Illini Basketball 2021-2022

[blackdog]

So, you understand that he's still....shooting....right? So the statistics nullify any reasonable argument that he wasn't one of the best shooters in CBB last year.

Some of the greatest shooters in basketball history were spot up shooters. Still gotta hit the shot...and he did that better than almost everyone in CBB.

Honestly as much faith as I have in him when he has hit feet set before he catches if he is moving into the catch before shooting its going to be an adventure. Hes not going to come off screens and knock down shots which is why I can see the argument of saying he isn't one of the "best" shooters. I remember last season him catching on the wing during a fast break wide open and shooting off the backboard and the side rim...

Now that being said there is absolutely nobody in college basketball I would rather have shooting a wide open kick out than Damonte and I absolutely love what he brings to the team.

 

[logjam]

A shooter that takes contested 3s is going to get you beat. No one on our team or really anyone is going to consistently shoot a high percentage on contested 3s. That a bad shot and the few of those we see the better. Hopefully Curbelo and others working the ball like the 05 team will help avoid our current players from taking those poor shots that get you beat.

I think that is a trait BU is installing (well) to the benefit of the team. 1 reason we shot so little 3's last year. We have some new shooters along with Frazier and Damonte and an improved team now combined with Kofi who has had some intensive NBA training....WOW! Bring it on!

 

[logjam]

I agree he was selective, but I don't think you can overstate his efficiency. Looking at his stats, he shot a little over two 3 pointers per game, making more than half (35 of 64), while grabbing over 5 rebounds a game, with a 2.5 A:TO ratio, and being very good defensively.

Think about it Kofi and Ayo get around 20 each Miller, Curbelo, Grandison around 8 each, how many shots does he take? He is the ultimate tough, defensive player we want, All-Glue Award Winner! And Grandison!

 

[Ken]

I think that is a trait BU is installing (well) to the benefit of the team. 1 reason we shot so little 3's last year. We have some new shooters along with Frazier and Damonte and an improved team now combined with Kofi who has had some intensive NBA training....WOW! Bring it on!

I think its the exact opposite . It seems to me that all we had was toe the line three pointer shooters which when you have a guy like Kofi only compacts the floor and makes your offense easier to guard . Plummer and these young guys dont even know where the line is because the college line is not the limit of their range. This allows the floor to be even more spread open up driving lanes for Belo and making it much easier for Kofi to operate on the block as the help has to come from further away .

Also Il simply say this in reference to Damonte .

PJ Tucker can make the open three if left alone but just because he can make them in small percentages doesn't mean hes as good of a shooter as Steph Curry but that doesn't mean his defense and hustle wasn't extremely valuable to the Bucks and their winning a title .

 

[Loyalillini10]

I think its the exact opposite . It seems to me that all we had was toe the line three pointer shooters which when you have a guy like Kofi only compacts the floor and makes your offense easier to guard . Plummer and these young guys dont even know where the line is because the college line is not the limit of their range. This allows the floor to be even more spread open up driving lanes for Belo and making it much easier for Kofi to operate on the block as the help has to come from further away .

Also Il simply say this in reference to Damonte .

PJ Tucker can make the open three if left alone but just because he can make them in small percentages doesn't mean hes as good of a shooter as Steph Curry but that doesn't mean his defense and hustle wasn't extremely valuable to the Bucks and their winning a title .

But DMW didn’t make them in small percentages.

 

[PIT_ILL]

I want to go on record here and now. 5 Predictions over the next 5 days.

Prediction #1

I believe Andre will have AT LEAST 5 Triple Doubles this season.

That’s bold. An aggressive o/u would be 2.5

 

[IllinoisssssssVarsity]

That’s bold. An aggressive o/u would be 2.5

I’m now interested in what the ncaa record for triple double is in a season, but too lazy to look it up.


And in all honesty, I hope he gets at least 2 in our non-con. I know our schedule is tough, but grabbing a couple vs the tune up teams will go a long way for his confidence. It will also go a long way for his personal narrative and draft stock that he can get one. Will obviously help his stat line as well.

I’d love something like a 16+/8+/6+ line from him. Idk if he can consistently rebound to 6+ per game, but he should be on the floor enough to have the opportunity. And we have a history under BU of rebounding guards. And finally, its always good when the guy who grabs the board can start the break himself.

