I was 21 in 2005. The list of things I say now at 35 with 3 kids that would induce vomit in 2005 is a long list.I'll take "Things you say in 2019 that would have made you choke down your vomit in 2005", Alex.
Without Kane, very likely that GB is mostly a 5 again this year sharing time there with Kofi, but it doesn't seem like there was much doubt that the plan was for GB to be primarily a 4 this year alongside Kofi; in that scenario Kane seemed to be a clear leader to be the back up Big in that rotation, ahead of Kouma & Verdonk...personally I would be surprised if either freshman, both coming in late, would have been more ready than Kane or even in a position to win time over Kipper/Tev/DW as the stretch 4. Kane would have needed to improve, but as I look back that is the case for most of our freshman bigs. Think Leonard or Egwu where they made relatively huge jumps from Freshman to Sophmore year. It was way too early too write off Kane. Also there seems to be enough speculation that I'm buying that the staff expected him to be in the back end of the rotation at big.....imo no way. ...A guy that made one free throw out of seven attempts and maybe one shot outside 10 feet all season isnt gonna just play because is tall and can jump. We have other options now at the 4. GB and Kofi will play most of the minutes at the 5 and when they are both out of the game then we have better options to play smaller. 6'8" to 6'10" with skill and a but strong ger is likely what would have happenned. Samba wouldnt have played it a tight game this year imo. That is likely why he bolted and why he didnt last year. I think BK and Verdonk both have much more skill than Kane and others have likely got better. He left because he saw that imo.
Or Verdonk...I'm not really expecting either, but it sure would be a nice surprise if one of them showed up ready to play. If we are undersize at the 4, I would like it to be by choice this year, not that we don't have another big that be even an adequate replacement level solution.Really like the team of Giorgi, Kofi, Ayo, Trent, and Tevian. However with no backup at the five there is a max of ten minutes (assuming Giorgi 30 mins/game and Kofi 20) that Kofi and Giorgi can play together. That leaves us undersized at the 4 for 75% of the game. We need Kouma in the short term.
Improvement is one thing but from basically nothing to 20 minutes a game and playing alot is another.I didn't realize he was not going to improve at all between his freshman and sophomore years.
I don't think you understand player development or how you motivate players. Ever coach?
Edit: tone of this was harsher than I intended. I can tell you that most kids these days expect coaching to be a two-way street. I.e. it's not all about coaches drawing a hard-line stance about getting PT. There needs to be a development plan and some effort to work with the player or you'll lose their buy-in. High level talent has a ton of options, and taking them for granted is a recipe for turnover.
I think people were hoping for 10-12 quality minutes which wasn't a stretchImprovement is one thing but from basically nothing to 20 minutes a game and playing alot is another.
I'll take "Things you say in 2019 that would have made you choke down your vomit in 2005", Alex.
That happened when he decided to transfer.I didn't realize he was not going to improve at all between his freshman and sophomore years.
He stayed 20 n I do think it was a stretch for a player that made one free throw and only 1 shot I recall outside often feet. I think a 6'8" to 6'10" guy with skill is a much better option. I remember last year most on here, not me or a few others but most thought Kane was better skilled than GB. That wasnt close. You could look at tape and see that easily. I think that Kane leaving was wise is he ever wanted many minutes. He will get recruited over or beat out just like this year. He was smart to.leave if he wants to play much imo.I think people were hoping for 10-12 quality minutes which wasn't a stretch
As Illinois has done in the past, I'd expect a tentative Italy schedule to be released a few days prior to departure (August 4th). If you plan on being in Italy, best to contact Illinois directly to see if those gyms/arenas will be open for the fans during their practices or games. I wouldn't count on any live streaming being available, but Illinois has done a good job of providing highlight videos immediately after overseas games and I wouldn't expect this time to be any different.Also, Why doesn't Illinois ever put out a schedule for the overseas games. Last time they didn't release a schedule, or tell when you could buy tickets or anything...
Kane is "high level talent?" That seems a stretch. I have zero doubt that the staff had a plan for developing and working with Kane. But maybe he had issues we don't know about or wanted starters minutes, which he wasn't going to get.
Last year most thought dancing. dribbling , and all that that Samba was better than him. I used to live at Huff and IMPE. I cant recall any big men other than Meyers with a better skill set. Weber just screwed up. GB is the most skilled guy we have ever had since 1975 that's over 6'10". The main reason he ended up here is he is from Europe. I'd bet he had a high school coach that didnt see his skill set. I'm glad BU did.
Kent Brown is Sports Info Director. Derek Berson works for him and is in charge of BB sports info. Sean Harrington has never worked for sports info??? Maybe you emailed the wrong dept. Sports Info (Derek) is usually great at getting info that he can share to the public.Thanks Dan... Unfortunately last time time around, I sent a message to Shaun Harrington, who was sports information director, and got NOTHING...
I like GB and all but this is almost all untrue. First, GB is generously listed at 6'9". Second, he is nowhere near the best big since 2000 let alone 1975. Did you forget about Brian Cook, Marcus Griffin and Dion Thomas to name a few? Third, Meyers Leonards skillset sucked when he came in as a frosh, he needed a ton of coaching and Weber did a good job giving him that going into his second year.Last year most thought dancing. dribbling , and all that that Samba was better than him. I used to live at Huff and IMPE. I cant recall any big men other than Meyers with a better skill set. Weber just screwed up. GB is the most skilled guy we have ever had since 1975 that's over 6'10". The main reason he ended up here is he is from Europe. I'd bet he had a high school coach that didnt see his skill set. I'm glad BU did.
I like GB and all but this is almost all untrue. First, GB is generously listed at 6'9". Second, he is nowhere near the best big since 2000 let alone 1975. Did you forget about Brian Cook, Marcus Griffin and Dion Thomas to name a few? Third, Myers Leonards skillset sucked when he came in as a frosh, he needed a ton of coaching and Weber did a good job giving him that going into his second year.
Yeah...if he makes team it will be cool. 1st time in ___ years, 2 former Illini on same team.Don’t know where else to put this, but Kendrick Nunn made the NBA Summer League first team. Pretty cool!
None of the players you list were at or over 6 feet 10 inches. You can quibble with Georgi’s height, if you like, but he simply left out of his equation the players you listed. He never said anything about players at the height of your examples; he “forgot” no one. Clearly, the freshman Georgi was light years ahead of the freshman Meyers.
Yeah...if he makes team it will be cool. 1st time in ___ years, 2 former Illini on same team.
I didn't say they were over 6'10". He said "I can't recall any big men other than Meyers with a better skill set". I brought up a few better big men with better skill sets.None of the players you list were at or over 6 feet 10 inches. You can quibble with Georgi’s height, if you like, but he simply left out of his equation the players you listed. He never said anything about players at the height of your examples; he “forgot” no one. Clearly, the freshman Georgi was light years ahead of the freshman Meyers.