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Post by motorcitysam on Jun 10, 2015 9:54:50 GMT -5
UIC with a nice recruiting success, picking up 2015 6-7 small forward Dikembe Dixson. Dixson had a final three of Wake Forrest, UIC, and DePaul. He's rated a three star recruit by ESPN.
That's a significant signing for the Flames.
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Post by Commissioner on Apr 3, 2016 9:49:23 GMT -5
Things are still shaking out at UIC. Three members of the 2016 team have flamed out and are transferring: Julian Torres, Najeal Young, and Drew Hackett.
A junior who came in from the juco ranks, Young averaged 23 minutes, 6.3 points, and 6.3 rebounds last season. In Conference play it was 27 minutes, 7.1 points, and 7.1 rebounds (a remarkable ability to pair scoring and rebounding averages!). Young is a 6-6 forward.
Torres had been considered a top recruit for Green Bay in the class of '15, but was released from his LOI when Brian Wardle left the Phoenix, and joined new coach Steve McClain at UIC. The 6-9 power forward played in 28 games, averaging just under 10 minutes per game, and contributing 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds. It was not a great but a promising enough season -- not much different from that of Aaron Foster Smith at Detroit (10.7 minutes, 3.6 points, 1.8 rebounds). Torres is a bit slow for McClain's style and that may be a reason for leaving.
Drew Hackett was a high scoring high school guard who couldn't find himself at UIC. Hackett played in 21 games, averaging 8.8 minutes and 1.4 points. A shooter, he never found his shot, making just 3 of 22 three point attempts and just 5 of 14 two point shots.
None of this is a catastrophe -- McClain has another good recruiting class coming in, and Hackett was probably in over his head at the HL level. (Hackett looks like an adequate Summit player or a stud D-II player). But Young can contribute and Torres, even if not an ideal fit at UIC, still has promise. If Torres and Young are gone UIC will be very thin in the frontcourt.
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Post by Commissioner on Apr 11, 2016 13:27:08 GMT -5
UIC got a commitment yesterday from Marcus Ottey, a 3 star point guard the Titans had offered. Ottey had offers from the likes of Wichita State, Nebraska, DePaul, VCU and Cincinnati. A very good get for UIC. Now they have to hold him for 24 hours and get his name on that LOI!
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Post by Commissioner on Apr 26, 2016 7:58:24 GMT -5
No surprise to see Markese McGuire added to the transfer list. A holdover from Howard Moore's tenure, McGuire's pt declined by more than 50% last year and he obviously wasn't going to play much this year. Last year the 6-3 guard averaged 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds.
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Post by Flamesmania on Apr 30, 2016 15:16:26 GMT -5
Markese will be a graduate transfer as he graduated in 3 years! He was a good trooper and didn't cause any problems or complain. He knew and understood that his minutes would be diminished with the new guys comimg in and figured he wouldn't see the court next season with even better recruits coming in! We wish him well.
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 30, 2016 16:06:33 GMT -5
Markese will be a graduate transfer as he graduated in 3 years! He was a good trooper and didn't cause any problems or complain. He knew and understood that his minutes would be diminished with the new guys comimg in and figured he wouldn't see the court next season with even better recruits coming in! We wish him well. Flamesmania! Good to hear from you again. UIC is building something good, I believe. I think it's always better for the conference for there to be a good team in a major market like Chicago. I saw some encouraging things last season and landing guys like Santos and Ottey is a good sign for the future.
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Post by Flamesmania on May 1, 2016 23:47:56 GMT -5
Hopefully with 2 good point guards,the Flames have a floor general who can actually run the team and be a facilitator. This will prevent Dikembe Dixson from thinking he has to do it all. We also get the #1 shooting guard in the state of Illinois for 2014 back,as Dominique Matthews comes back from a hand/wrist injury. Coach McClain will have more offensive options and hopefully better basketball IQ going forward. It will be interesting!
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Post by motorcitysam on Dec 14, 2016 23:22:36 GMT -5
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Post by larrytitan on Dec 15, 2016 8:48:34 GMT -5
Both DePaul and St Johns. Niagara, also....have fallen far....Call it the Curse of the Vincentians!
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Post by motorcitysam on Dec 19, 2016 15:04:46 GMT -5
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 28, 2017 16:39:58 GMT -5
Michael Kolawole is transferring out of UIC. Not a huge blow for the program (he might even have been encouraged to leave-they need to run off a couple to make room for incoming recruits) but he's a decent player, versatile, who provided depth. Averaged 16+ minutes and 5+ points as a soph this year, but his PT declined the last couple weeks of the season.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 29, 2017 23:25:01 GMT -5
Freshman KJ Santos is transferring. KJ was only so-so this year, but this one hurts. He was a 3/4 star recruit, and still recovering from some injuries. Definitely a talent, and even this year, an important contributor, averaging over 7 points and 4 rebounds in over 24 minutes per game (over 9 ppg in conference play). They're also losing to transfer Lance Whitaker, whose career has been plagued by injuries, and back up forward Hassan Thomas, along with Kolawole, mentioned above. KJ is the only one who really hurts, though Kolawole and Whitaker were decent enough deep bench players.
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 19, 2017 14:15:36 GMT -5
UIC announces a contract extension for their head coach. McClain's deal runs through 2021 now.
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UI-Chicago
May 26, 2017 14:53:03 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by motorcitysam on May 26, 2017 14:53:03 GMT -5
UIC added another to the class of 2017, picking up 6-7 guard/forward Ralph Bissainthe, a high school player from the state of Florida.
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Post by motorcitysam on Sept 3, 2017 5:39:18 GMT -5
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