My guess is Verdonk gets 15-20 minutes at the 4 and Tev takes up whatever is left.
Illini Basketball 2019-2020
- Status
Thanks for your thoughts. Good points.
As it pertains to GB after thinking about it i do not think his style of play changes much whether Kofi is on the floor or not. Assigning a number to him i am not sure how much his style of play really changes. What will help is Kofi will likely draw the other teams biggest guy off of GB. If not we feed Kofi! That will be awesome! He is still likely going to have the ball more than any post player and play primarily with his back to the basket whether he is playing the 5 or an old school power forward type of 4. If he stretches the D with an 3 from time to time that would be great but i think he will always play to his strength which is in the posts with good footwork and using both hands. BU has actually said he will be fed in the post no matter who is on the floor.
At the 4 when looking at guys that are returning to our team to back up GB i hope someone over 6'6'' has improved their bodies, strength, and physical toughness. That is why based on that, interviews with coaches and players, and the eye test I really hope Verdonk is as advertised. He looks as big or bigger than GB plus can shoot. it is for that reason i feel most of his time will be first off the bench at the 4 to back up . GB. Then either Tev, Kip, AG whomever is physically stronger and rebounds.. I hope Kip and Tev step up. It sounds like Verfdonk, Tev, and AG can all shoot it. II feel other factors will decide who plays the most 4 but AG and Tev will still get plenty of opportunity at the 3. That is where we have the most competition for minutes with several guys to choose from. I think they all can do a good job and hopefully wear down our opponents chasing our fresh shooters all over the place.
Rotation at 1 & 2 with Ayo, Trent, and Dre should be excellent. Rotation of Kofi and Giorgi at the 5 also excellent. Lots of good choices at the 3 with Alan, Tevian, DaMonte, and Kipper. Issue is with the 4 when Giorgi is not playing. Is BBV the real thing? Can Kipper return to 2017-18 performance? Has Tevian added enough strength? Believe this to be X factor but then I thought the 5 was our problem last year so what the hell do I know? Going to be an interesting season.
Very good summary. Totally agree.
illini80
- Forgottonia
You may well be right, but I’m amazed at how much many seem to love Verdonk when we have seen very little of him and he has barely practiced yet. If he plays great D he will get time, but the last 2 years have shown that learning BU’s defense takes some time. I hope he’s the guy everyone thinks he is.
Maybe prior to Italy trip?
illini80
- Forgottonia
I'm not sure how many, but yes he was practicing for at least several days before he was injured prior to Italy.
Many B10 teans have big strong physical 4s. outside of GB unless someone has developed BV is really the only one unless something changed to match up against those types of line ups. Not all B10 teams are like that though and them Tev amd others may get more tick. I think our opponent will sometimes impact the back up minutes. I really hope BV is what we hope he is because we need him to be.
illini80
- Forgottonia
It would be huge if he can.
Just my thoughts...
1) Most of the team knows the system, easier to relate it to new teammates, hearing Gentry helping greatly.
2) Our wings are deep, KN, TJ, Grif, DW, who wants it most!
3) I hope GB can shoot the 3's better this year, but think his handles are good enough to drive and dish to the next guy (Kofi). He's going to thrive this year.
4) Kofi will secure the middle D wise, and give us another option offensively. Hoping for 20 minutes plus. GB will play 5 some also, situations will dictate sometimes. Hamlin is going to get a few minutes also.
5) What can I say about our guards....I heard Frazier is bigger as well as Ayo, and I bet DW and Feliz have improved as well.
6) Verdonk.......don't know much but......I want to see him practice with the team soon if possible, health wise. I want him to be a good pickup! Think he will be.
1) Most of the team knows the system, easier to relate it to new teammates, hearing Gentry helping greatly.
2) Our wings are deep, KN, TJ, Grif, DW, who wants it most!
3) I hope GB can shoot the 3's better this year, but think his handles are good enough to drive and dish to the next guy (Kofi). He's going to thrive this year.
4) Kofi will secure the middle D wise, and give us another option offensively. Hoping for 20 minutes plus. GB will play 5 some also, situations will dictate sometimes. Hamlin is going to get a few minutes also.
5) What can I say about our guards....I heard Frazier is bigger as well as Ayo, and I bet DW and Feliz have improved as well.
6) Verdonk.......don't know much but......I want to see him practice with the team soon if possible, health wise. I want him to be a good pickup! Think he will be.
If you think Hamlin will redshirt than we agree on his usage.
However, the only reason Giorgi ever played less than 30 minutes in the preseason was because of fouls. Aside from game 1 he had 4 or 5 fouls in every single game up until the UNLV game where he was down to just 3.
Ultimately this was why we had a losing season... the opposition recognized Giorgi was our only meaningful big and played right into him forcing him to foul. With a year under his belt he should be able to avoid some of those fouls, and also with Kofi and more helpside support from the rest of the team the fouls at the 5 will be both more limited and spread between 2 guys. That should result in a full 30+ minutes from Giorgi every night, and Kofi playing as many minutes as his conditioning will allow (based on being down to 288 I’m revising my prediction from 22min to 25min per game for Kofi).
If I’m right and Kofi plays 25 minutes, Giorgi will clean up the remaining 15 minutes at center. Giorgi will then play another 15 minutes at the 4 along with Ben, Kipper, and Tevian.
The 3 will consist of Kipper, Tevian, Ben, Alan, and DMW.
I think we will also see some sets where Alan plays at the 2, if he’s stroking the 3 ball. Especially in games where Trent is maybe not lighting it up from deep as much as normal.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Yep, zero minutes.
Have hopes for Hamlin, however, the kid is rough even as a defender. Talent wise, it will take alot to get him to B1G standards but I hope he can get there. The best thing for both him and the ILLINI, especially with the 2020 class where it is currently, would be to redshirt and come back with the body by Fletch and the skill level taught from OA/Gentry....not to mention getting roughed up day in and day out by Kofi.
I agree, I wouldnt be shocked if that was the plan all along. The choice for him i think was he could develop more here in practice and special development plans with our staff than the prep school he was planning to attend. He does provide a body if we have a big with a season ending injury and I'm thankful for that. I think he made the right choice coming here vs prep school because he will improve faster here as an Illini vs good competition and the services provided by our staff.
Does the decision to redshirt have to be made before the season starts? Have wondered if grad transfer rules have made coaches more reluctant to redshirt. We haven't been given any info on Ben's injury and wonder if it is an ongoing concern. Might affect a redshirt decision.
How did you order tickets? We want to but havent found the source.
Hairline leg fracture.
Is that the same as shin splints? Or a recent update?
Inside the Hall releases a Big 10 top 25 player ranking every year.
#20 - Frazier
#14 - Giorgi B
#5 - Ayo
Let's go!
#20 - Frazier
#14 - Giorgi B
#5 - Ayo
Let's go!
SO, we have 3 of the top 25... I'm no mathematician, but 3/25 is pretty close to 1/8. Therefore, do we have 1/8 of the talent of a 14 team league? That seems pretty high to me...
illini80
- Forgottonia
No, unless there is a new rule this year.
The Dave
- CA
Looking for some help here...I'm planning on attending both games on the AZ trip (@GCU on 11/8 and @AZ on 11/10). What is the best way to secure tickets as a fan of the visiting team?
- Does Illinois get allocated tickets that I can buy through the Alumni Association or DIA?
- Do I need to buy directly from GCU and AZ?
- Or is it a total crapshoot and I should just look at the secondary market when the games get closer?
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