But I think we have the size and athleticism at other positions to combat that. Yes he will score, he scores on everyone. But we can play a better zone this year with our length or we can swarm him more effectively and hopefully cause some turnovers.
Illini Basketball 2022-2023
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But I think we have the size and athleticism at other positions to combat that. Yes he will score, he scores on everyone. But we can play a better zone this year with our length or we can swarm him more effectively and hopefully cause some turnovers.
Illini in Indiana
- Indiana
I'm huge 50 year Illini fan. This year has me a little confused more than other years. All new starting line up, but tons of talent and a deep bench. I wanted to see how good we are truly projected to be. So, I went to vegasinsider and looked at todays best future odds to win a national championship (follow the $$$). Here is how the top of the B10 looks. Gonzaga is best at 10-1
So yeah, the futures are bright
Illinois 40-1
Michigan 40-1
Indiana 50-1
Purdue 60-1
MIch. St. 80-1
Ohio St, 80-1
So yeah, the futures are bright
Illinois 40-1
Michigan 40-1
Indiana 50-1
Purdue 60-1
MIch. St. 80-1
Ohio St, 80-1
‘Is it wishful thinking to hope the officials do a better job of protecting our players, both offensive and defensive, than they did with Kofi?
In the article cited by Joel Goodson earlier, the author states that RJ added 18 pounds in the offseason and stuck around Champaign in May for workouts and conditioning.
Bigtex
- DFW
Don't see Underwood playing (much or any) zone.
Agree but we should be able to double/trap more effectively. Our guards were generally so undersized last year they had a hard time bothering post players and/or shutting down passing lanes.
There was one specific play I remember where Plum came down to help on Edey and just helplessly lept at the ball, which Edey easily kept out of reach.
We'll see. How did St Mary's beat Purdue when their tallest starter was a half foot shorter than Edey?
One thing I believe people forget is that there is an actual hard limit on the number of practice hours. Trying to get a team trained to play a zone for 3% of possessions in a season is probably often seen as not a good use of the limited practice hours. Same with some of the individual development skills. I'm guessing that most coaches spend very little practice time on free throws. Perhaps a little bit on form occasionally, but with limited hours you're going to tell players to practice on their own instead of during the time when the NCAA clock is ticking.
That said, I hope we develop a nice scheme against the occasional big bigs that we come across. Seems like we have some good options to slow them down.
That said, I hope we develop a nice scheme against the occasional big bigs that we come across. Seems like we have some good options to slow them down.
When he gets the ball yes. The idea is to deny the entry. Kofi was much bigger and stronger than most opponents but he was slowed down a few times.
UofI will almost certainly front someone like Edey and try to get him too deep where the pass can't go over the top. Also the guards are much taller than they were a year ago so the passes over the top will need to be much higher to get over the defense to Edey
Saint Peter's
DB11Headband
- Chicago Burbs
His 3 point FGP was inflated last season. It will regress as he takes more shots this year.
On the other hand, he seems to be an excellent slasher. Found a way to put the ball in the hole very often.
Yep, 9 of 15 from three will blow up that efficiency rating on limited play.
I liked Ant's follow-up tweet saying "if (RJ) played in Max Christie or Caleb Houstan's shoes he'd be 1st round." Couldn't agree more, and gotta say that OA helped us snag another superstar before he left.
Edey shot 65% from the field last year and in all but I few of those games, the other team did not have Kofi. There are other ways to guard big guys and I'll trust Underwood to figure that out. Also, who do you picture Edey guarding on the other side, do you think he's quick enough to guard our guys and stay up with them in a full court game?
St Peters had 9 steals. Shot about the same as Purdue. Was outrebounded by 11. Their front court was 6'7" 190 6'7" 192, 6'7" 190. Looks like they played 3 guards most of game.
2022
Game 1 Illini-Purdue Kofi only played 20 minutes due to injury. Edey had 20 Williams 14. We lost in OT.
Game 2 Illini-Purdue Kofi was 7/12 18 pts 7 rb. Edey had 13 pts Williams 10. We lost because Jaden Ivey had 26,Trent was 1-7 and DaMonte was 1-6.
Purdue lost to Rutgers, Wisconsin twice, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and St. Peters. Only Michigan had a big 5 like Kofi. Dickinson hit four 3 pointers in that game. Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and St. Peters all had less size than Illinois will have next year.
2023 - Our big guards limit the entry pass to Edey. Our centers play in front of Edey and use their quickness to steal the ball. It will be a lot easier without Jaden Ivey driving to the hoop on use.
2022
Game 1 Illini-Purdue Kofi only played 20 minutes due to injury. Edey had 20 Williams 14. We lost in OT.
Game 2 Illini-Purdue Kofi was 7/12 18 pts 7 rb. Edey had 13 pts Williams 10. We lost because Jaden Ivey had 26,Trent was 1-7 and DaMonte was 1-6.
Purdue lost to Rutgers, Wisconsin twice, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and St. Peters. Only Michigan had a big 5 like Kofi. Dickinson hit four 3 pointers in that game. Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and St. Peters all had less size than Illinois will have next year.
2023 - Our big guards limit the entry pass to Edey. Our centers play in front of Edey and use their quickness to steal the ball. It will be a lot easier without Jaden Ivey driving to the hoop on use.
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Hard to argue with Epps' skill set. I think the only reason he wasn't higher in the rankings is because of his height. Guard him close, he can get by you. Take a step back he has a quick release and NBA range. Can't wait....
Thanks for providing. So St Peters tallest starter was 8 inches shorter than Edey!
MustangWally
- Mayfield
What kind of shoes were they? Ruby slippers?
This upcoming big ten season is going to be awesome from a general fans standpoint. I think you could make an argument for half the league to win the title, with some major assumptions of course.
I’m personally high on Rutgers. Just feels like it’s finally time for that team to make a leap even without Harper.
I’m personally high on Rutgers. Just feels like it’s finally time for that team to make a leap even without Harper.
Let's play hypotheticals because I've already mailed it in for the work week. Illini make a deep run in the postseason with a regular or post season B1G championship. In that scenario, would we expect to lose Skyy, Coleman and RJ along with TSJ and Mayer? I'm mostly curious because even if that happens, we'd still have Epps, Rodgers, Goode and Dainja mixed in with some others that's still a top third big ten team heading into 2023-2024.
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