I just got a new pair. They wear out pretty fast.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (August 2019)
- Status
I just got a new pair. They wear out pretty fast.
Agreed. We have lost 33 games in the last two seasons. Pivotal season
IllFanInMi
I
Guest
One thing I’m sure 99.9 would agree on is this year will be the most critical for the immediate future of BU and the direction of the program.
If the wins come and the product on the floor shows it has been elevated, the buzz will be BU has turned the program around. The media, coaches, recruits, and fans will take notice, and Illinois will be sexy again.
I have been frustrated with being right there on some big recruits, but not landing them, simply because it likely would have sped up the rebuild. Other coaches have come into programs and recruited great. Saying that, for where the program has been for the last 10 years compared to where it was, BU has done “okay” recruiting overall in my opinion.
Year 3 (barring crazy injury bug) must end in either an NCAA, or NIT game, and include at least one big signing. If not, I’m thinking there will be a lot of discussion in the coaching carousel thread.
Kofi is not only a big ten player he is a future pro
Ten years ago I would have agreed. The way the game has changed, Kofi will need to some serious adapting.
Good post and totally fair. It’s a pivotal year and I really think the rubber meets the road. We will see what direction this thing is going for sure.
Sadly, there has been so little to celebrate in revenue sports in the last several years it’s difficult to hold out a ton of hope. Illinois has long felt like an example of Murphy’s Law for far too long. Hope it takes a positive turn for a change.
You guys don't like Monte cause he doesn't score.....he doesn't need to score he impacts the game in so many other ways, BU trust Monte probably more than anyone else on the team.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
He’s still got to be a threat to score, though. Otherwise opposing defenses can plan around it a la Jaylon Tate.
haasi
- New York
Yup, Damonte just has to be able to hit open 3s at 35% plus to prevent defenses from ignoring him- not a tall order and he doesn’t need to do much else in terms of scoring. Becoming a decent open 3 point shooter requires practice and lots of repetition. He improved last year from 23% to 32%. That’s getting in the ballpark but he still only shot 41 three pointers all year and routinely passed up open looks. Can’t happen. Never needs to take a contested 3 but needs to consistently take 3s when no one is guarding him and be a reasonable threat.
Other than that, I agree- he plays D, he rebounds, he’s smart- he’s a utility asset.
Other than that, I agree- he plays D, he rebounds, he’s smart- he’s a utility asset.
Would BU prefer this Monte or the current Monte + s prolific scorer (who I think he could be or one I expected)
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
We don't need DMW to hit threes, we need him to use that body to split defenses up and either get to the rim, or open up our actual 3pt shooters. All DMW needs to do is clean up his layup and short range game and he's gonna avg. 7-8ppg which will be perfect for his role. If he starts hitting 40% from 3pt.....maybe we'll start to see the pre knee injury DMW every night!
He has the ability and the talent, he just needs the confidence back to get some consistency.
He has the ability and the talent, he just needs the confidence back to get some consistency.
You guys don't like Monte cause he doesn't score.....he doesn't need to score he impacts the game in so many other ways, BU trust Monte probably more than anyone else on the team.
https://www.news-gazette.com/sports...cle_617fb0e4-4090-5f41-a361-248ee3ea88ff.html
https://www.news-gazette.com/sports...cle_617fb0e4-4090-5f41-a361-248ee3ea88ff.html
Soulberries
- University of Illinois
Hmm... Mac Irvin Fire was 7-9 last year with a roster that included Kahlil Whitney, Terrence Shannon, Adam Miller, and at least 3 other players in Division 1 this year.
Big difference, If you don't guard Kofi, he'll dunk it. If they didn't guard Jaylon he'd miss the jump shot. Defenses would simply shag in and dare Jaylon to shoot. And fortunately most of the time he didn't shoot it. Unfortunately, sometimes he would try and make the play.
No offense to Jaylon seemed like a good kid, who worked hard, just was in water that was too deep. for his skills.
But this is probably getting away from pure recruiting, as much of the other preceding discussion is.
Anybody got any news related to recruiting?
I disagree with that. We have rebuilt and the rotation was basically freshmen and sophomores last year, plus the final piece to bring us balance on the floor is Kofi. Now we're ready to compete at a high level and we will do just that. Last year was the first time a freshman ever lead Illinois in scoring and another freshman was 3rd in scoring, while a sophomore was 2nd. Young, young and young. Now we have experience and beef inside to compete .
Sergio wasn'y a big threat to score, but he did all the little things, like Da'Monte, that get you wins. Tate couldn't take it to the rack like Da'Monte can, so it's a different situation.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
What are you talking about? Last I checked Da'Monte doesn't play down low, he's a guard/wing player. Didn't say a single thing about Kofi.
From that article:
So, it would be better if Monte scores more. At least 6-8 points more.
Just saying.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
I looked up some stats for their freshmen and sophomore years in free throw attempts, which is a decent indicator of willingness to put up a shot/take it to the rim.
Player 1: Freshman [19/29]; Sophomore [59/70]
Player 2: Freshman [31/44]; Sophomore [45/50]
The cumulative between those two years is about the same, but don't think Jaylon wasn't willing at the same point in his career. His free throws and usage definitely dropped as he became a Jr/Sr, but one could argue his inability to shoot and score limited his effectiveness to drive. Jaylon was Player 1, by the way.
My Bad, had be reading earlier posts about how bad and uncertain everything was with this new line up, much of it was focused on the expectation of no offense from Kofi. All while working. Need to get to important things and focus on the board, not work..
Your point obviously makes more sense, but I don't think other teams can just leave DeMonte completely alone as the did with Jaylon, and literally play 5 on 4. Hopefully, his confidence is back with the knee and will show it.
sacraig
- The desert
I mostly get where you are coming from, but at some point it starts to look like a Chester Frazier situation where he was trusted by Bruce to the moon and back, he was a floor general, a lock down defender, but any time we were on offense, we were playing 4 on 5.
To be clear, I don't think Da'Monte is at that point right now. He doesn't need to be a 20 point guy or even a 10 point guy, but he does need to be a credible threat to score when given an open look. I think we can all agree there.
I completely agree with your points. Damonte needs to score more and those should be the expectations. That is a big departure, however, from where the conversation started which is that Williams was listed with several players that did not belong on a D1 roster. If Damonte can continue to be reliable on defense I would be happy with a modest 3-4 ppg bump in scoring.
Deleted member 29907
D
Guest
1. DMW is a much bigger O threat than Tate - no comparison, and
2. Our offense doesn't sit around and let someone hold the ball ala JT with no where to go - there is ALWAYS a set in play
Who doesn't like Monte? I wanna fight em.
- Status