Illini Basketball 2019-2020

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#576      
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.

GB is a good player and a better person. I love that he is an Illini but I hope people temper their expectations of him because he is close to being a finished product already. He is a good but not great college 5. I expect KC to immediately challenge him for the starting spot though and unless GB dramatically improves his outside shot, he will not start at the 4.

If GB does somehow improve his outside game dramatically (unlikely imo) then they start together.

I think Samba and possibly the staff saw that GB was not going to be the starting 4 and realized there would be almost zero mins and hence the transfer. We will play KC and GB together a little (2-5 mins per game).

I do expect 40 solid mins at the 5 this year and Honestly I am not worried at all about the 4. I expect Jones to gobble up 20+ and KN and Verdonk to battle for the rest.

Not the best frontline in the BIG but not bad at all. I would put them at around 4th to 8th best.

Without going into detail I think our guard play will have a chance to be top 5 in the BIG as well so I am a little surprised that anyone would project us to not make the tourny. Very few teams will be as deep and have good front and backcourts. Some teams will be be better at one or the other but only Michigan St and maybe Maryland will be better at both.

I predict no worse than 7th and as high as 2nd in the BIG. Of course this is assuming Underwood is for real which I believe he is.
(n)(n):unsure:
 
#577      
Howard and Norfolk State could be better MEAC choices. It would be a great conference for someone with Samba's size and raw talent to develop against a level of competition that won't expose his still evolving (see: raw) skill set.

Missouri State clearly in the lead.
 
#578      
If Giorgi gets more athletic, he could be JA 2.0, I thought he would coming in and he hasn't dissappointed at all. The kid has a bright future and represents the school perfectly. Great find for more many reasons for BU and staff.
Interesting comparison to JA frosh stats:
JA 21.8 mins, .580 fg, .711 ft, 5.8 reb, 3.3 PF, 7.0 pts .8 blks
GB 26.1 mins, .542 fg, .657 ft, 5.2 reb, 3.8 PF, 12.5 pts, .8 blks
Augustine was playing for a much better team so not sure how that would affect his stats, but he was somewhat better in all but points but certainly comparable.
 
#579      

blackdog

Champaign
Interesting comparison to JA frosh stats:
JA 21.8 mins, .580 fg, .711 ft, 5.8 reb, 3.3 PF, 7.0 pts .8 blks
GB 26.1 mins, .542 fg, .657 ft, 5.2 reb, 3.8 PF, 12.5 pts, .8 blks
Augustine was playing for a much better team so not sure how that would affect his stats, but he was somewhat better in all but points but certainly comparable.

It's funny I thought you making a joke at first comparing GB to Ja Morant. Took me a second there.
 
#581      

ILL in IA

Iowa City
Our recent history always has me waiting for something to go wrong. GB is too good to be true.
 
#585      
Honestly trying not to vomit after reading Kipper's piece today. I honestly don't think he even gets it. I know we shouldn't put down our own but this specific player drives me and coach Underwood nuts.
 
#586      

blackdog

Champaign
Honestly trying not to vomit after reading Kipper's piece today. I honestly don't think he even gets it. I know we shouldn't put down our own but this specific player drives me and coach Underwood nuts.

Link?
 
#588      

foby

Bonnaroo Land
It was in the news gazette. Confused about what made ACL so mad.
To me it seemed like KN had achieved a high level of off the court maturity which hopefully translates into a stellar senior season. But maybe I missed something.
 
#591      
#592      

Illwinsagain

Cary, IL
“Man, I know my Apple Music account is going to cost a little bit more,” the Illinois redshirt junior joked. “I’m not going to lie. That’s the only thing I’ve thought about so far.”

I am guessing this quote may stand out to ACL. The rest of the article seemed reflective. To me, Kipper seemed comfortable. Nothing wrong with that, as a fan, I would like to see a higher sense of urgency. Of course, words are easy, action is hard. If he plays like "good Kipper", he can sound as passive as he wants!
 
