Illini Basketball 2020-2021

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#376      

Flight#33

Flight#33
The coaching Kofi is getting at the U of I has him at the doorstep of the NBA, i would think with the tremendous improvement he would want to continue with BU and the OA.
Secondly, his body transformation with Fletch has helped him a ton.
This combination has to be considered I would hope.
Selfishly I want to watch him dominate in Orange and Blue, in the end I just want him to DOMINATE.
 
#377      
You are absolutely right on the combo of BU/OA and Fletch vs taking that guaranteed G League contract for $45,000 to play for Neveda Smith of the Sioux Falls, SD Skyforce and have 5 strength and conditioning interns from the University of Sioux Falls. :) The alternative of coming back to C/U and waiting another year to be a top 20 pick and get a guaranteed $15 million contract. Yep, seems like a no brainer.
 
#378      
The alternative of coming back to C/U and waiting another year to be a top 20 pick and get a guaranteed $15 million contract. Yep, seems like a no brainer.

It's possible 7 Centers were drafted in the first two rounds of the 2019 NBA draft
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/sports/nba-draft-picks-results.html

8. Pelicans: Jaxson Hayes Center, Texas A 7-footer who flies down the court, Hayes gets noticed for his highlight reel dunks, but he was a terrific shot-blocker at Texas as well. His ability to get into position on either end of the court, and to leverage his size for big plays makes him a fairly safe pick, almost in the mold of Brooklyn’s Jarrett Allen, who also happened to be a Longhorn.Hayes’s rebounding could be better, his passing needs a lot of work, and he was in foul trouble too often, but he knows his role and is potentially the best center in this draft.His father, Jonathan, played 12 years in the N.F.L.

18. Pacers: Goga Bitadze Center, Georgia (international) A 7-footer who is listed at 250 pounds, Bitadze has the look of the big-bodied centers of yesteryear. That being said, his excellent footwork, skill as a shooter, above-average agility, nose for shot-blocking and excellent timing have him more in the mold of a poor man’s Arvydas Sabonis than a more lumbering center like Luc Longley.The most obvious area for improvement would be passing, where he has yet to show much instinct. But he could also stand to be a more aggressive shooter. His percentages show he has the ability, but he takes far fewer long shots than players who can’t match his skill.

27. Nets: Mfiondu Kabengele Center, Florida State Don’t let his listed height of 6 feet 10 inches fool you: Kabengele’s standing reach is 9 feet 1.5 inches and he plays as big as a 7-footer — though not quite in the same mold as his uncle, Dikembe Mutombo. Kabengele’s size serves him well as he defends in the paint and along the perimeter, while on offense he can easily see over defenders to create his own shot. He’s comically unwilling to pass, with just 21 assists in 71 career games for the Seminoles, and he’s inconsistent. But players his size who can move like him and shoot like him don’t come along often.

31. Nets: Nic Claxton, C, Georgia Drafting Claxton is a bet on his potential — but there’s a lot of potential. Nearly 7 feet tall with wide shoulders and long arms, its easy to see him putting on a great deal of muscle to help combat the physical play that teams used to beat him in college. He is a terrific ballhandler and could easily develop into a top-notch defender. Beyond simply filling out his body, Claxton should be locked in a gym working on his shooting.

34. 76ers: Bruno Fernando, C, Maryland Fernando can’t compare to many of the other prospects in terms of refined basketball skills, but they can’t compare to him in ideal size and strength. He stands 6 feet 10.25 inches in shoes, weighs 237 pounds with just 5 percent body fat, and has a standing reach of 9-foot-2 that would be more typical of someone taller than 7 feet. He has yet to turn that into much of anything on either end of the court, at least not consistently, but he’s worth a flier just to see if he can.

38. Bulls: Daniel Gafford, C, Arkansas

44. Heat: Bol Bol, C, Oregon Unlike his father, Manute, Bol Bol is more than just a shot-blocking savant. His standing reach of 9 feet 7.5 inches makes him even more imposing than his 7-2 height would suggest and in limited action in college he averaged 21 points and 9.6 rebounds a game. He has as fluid of movement as you’re likely to see in a player of his size and a surprising shooting touch at every level that made him especially deadly since no player can effectively get in his face to guard him. Considered a top-20 player on many draft boards, he was left in the green room on the floor of Barclays Center deep into the second round and his selection was greeted with raucous cheers by the crowd. His durability is a real concern — he played just nine games in college — and the rigors of a long season could be too much for him to handle. That lack of physical endurance could help explain why he also seemed to lack consistent effort when he was on the court. But unlike Tacko Fall, an even larger player who is seen as something of an anachronism, Bol has the skill to succeed in the modern game. It seems like he’ll just need to want to do the extra work to make it happen.
 
