluated him rate him below other Illinois point guards, some of whom are still uncommitted.
Here is Scout's ranking of Illinois point guards-


Other recruiting sevices have additional Illinois 2012 PGs such as Jeff White and Keith Carter listed ahead of Orris.
And my point, which is still valid, was that unlike Bradley, Illinois does have the ability to go after highly ranked recruits throughout the midwest, and nationally. Nationally, there are dozens of available point guards ranked higher than Orris, and that doesn't even include juco kids.

Illinois will be hurting next year at point guard after Sammy is gone. It's been widely reported that Bruce Weber is not satisfied that Tracy Abrams is his point guard of the future, and he will be the only available point guard on the Illini roster next year. This was Weber's only available scholarship for 2012, so I can understand why all my Illini fan friends think he should have targeted a juco or a more ready player to contribute immediately next season.
FTR- I am not knocking Michael Orris. If he signed with Bradley, I would think it was a good get, though I believe we did better for the style of PG Coach Ford likes with Ka'Darryl Bell. Orris is a solid midmajor recruit, and that is not just my opinion, but the opinion of at least a dozen national and midwestern recruiting experts.

[tornado]

In a new premium interview - Orris admits that the fact there's only one other guy on the roster
who's ever played point guard was about the only factor in his decision...
what kid wouldn't want the almost certain chance of immediate playing time even as a freshman?

[Buesch N Chips]

Now Malcolm Hill to Illinois. IN BRUCE WE TRUST!