Illini Basketball 2020-2021

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#277      
Hutch will get minutes, but there's just zero chance he takes meaningful minutes away from elite B1G defenders. He's going to get good rotation minutes for sure, but we all remember how TJ and AG's minutes went when they fell short on the other end.
Hopefully Hutch can bring it on both ends!

If he's the team's best athlete, how do we know he isn't good on D?
 
#279      
I don't think he's making the assumption that he isn't good on D, just that he needs to be good if he wants meaningful minutes.

If I recall correctly (which I seem to be doing less and less these days, so correct me here if I'm wrong), BU said last winter that AH was one of the best in-practice defenders of Ayo. That gave me some reassurance that despite his build, AH has some defensive chops that might make it easier to stay on the court.
 
#280      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
Trust me, I am very hopeful, and pretty confident actually, that Hutch will be a great defender. The B1G physicality can humble quickly. If he brings it on both ends, our rotation just got even more dangerous!
 
#281      
Trust me, I am very hopeful, and pretty confident actually, that Hutch will be a great defender. The B1G physicality can humble quickly. If he brings it on both ends, our rotation just got even more dangerous!

Also, although still slender, from the pics it looks like he’s filled out significantly from a year ago. Optimistic on both our transfers and this year. All the pieces are there. Just hope we have a season!
 
#282      
If all of this is true and he is our best athlete at 6'6" , long, has handles, and shot 42% from three over 2 seasons , 88% from the line. Plus a year here to improve, learn, and develop. Outside of Kofi and Ayo how does he not jump guys and be among the top in minutes whether he starts or not. Outside shooting was among our biggest weaknesses last season. IMO if TF and DMW dont improve drastically in shooting from last season I wont be shocked if AM and AH get as many minutes as anyone outside of Kofi and Ayo. Being a 6'6" athletic guard with handles and a killer stroke is exactly what I feel really helps give us what we need more of to take that next step. I heard Loren Tate say a while back it's going to be hard to keep AH out of the line up from what he has been told. He and Miller really have something the Illini need.. More athletes that have a solid all round game but can shoot.

Wasn't Trent dealing with a foot injury? He's a warrior that I wouldn't expect to take a step back. Besides, he isn't interchangeable with someone like Hutch.
Why wouldn't Hutch be in the 4 spot? Isn't that where we have the biggest question mark?

Speaking of line-ups, what's the practice calendar looking like these days? The offical website isn't updated for the latest news.
 
#283      
Wasn't Trent dealing with a foot injury? He's a warrior that I wouldn't expect to take a step back. Besides, he isn't interchangeable with someone like Hutch.
Why wouldn't Hutch be in the 4 spot? Isn't that where we have the biggest question mark?

Speaking of line-ups, what's the practice calendar looking like these days? The offical website isn't updated for the latest news.
I think the question of positional versatility is more a question of who can you guard than were do you fit on offense. If he is strong enough to hold his ground against a B1G PF, then maybe he can get some minutes there. So much of these transfer's skill sets are a mystery to fans, it's tough to say. Just another reason to be excited for our potential this season.
 
#285      
Can anybody

decipher that hashtag for the uninitiated? My brain is still wrinkling from learning what a hashtag is.
#probablynotdoingitright
There is a photo a couple below Ayo's with some kids holding up a Jacob's Ladder youth group banner, so I would suspect JL4L is something like Jacob's Ladder for Life, or something like that.

So who has a hashtag dictionary??
 
#287      
Wasn't Trent dealing with a foot injury? He's a warrior that I wouldn't expect to take a step back. Besides, he isn't interchangeable with someone like Hutch.
Why wouldn't Hutch be in the 4 spot? Isn't that where we have the biggest question mark?

Speaking of line-ups, what's the practice calendar looking like these days? The offical website isn't updated for the latest news.

Someone posted that Grandison (200#’s) would have been a starter last year if he was eligible. Have assumed from that info that Grandison was Kipper’s replacement (hopefully like he played against Iowa) and Hutch (175#’s) was Alan’s replacement in the rotation. Those are their roster weights but don’t believe they reflect BU’s statement of 20#’s gained. Some teams like OSU are smaller and Grandison can play the 4. Others like Whisky will need BBV/Giorgi size. Think it will be more about putting DaMonte on the highest scoring 2-4 than just playing the 4. If that is the three than someone else will guard the 4 assuming the info on Grandy was correct.
 