#380      

sacraig

The desert
You are absolutely right on the combo of BU/OA and Fletch vs taking that guaranteed G League contract for $45,000 to play for Neveda Smith of the Sioux Falls, SD Skyforce and have 5 strength and conditioning interns from the University of Sioux Falls. :) The alternative of coming back to C/U and waiting another year to be a top 20 pick and get a guaranteed $15 million contract. Yep, seems like a no brainer.

1) You are almost certainly misrepresenting the ability of G League staffs.
2) The ability to devote yourself 100% to training instead of splitting it with classes counts for something here.
3) The ongoing pandemic means we don't even know if we will have a season yet, let alone a normal one.

There are certainly a lot of checks in the boxes for coming back, but let's please not pretend that there aren't some serious checks in the boxes for leaving, too. It's not a slam dunk decision.
 
#381      
To complicate things it’s not just which league has best chances of playing but also practicing. If any of the pro leagues shutdown the players are largely on their own. Especially so for an undrafted first year player.

The NCAA route at least provides a year plus of security. The scholarships won’t be pulled, players will get their housing and stipend, and in January be able to earn NIL revenue, as well as medical, fitness, and training support.

I would think the NCAA has as good or better chance of playing as the G league. There is a lot more money at stake in the NCAA. Have no idea about Europe but probably is more likely than G league because it seems to be much more in control of virus.
 
#382      
I would think the NCAA has as good or better chance of playing as the G league. There is a lot more money at stake in the NCAA. Have no idea about Europe but probably is more likely than G league because it seems to be much more in control of virus.
I don't know... G-League are pros. They will be able to be kept in a "bubble". NBA rosters are going to be a LOT more fluid than in years past, due to players getting sick and having to quarantine. I bet there will be a lot more 10 day contracts handed out to G-League players than usual. NBA is going to need to have a stable of healthy guys, in game shape, from which to pull.
 
#384      

illini80

Forgottonia
Is Kofi still in NYC???
No news is not good news. If he were back on campus I think we would find out pretty quickly. If the deadline holds, and my guess is there is lot of pressure to extend it, we will know in 3 days. The odds of something definite before then is low imo.
 
#385      

sacraig

The desert
I don't know... G-League are pros. They will be able to be kept in a "bubble". NBA rosters are going to be a LOT more fluid than in years past, due to players getting sick and having to quarantine. I bet there will be a lot more 10 day contracts handed out to G-League players than usual. NBA is going to need to have a stable of healthy guys, in game shape, from which to pull.

This is my feeling as well. It's a lot harder to keep college student/athletes in a bubble than a professional athlete. The G League will also have an opportunity to increase its own profile if the NCAA season doesn't go off as planned, so I would imagine they pretty strongly want to keep their season intact just like everyone else.
 
#386      
I don't know... G-League are pros. They will be able to be kept in a "bubble". NBA rosters are going to be a LOT more fluid than in years past, due to players getting sick and having to quarantine. I bet there will be a lot more 10 day contracts handed out to G-League players than usual. NBA is going to need to have a stable of healthy guys, in game shape, from which to pull.
the owners will not put the GLeague in a "bubble". It would be cost prohibitive for them & impossible to do so for a regular season. 95% or more of the GLeague players will never see an NBA roster anyway. There is no way Kofi will hook up that way. It would have to be overseas or nothing if he doesnt come back.
 
#387      

WINT

Kewanee, IL
the owners will not put the GLeague in a "bubble". It would be cost prohibitive for them & impossible to do so for a regular season. 95% or more of the GLeague players will never see an NBA roster anyway. There is no way Kofi will hook up that way. It would have to be overseas or nothing if he doesnt come back.
https://gleague.nba.com/faq/

As of last season, 52% of nba players have spent time in the G League.
 
#389      

WINT

Kewanee, IL
That's higher than I would have guessed, but nonetheless, 52% of nba players spending time in the G League does not inform what % of G League players make it to the NBA.
You’re right. I was surprised by the number as well. I feel like the G League is quietly becoming an essential minor league. Someday basketball prospects will have to decide their route to the top more like a baseball or hockey player would.
 
#391      
https://gleague.nba.com/faq/

As of last season, 52% of nba players have spent time in the G League.
When a player is injured they go to GLeague to get a practice game in or rehab a little bit with a few minutes of court time. Just by appearing in a regular season GLeague game can skew the numbers. We used to go to a Legends game just to see the Mavs players after the game for autographs when they were coming back from rehab.
 
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