BirdDog9048
The Chief Lives
- Chicago, IL
Uhhh.... at his best, Kipper scored 31 points against Iowa in the BTT and 27 against #6 Michigan State.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (March 2018)
- Status
He also disappeared in most of our games.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal
You can Kipper sporadic or inconsistent, but “mediocre at best” is just totally inaccurate.
I think KN has the ability to average 13-14 points a game next year. He shoots a decent 3 ball, very good free throw shooter and can score from mid-range.
Have to think one of if not two out of Giorgi, Hinson and Jones will be Illini now with Finke leaving. Unless they want a sure fire more competitive team, unfortunately. We offer about everything else next year.
haasi
- New York
By this point, shouldn’t people on this board be tired of making crazy assumptions and projections? Kathy, you wrote before season that Illinois would go 24-9 and there was zero chance Lucas would start over Smith. Both were completely wrong, obviously. I love kool aid- but recognize when you are drinking it. If griffin comes in and is better than kipper was this past year that would be awesome. This board would be a better, more fun, more reasonable place if everyone realized that it’s foolish to project huge expectations on recruits and then be disappointed when they fail to produce at that level. I get that it’s more exciting to be a fan of you have something awesome to look forward to, but sheesh- what about credibility. /rant.
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BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Yeah, 13-14 ppg would be nice and I'd like to see him average over 5 rb's per game, too. I think both are possible for him. He just needs to get better at finishing at the rim. :thumb:
Tacomallini
- Washington State
That's a bold prediction. We heard it here first.
Read hoppy's post right above yours. That isn't mediocre?
If he does, he exceeded my high expectations. I think Kipper is going to start. He has all the tools, he just needs the game to slow down for him. He should feel more comfortable as an upper classmen.
Alstork was supposed to score more, Smith was supposed to be an "huge scorer here" and Kipper has not been consistent. I can't remember if I said that before or after the Tilmon transfer.
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One of these things isn't like the other.
That finishing at the rim is, I think, a mental block he has to get through. Every single time he tried to do a double-pump or dipsy-do around the defender rather than take it at him in beast mode. Sure, you will get blocked some, but you will draw fouls, too, and once you get used to being strong, it will be just that much easier. I hope he can unlock that aggression that he needs to do that because I feel he is skilled and athletic enough to be a very good player in the Big Ten over the next two years.
Worst case is significantly worse than this year. And that is where we are currently sitting.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal
Saying someone is “mediocre at best” means mediocrity is their ceiling. It’s not a way to convey average performance over a span of time.
haasi
- New York
My point exactly. Alstork was “supposed to” score more. Smith was “supposed to” be a huge scorer. “Supposed to” means nothing. Until we see how someone performs on the team, no expectations are reasonable. We can all hope that Ayo will come and be awesome next year, but even five star have mixed records as incoming freshmen (there are countless examples). So the point is - don’t inflate expectations on Griffin. He may be good, but to predict with any level of confidence that he’ll be better than Kipper is nuts.
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Yes in the sense of that always being the worst case, but the players we've already got plus a Jon Ekey or whatever should be way, WAY better than a Eddie Jordan Rutgers-type team.
Next year's team will have a great majority of the roster of the team two years after that, so if you're saying expectations should be in the toilet, you are saying Brad Underwood is a dead man walking. There's no wiggling out of that.
Yes, I am aware you (the royal you, the Loyalty hivemind) believe that Liddell and Okoro and Adam Miller are going to change everything. You're doubly wrong. They are both low-probability recruits and we would be irrational to expect them to make a telling contribution even if they did sign here if the talent-to-wins extraction is at Paul Hewitt level after these first two years.
Rebuilding is not just restaffing the roster. Illini Nation will be six feet under before they accept this, but existing players getting individually and collectively better at basketball is a non-negotiable part of this.
haasi
- New York
If we do somehow land some combination of those three, and BU can't put it together with their talent, I find it very hard to believe he ever will, though I get your point of if's about next years team.
How would you categorize his play thus far? I was describing his past performances not his ceiling. Takes a lot to believe he'll average 12 -14 a game. Just my opinion.
He averaged 10 a game last year how is a 4 pt increase such a big jump? Am I missing something here? If he stops trying to be a contortionist and throw up insane put backs he can easily get two more buckets a game.
haasi
- New York
I think you guys are talking past each other. You were saying - in aggregate, even being generous (“at best”) Kipper is mediocre. Matt is saying that Kipper at his best is not mediocre, but is actually quite good. Both are true. Kipper at his best was very good. Kipper on the whole was quite mediocre. I agree that it’s optimistic to think that light will flip on consistently for kipper next year. Let’s hope that learns how to play consistent D and rebounds and has occasional games where he goes off.
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Exactly
- Status