2018 Off Season Thread

[SergioKittner]

Loyola went a long way with an unathletic freshman center. A lot of teams play freshmen who are effective. GBez looks physically ready and 6'7" (per Illini roster) Jones is a tremendous athlete who will add strength by Nov. I am assuming these guys will be here in June and have 5 mos with Fletch. That said it is very difficult to predict the starters at this point. It may be more chemistry than talent and hopefully a lot more about defense than just scorers.

We should be able to pencil Trent, Ayo and Kipper into the starting lineup. For game 1 you would probably be safe to put AJ in there too. AJ should (hopefully) gets unseated by a younger player that develops. Be that Da’Monte or someone else. The question will be is Ebo the best big just from his experience over the others? Again for game 1 and our current roster, that would probably be a safe bet.

 

[tpbradley]

Agree. Kid's got a nose for the ball.

 

[Ratskin]

I think some of you are underrating AJ. With another year behind him, and other shooters to spread the defense, he'll have more opportunities to get off good shots. He works like a madman, and that was paying off for him towards the end of the season.

 

[ChiefIllini]

I think some of you are underrating AJ. With another year behind him, and other shooters to spread the defense, he'll have more opportunities to get off good shots. He works like a madman, and that was paying off for him towards the end of the season.

He needs to one of two things: become a threat from other than downtown, or quicken/raise his release a non trivial amount. I like how he plays on the court, but offensively he lacks more than a move or two.

He was my favorite player last year, and if it wasn't for Malcolm, would've been his entire time here. You can tell he cares about the team, not just himself. That's worth something.

 

[ILL in IA]

AJ showed early last year what he could be as a shooter. Other teams took notice and planned around taking that away. I think having a few more players on the court with him, who can break down their man, and collapse the defense will only be a good thing for AJ. Being on the floor with TF and Ayo at the same time will get AJ a lot of good looks.

 

[rockillini]

AJ showed early last year what he could be as a shooter. Other teams took notice and planned around taking that away. I think having a few more players on the court with him, who can break down their man, and collapse the defense will only be a good thing for AJ. Being on the floor with TF and Ayo at the same time will get AJ a lot of good looks.

And El General.

 

[oldman]

I don't think we should assume Vesel will not contribute. He showed up at the end of the summer., missing the summer of conditioning and acclimating the other freshmen received. He faced language, cultural and, if I recall correctly, diet issues when he arrived, not to mention being thrown into classes while meeting new teammates. He may not improve, but we should not assume he won't. Now that he has been here for a year he may be ready to make significant progress.

 

[adogster]

Come on, for real? I have never seen a scholarship player do so bad. It wasn’t his skill it was that he looked petrified of the ball or another player. It was strange and I don’t count on Vessel to do anything next year or any of the following seasons he is here. I also think that Jones and Ayo have a better chance of making a difference in year 1 than anyone not named Frazier

Too bad you don't have a strong opinion

 

[yeahyeahyeah]

Come on, for real? I have never seen a scholarship player do so bad. It wasn’t his skill it was that he looked petrified of the ball or another player. It was strange and I don’t count on Vessel to do anything next year or any of the following seasons he is here. I also think that Jones and Ayo have a better chance of making a difference in year 1 than anyone not named Frazier

Kipper believes in Vesel. Said he works hard. So, I'm looking forward to him contributing.