Illini Basketball 2019-2020

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#151      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
"Kouma, who also played on the Nike EYBL circut for New York Lightning, is ranked as the No. 395 player in the 2019 class by 247Sports."

Hmmmmm....I wonder where I've seen this before?

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#154      
"Kouma, who also played on the Nike EYBL circut for New York Lightning, is ranked as the No. 395 player in the 2019 class by 247Sports."

Hmmmmm....I wonder where I've seen this before?

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They indicated that they were originally most impressed with his footwork, so I wonder if he can do that!
 
#155      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Kouma is a lottery ticket. Another practice big. Almost for sure a long play. At the very worst, he improves our French speaking quotient a metric stuff ton. Hope he pans out.
 
#157      

Epsilon

M tipping over
Pdx
Kouma is a lottery ticket. Another practice big. Almost for sure a long play. At the very worst, he improves our French speaking quotient a metric stuff ton. Hope he pans out.

And yet somebody found it appropriate to tweet directly to the kid that he hopes Kouma helps but probably not. WTF?
 
#160      

Deleted member 236589

D
Guest
With all of this size, at very least we'll look impressive coming out of the locker room. Hoping this isn't a looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane situation.
 
#162      
With all of this size, at very least we'll look impressive coming out of the locker room. Hoping this isn't a looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane situation.
Don't think we got another Giorgi but looked better than any of the other bigs against Whitney. Think he will play way above 395.
 
#164      
But it's great to think of Illini as #21 in the country. Let's hope Mr. Katz is right.

Exactly. We have definitely had teams in the past that suffered from getting hype and possibly got complacent (looking at you, 2010-2013 stretch), but this group does not strike me as this type of case. They are talented, hard working and tough - their issue honestly seems to be consistency and by digging deeper confidence. It might be good for them to see outside sources believing in them. I know I am on the more positive side of things with this team, but the pieces are there. The coaching (IMO!) has a proven track record. The fan support is rivaled by few. If this team can get some wins under its belt in the non-conference that just weren't there last year, we really could live up to this.
 
#166      
I watched the entire game against Whitney's team. This kid can play.

I heard the same thing from another source as well. Welcome Bernard! Don't listen to the negative people. No one thought Giorgi would be an impact big either. Just go out, improve and play hard.
 
#168      
21. Illinois: Get on this bandwagon now. The Illini have figured out how to play for Brad Underwood. And the team returned without taking a hit from the draft. Ayo Dosunmu can be first team all-Big Ten. Trent Frazier is a big-shot maker. And few bring as much passion to playing as Giorgi Bezhanishvili. The glue guys like Andres Feliz make this roster ready for a major jump.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal...ball-rankings-andy-katzs-power-36-teams-right
The coaching staff needs to forward this article by Katz on to Addison Patterson if he is indeed going to reclassify to 2019.
 
#169      
Kouma is a lottery ticket. Another practice big. Almost for sure a long play. At the very worst, he improves our French speaking quotient a metric stuff ton. Hope he pans out.

Based only on very limited sample, it seems to me that Underwood doesn't mind filling out a class with a guy or two that has promise, and evaluate how they're coming along learning the system. Both sides could re-evaluate of course.
 
#170      

BMoreIllini

Baltimore, MD
I feel like targeting these lower ranked, "international-type" recruits as late class fill-ins is a good way to go given the current situation. We had one that didn't pan out (Matic), but we've had some that worked out pretty well (Ebo and Giorgi). Matic is different from the other two in that he didn't play stateside before playing college ball, if I recall correctly. I feel like the benefit of recruiting these types is that they've likely not been playing basketball their entire lives like so many of the US based recruits, so they're still pretty raw and could have more untapped potential than similarly ranked recruits. Identifying these types and being able to coach them up is key here. Obviously filling all scholarships with 4 and high 3 star players is more ideal, but I'm not too upset over our current situation.
 
#171      
Matic was an example of poor planning IMHO. If we follow the Wisconsin plan for him, he is redshirted first year. Second year gets spot minutes and third year starts to get into the rotation. His 4th and 5th year he is more of a solid contributor. Not sure this would of worked for Matic, but that is what Wisconsin does. All of the sudden he is a stretch 4 who can pass and hit 3's. Adding experience, skill, and muscle over the course of 3-4 years makes a difference.
 
#172      
totally agree, hope we have a chance to find out if Giorgi can play the 4 with Kofi at the 5
Just because GBis playing the 4 doesnt mean he wont be posted up in the post often. BU even said just because Kofi is on the floor that doesnt mean we wont still go to GB in the post. He is too good iat it. I am an old school Laker fan and they always went to Worthy down low with Kareem on the floor. I am sure GB will still be our best offensive option down low and he will get fed often.
 
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#173      

illini80

Forgottonia
Just because GBis playing the 4 doesnt mean he wont be posted up in the post often. BU even said just because Kofi is on the floor that doesnt mean we wont still go to GB in the post. He is too good iat it. I am an old school Laker fan and they always went to Worthy down low with Kareem on the floor. I am sure GB will still be our best offensive option down low and he will get fed often.
This is how I see it. The offense needs to be created to take advantage of Kofi's size and Giorgi's skills around the basket. Most teams don't have two bigs that can defend both of those skill sets, so creating the mismatches will be key. Hopefully the overseas trip will give them a chance to experiment with that some. If they figure that out, we could be really good offensively. If Giorgi becomes primarily a 3 shooter I have less confidence.
 
#174      
When is the trip to Italy? Summer school starts June 10, do we expect both newcomers to be here by then?
 
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