Just not at Illinois.

John: I think that they had bigger fish to fry. That was the same class as Bill Cole and Mike Tisdale and Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose. There was interest in Robbie – I know Jay Price was in Valparaiso many times – but he was in a fallback position. He was in a holding pattern.

Didn't you tell Coach Weber about Robbie?

John: I saw him at an AAU tournament that summer. At that point, coaches are very careful about not speaking to anyone connected to a recruit. So, no, I never did.

Do you think Rob would have come if Illinois had made an offer?

Bonnie: 50-50 at best. Rob was on the same AAU team as E'Twaun Moore and Scott Martin, and it was a very successful team. All three wound up going to Purdue. I know E'Twaun Moore's parents said they wouldn't let him commit to Purdue until they were sure Rob was going to commit.

I think the disaster of the 2007 recruiting class is going to bite us until every last one of those players has graduated or left for the pros.