 

[Ga65]

Triple doubles will be tough to come by when you are only playing 25 mins because it is a blowout game. How about a prediction on no. of blowout games i.e. +20 pts. Frame of reference, we had 8 last year.

 

[IlliniwekKDR]

I want to go on record here and now. 5 Predictions over the next 5 days.

Prediction #1

I believe Andre will have AT LEAST 5 Triple Doubles this season.

If he gets to 10 of them, is that a triple double double?

 

[illiniguy24]

I’m now interested in what the ncaa record for triple double is in a season, but too lazy to look it up.


And in all honesty, I hope he gets at least 2 in our non-con. I know our schedule is tough, but grabbing a couple vs the tune up teams will go a long way for his confidence. It will also go a long way for his personal narrative and draft stock that he can get one. Will obviously help his stat line as well.

I’d love something like a 16+/8+/6+ line from him. Idk if he can consistently rebound to 6+ per game, but he should be on the floor enough to have the opportunity. And we have a history under BU of rebounding guards. And finally, its always good when the guy who grabs the board can start the break himself.

Looks like the record for the most in a career was a recent player at BYU who finished with 12. Wasn’t able to see the record for a single season before I got distracted, but I’d bet it’s around 5.

 

[IlliniShelt]

If he gets to 10 of them, is that a triple double double?

That's a westbrook lite

 

[the juiceman cometh]

Looks like the record for the most in a career was a recent player at BYU who finished with 12. Wasn’t able to see the record for a single season before I got distracted, but I’d bet it’s around 5.

Apparently Kyle Collinsworth, the guy from BYU who had 12 in his career, also holds the single season record with 6. Which is an insane number, because 6 remains the second highest tally for career triple doubles (Shaq and Michael Anderson of Drexel)

List of NCAA Division I basketball career triple-doubles leaders - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[IlliniwekKDR]

Apparently Kyle Collinsworth, the guy from BYU who had 12 in his career, also holds the single season record with 6. Which is an insane number, because 6 remains the second highest tally for career triple doubles (Shaq and Michael Anderson of Drexel)

List of NCAA Division I basketball career triple-doubles leaders - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The crazy thing about Shaq is that he was reaching double digits with block totals. Just dominant!

 

[foby]

I want to go on record here and now. 5 Predictions over the next 5 days.

Prediction #1

I believe Andre will have AT LEAST 5 Triple Doubles this season.

3 would have been bold. 5 is INSANELY BOLD.

Looking forward to the other 4

 

[ElGran]

The crazy thing about Shaq is that he was reaching double digits with block totals. Just dominant!

He averaged just shy of 40 pts and 20 rebounds per game in the 2000 NBA Finals. His dominance continued in the NBA.

 

[Ken]

But DMW didn’t make them in small percentages.

compared to the rest of the country yes he did

35-64 doesn't even get him ranked nationally and there are 64 players in D1 that made as many threes as DMW attempted including his new teammate Plummer .

He made 35 threes over 3 seasons and then made 35 threes in one season and now hes one of the best shooters in the country ? As I said from the start I don't understand why fans would even do that to him .

DMW is great at what he does and the ultimate glue guy and hes a great clutch shooter but hes not one of the best shooters in the country.

 

[Calvin]

3 would have been bold. 5 is INSANELY BOLD.

Looking forward to the other 4

1 would be bold IMO. We know he can get assists and points, but where does he get the third statistical category?

5 double doubles would be pretty bold (Ayo managed 5 his last season).

 

[texillwek]

compared to the rest of the country yes he did

35-64 doesn't even get him ranked nationally and there are 64 players in D1 that made as many threes as DMW attempted including his new teammate Plummer .

He made 35 threes over 3 seasons and then made 35 threes in one season and now hes one of the best shooters in the country ? As I said from the start I don't understand why fans would even do that to him .

DMW is great at what he does and the ultimate glue guy and hes a great clutch shooter but hes not one of the best shooters in the country.

Here are the top 15 qualified, via ESPN. Even if you (not you, but folks, in general) don't believe he is one of the best shooters in the country, maybe we can agree he was one of the most accurate in the shots he took, no?