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#288      
Someone posted that Grandison (200#’s) would have been a starter last year if he was eligible. Have assumed from that info that Grandison was Kipper’s replacement (hopefully like he played against Iowa) and Hutch (175#’s) was Alan’s replacement in the rotation. Those are their roster weights but don’t believe they reflect BU’s statement of 20#’s gained. Some teams like OSU are smaller and Grandison can play the 4. Others like Whisky will need BBV/Giorgi size. Think it will be more about putting DaMonte on the highest scoring 2-4 than just playing the 4. If that is the three than someone else will guard the 4 assuming the info on Grandy was correct.
I think Granderson might be our starting 4. He would be a tough player for our opponent to guard.
 
#289      
I think Granderson might be our starting 4. He would be a tough player for our opponent to guard.

the opponent will not say “oh he’s the 4? Guess only our 4 can match up with him.” They will assign someone to defend against Grandison based on his ability. The only way Grandison gets an easier look on offense is if he’s not the number 1 threat so they put a lesser defender on him.

I have very little doubt about the majority of our roster in terms of offensive ability. So I feel that minutes will be almost entirely base upon defensive ability.
 
#290      
Could not agree with this more. My only concern with AH has always been how his slender build would hold up on D, given that he'll likely be asked to play a lot of the 3 since our backcourt is loaded. Otherwise, it *sounds like* he checks all the boxes you want in a wing player.

I still see DMW playing a lot (~20 min) just because his defense is so good, but I'm guessing he'll move to the 4 more often to clear some minutes elsewhere. I am hoping that TF's shooting woes are behind him this year, both because his ball handling was really valuable last year and because I really don't want to see a situation where he's losing lots of minutes, given all that he has done for this program during his time here.
I just dont see how we can be a top 5 team and compete against top teams that have a true 4 with post skills with a 6'3" DMW at the 4. He is a good defender yes but not against 4s. We were only able to get away with it at times because of Kofi but its not a goodmatch up for him against bigger guys it's just not.Idont want a 6'3" DMW covering guys like GB on D it's just too much to ask and if we desire to be a top 5 team he needs to play his true position not the 4
 
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#291      
I personally will take a wait and see approach before expecting anything too specific about our newcomers. We've heard a lot of BU's hyperbole AND hyperbole from sources suggesting that Hutch and Grand are going to be studs. They've both been the "best" player in practice. Maybe they will be studs. If they are, we are absolutely loaded and we'll have some unhappy players, because if everyone is as good as advertised, I don't see the minutes to keep them happy.
 
#294      

JJB

Chicago, IL
Reloaded and reinvigorated, Illinois is ready to party like it’s 2005

Excellent Seth Davis season preview article from the Athletic ($).

"Illinois is going to have a different look this season. Because the pandemic forced Underwood to stay off the road, he has been spending extra time watching video. In order to figure out how to force tempo, he has been studying Billy Donovan’s old teams at Florida. To learn how to get better at doubling the post, he’s been locking in on Virginia. “How’s that for a contrast?” he says. The majority of Underwood’s time has been spent dissecting the Milwaukee Bucks’ ball-screen coverages. He wants to use Cockburn and Bezhanishvili the way the Bucks use the Lopez twins.

“I’ve spent a lot of time studying how we can get better at forcing turnovers,” Underwood says. “It’s the next step for us in being really good defensively.”"
 
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#296      

sacraig

The desert
Granderson starts only if he’s better in practice than Grandison

3vKJqc7.gif
 
#297      
Don’t understand the polls ranking OSU ahead of Rutgers?
 
#298      
The NCAA has announced that if basketball is being played safely, there will be a tournament in 2021. Now Calipari has declared a willingness to play in a bubble. . . or more likely a bunch of bubbles.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nc...tournament-bubble-—-could-it-work/ar-BB17YSb8

It seems to me that you ought to pay the kids, if you isolate them from campus life while making money on their efforts.

Clearly nothing is decided and ideas are just being exposed to a little sunshine to see which ones survive the day.
 
#300      
Reloaded and reinvigorated, Illinois is ready to party like it’s 2005

Excellent Seth Davis season preview article from the Athletic ($).

"Illinois is going to have a different look this season. Because the pandemic forced Underwood to stay off the road, he has been spending extra time watching video. In order to figure out how to force tempo, he has been studying Billy Donovan’s old teams at Florida. To learn how to get better at doubling the post, he’s been locking in on Virginia. “How’s that for a contrast?” he says. The majority of Underwood’s time has been spent dissecting the Milwaukee Bucks’ ball-screen coverages. He wants to use Cockburn and Bezhanishvili the way the Bucks use the Lopez twins.

“I’ve spent a lot of time studying how we can get better at forcing turnovers,” Underwood says. “It’s the next step for us in being really good defensively.”"

Thanks. Interesting to see snippets of how the staff is thinking.
 
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