#594      

Deleted member 643761

D
Guest
To me it seemed like KN had achieved a high level of off the court maturity which hopefully translates into a stellar senior season. But maybe I missed something.
I think part of the reading is that he doesn't across as having a lot of fire/desire.

At the same time, that's often just player speak. So let's just see what he does on the court. That's all that matters. If he can approach some of the sophomore games he's got a chance to really help us out.
 
#595      
Honestly trying not to vomit after reading Kipper's piece today. I honestly don't think he even gets it. I know we shouldn't put down our own but this specific player drives me and coach Underwood nuts.

Kipper's performance has more to do with his mental approach than anything IMO, so he's right to give that some thought. I don't expect him to have a chip on his shoulder and play like the beast within, despite knowing it's why he's inconsistent. Some guys are born competitors (Ayo is a guy who comes to mind, who can rise to the occasion). Some guys are more glue guys who maybe don't thrive in the spotlight as much, but if you coach them for their role, they can be very effective. I'd like to think Kipper can do that with the right mindset. We'll see. I'm projecting marginal improvement, but some guys really make the most of their senior year and play looser.
 
#596      
Kipper's performance has more to do with his mental approach than anything IMO, so he's right to give that some thought. I don't expect him to have a chip on his shoulder and play like the beast within, despite knowing it's why he's inconsistent. Some guys are born competitors (Ayo is a guy who comes to mind, who can rise to the occasion). Some guys are more glue guys who maybe don't thrive in the spotlight as much, but if you coach them for their role, they can be very effective. I'd like to think Kipper can do that with the right mindset. We'll see. I'm projecting marginal improvement, but some guys really make the most of their senior year and play looser.

Chris Gandy and Quinn Richardson come to mind as breakout seniors. Hopefully we can add Kipper to that list.
 
#597      
Kipper's performance has more to do with his mental approach than anything IMO, so he's right to give that some thought. I don't expect him to have a chip on his shoulder and play like the beast within, despite knowing it's why he's inconsistent. Some guys are born competitors (Ayo is a guy who comes to mind, who can rise to the occasion). Some guys are more glue guys who maybe don't thrive in the spotlight as much, but if you coach them for their role, they can be very effective. I'd like to think Kipper can do that with the right mindset. We'll see. I'm projecting marginal improvement, but some guys really make the most of their senior year and play looser.

It's unfortunate especially because our biggest question mark is the wing/3. I think we'll be fine by committee, but I'd feel so much more confident about this season if Kipper was undoubtedly our best option there. "Good" Kipper would make this team quite good IMO.
 
#598      

I loved this quote: “Before I came here, naturally, I’ve been playing the 4 all my life,” Bezhanishvili said. “All my life, I’ve been playing with another big on the court. As talented a guy as Kofi is and as great an IQ he has and we all know his physical ability to help us on the court, we have a feel for each other. I can’t think of anybody stopping us.

Many think Giorgi will have trouble at the 4. Not me.
 
#599      

Deleted member 643761

D
Guest
Chris Gandy and Quinn Richardson come to mind as breakout seniors. Hopefully we can add Kipper to that list.
I think Gandy's breakout was related more to the lack of competition. Same with Warren Carter. But Quinn, yeah.
 
#600      
I loved this quote: “Before I came here, naturally, I’ve been playing the 4 all my life,” Bezhanishvili said. “All my life, I’ve been playing with another big on the court. As talented a guy as Kofi is and as great an IQ he has and we all know his physical ability to help us on the court, we have a feel for each other. I can’t think of anybody stopping us.

Many think Giorgi will have trouble at the 4. Not me.

I think he's going to be just fine at the 4 even if his outside shot doesn't develop. Ideally we obviously want him to be a threat from deep, but at this level the added size, physicality & rebounding down low with 2 true bigs is very valuable at the D1 level, and muuuuch better than having AJ or Kipper play the 4.
 
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