I'm more impressed that he improved his 3s made by 169%, year over year (percent made by 93%).

 

[IllinistuckinGopherland]

I want to go on record here and now. 5 Predictions over the next 5 days.

Prediction #1

I believe Andre will have AT LEAST 5 Triple Doubles this season.

He had one game with double digit rebounds last year.
He had zero games with double digit assists last year.
The P5 player with the most assists last season (Sahvir Wheeler - UGA) had 8 double digit assist games.

Obviously, his minutes will be up, but double digit rebound OR double digit assists will be rare. So I’ll take the under on 5 … or on 2.5.

 

[Central IL Illini]

Honestly as much faith as I have in him when he has hit feet set before he catches if he is moving into the catch before shooting its going to be an adventure. Hes not going to come off screens and knock down shots which is why I can see the argument of saying he isn't one of the "best" shooters. I remember last season him catching on the wing during a fast break wide open and shooting off the backboard and the side rim...

Now that being said there is absolutely nobody in college basketball I would rather have shooting a wide open kick out than Damonte and I absolutely love what he brings to the team.

This is where I am at basically. Damonte is phenomenal at a set shot 3 pointer with a slow release, and that is a great guy to have on a team. You can’t help off him, so he still spaces the floor.

That being said when I think great shooter I’m thinking of more of the Joe Weiskamp type guy. Someone who’s running off screens and putting up threes with a hand in his face at times, or even shooting one off the dribble. His 3pt % is lower than DMW, but if he was able to shoot the 3’s DMW does, or vice versa, I think those numbers would be a lot different.

 

[RockfordIllini]

This is where I am at basically. Damonte is phenomenal at a set shot 3 pointer with a slow release, and that is a great guy to have on a team. You can’t help off him, so he still spaces the floor.

That being said when I think great shooter I’m thinking of more of the Joe Weiskamp type guy. Someone who’s running off screens and putting up threes with a hand in his face at times, or even shooting one off the dribble. His 3pt % is lower than DMW, but if he was able to shoot the 3’s DMW does, or vice versa, I think those numbers would be a lot different.

Agree. And last year I felt like most of our shooters were set-shot type shooters like DMW, Ayo, and Grandi, which is why we shot a low volume of 3’s. Those guys just needed more time/space to get shots off. Trent was really the only consistent jump shooter who could pull up, come off screens, etc. Should have more jump shooters this year with Plummer, Hutch and the freshman. Believe we will shoot a higher volume and excited to see what sets BU can draw up to get all of these guys looks!

 

[ILLjuice]

Here are the top 15 qualified, via ESPN. Even if you (not you, but folks, in general) don't believe he is one of the best shooters in the country, maybe we can agree he was one of the most accurate in the shots he took, no?

I'm more impressed that he improved his 3s made by 169%, year over year (percent made by 93%).

I think a big gripe about calling him the best shooter in the country is that he averages 5.7 ppg. If he was the best shooter in the country shouldn't he be shooting more?

 

[texillwek]

I think a big gripe about calling him the best shooter in the country is that he averages 5.7 ppg. If he was the best shooter in the country shouldn't he be shooting more?

Yeah I get that. It's not his game. He's on the floor to take your lunch money.

 

[dwpittman]

Hoping that you're from the future and just detailing your experience of seeing us actually win every game

Please let us know if you are from the future. A lot of us would like to bet a little bit on those long odds!

 

[dwpittman]

Regarding DaMonte: I understand your argument about his success on a percentage level. It was great to have him take that stride. I'm not going to complain about him as a basketball player in any way. However, there are a lot of guys in college basketball that would shoot around that percentage if they were the last focus of the defense and didn't shoot a lot, and rarely moving or a defender on them. The trick is having a quick release, moving to get open, etc.

Mark Titus has said numerous times (and I'm sure it's not a novel thought) that you shouldn't shoot much over 40% as a three-point shooter. If you are shooting that high %, you should be shooting more! In this case, I'm not sure DaMonte should be, as he doesn't create his shot, etc. I'm okay with him just drilling the open shots, playing good team ball, and excellent defense. That is an important contribution to a team, even without being "one of the best shooters in the country."