Not to be snarky but you may find some answers (or at least opinions as to how we will make the tourney) in the "Illini Basketball 2019-2020" thread.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (May 2019)
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Not to be snarky but you may find some answers (or at least opinions as to how we will make the tourney) in the "Illini Basketball 2019-2020" thread.
I think we SHOULD make the tourney....add an impact big who is known as a rebounder and can provide some lineup versatility with giorgi being able to play some at the 4 spot...hopeful for soph jumps from Tev and Griff...and well Ayo is back for 1 more year.
Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?
LOL I get it, unfortunately that's what it has come to here...just make the tournament please!Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?
ray: hahaIs today the last day Kouma can sign LOI? If he doesn’t sign today can he still sign another form of scholarship if he wants to join the Illini? What’s he waiting on if what he told Kedric Prince is true?
Today is the last day. He can sign a financial aid agreement anytime but that is non binding. Believe he would like to visit first buuuuuuut OVs are tricky right now
Non binding on our end or his?Today is the last day. He can sign a financial aid agreement anytime but that is non binding. Believe he would like to visit first buuuuuuut OVs are tricky right now
His....see Jeff Thomas haha
I agree. Can't imagine him leaving Lubbock. He just beat down Michigan, played in the National Championship game, became the 3rd highest paid coach, and is close to bringing in a top-10 recruiting class. He'd be giving up a LOT just to go to Michigan.
Most losses, not worst season. The schedule has crept up over the years, and is more than double what is was in the earliest days. Despite that, and with a team loaded with freshman and not enough bigs, we finished 84 in Kenpom nationally after a terrible start. On top of that we had a fantastic stretch in the BIG season where no one wanted to play us, we knocked off a couple ranked teams & a tourney team on the road. So despite the bad record, we were able to have a sustained stretch of playing what was probably top-25 bball nationally.
Normally I'd call that cherry-picking, but when you're evaluating a young team that returns everyone of note, any analyst would look at that when projecting next season. I expect us to struggle with consistency, but we have enough talent to be relevant.
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Kouma is on real slow play. I'm surprised he hasn't looked elsewhere. We clearly must be his best option. A couple of dates to consider, NBA draft combine May 16-20 and May 29th to remove name from the draft portal. There will be a good number come out and still be eligible for 2019 season either via 5th year grad or else transfer. Staff will not go into next year carrying 3 open scholarships plus they think they can do better at the 3 than Griffin/Jones/Williams.
I've seen this come up a couple times. Do we anticipate that a lot of the players who don't stay in the draft will also want to transfer? I don't really see what one has to do with the other.
FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
I would just be a bit of a wise guy and say that it makes anyone a top 50 team, except for the low conference automatic qualifier.Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?
Not grounds for a HAPPY dance, but it's at least a happy dance
This year is rather complex because of the players being able to hire an agent yet withdraw and retain eligiblity. Just speculating that transfers might occur because teams have moved on with recruits and have no spaces available should one of their players withdraw. We then would look pretty good with 2 or 3 open scholarships rather late in the cycle.
Baby steps.Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?
Surprised by this when it seems to me to be the 4 that is the problem. Not sure Kouma would help next year but Griffin and Jones showed flashes last year and we certainly didn't see any hope at the 4 except moving Giorgi there.
Here's one mock draft list of players they are predicting might go undrafted. Pretty extensive. It will be interesting to see where those undrafted players end up. Hopefully 1 or 2 in Champaign.
https://www.draftsite.com/nba/mock-draft/2019/undrafted/
Since when do the top 65 teams make the dance? Maybe the top 40 make so I do get your point.Making the tourney is such a low bar. Does that mean we are one of the top 65 teams?. When will our banner raising ceremony be?
Deleted member 29907
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1) Only 4 returning players last season - not a good thing
2) 2nd (or so) toughest schedule in the NCAA - a good thing only if your team is ready for it, and
3) (Due to #1) Reliance on 2 Fr and 1 So to lead the team in scoring and just about everything else - only works if you are a One and Done recruiting team
"worst season" as per W/L, but we did show we can play with top 10 level teams - and beat some, so not the 'worse' team in school history. Schedule matters, age matters, roster consistency matters.
This was the biggest reason I was thinking of as well. It'll obviously be on a case by case basis but with a few exceptions I bet most schools already have a pretty good idea of who's saying in the draft, who's coming back, and who will ultimately transfer. And like you said, it's not like we're trying to fill entire roster here. A couple of open scholarships might prove to be very tasty.
FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
I didn't have any reason for optimism about those open schollies before this conversation, so I appreciate the ray of sunshine.
We did not have the worst season in school history.
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