He was heaving up heat checks. It's just that everything he heaved up went in.
Illinois 85, Texas 78 OT Postgame
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He best hit FT.
Ehh...because you didn't word it that way. Moving on!
Not was it worded as taking a shot at anyone.
I think your facts are fairly correct, but in my opinion, it appears you are comparing the assistant coaches recruits and insinuating that CF's recruits are performing better than TA's recruits. Carrying that further, the assumption can be made that this makes CF better than TA.
In regards to stats, Skyy and Jaden are almost equal in everything except Epps is averaging 2.2 more point per game but also is taking 2.5 more shots per game.
Sincere is averaging 2.3 more points per game than Ty but is taking 2.5 more shots per game. Ty has three times more rebounds and twice as many assists as Sincere.
I think each player has great strengths and overall they all mesh very well with each other.
Skyy - thick, strong guard, can shoot, plays hard defense, may be a little loose with the ball
Jaden - smaller but still strong, tough defender, potentially better shooter, willing to drive
Sincere - defensive stalwart, offense behind but total energy and effort guy
Ty - great motor, rebounding, just behind Shannon, Dainja, Mayer and Harris in rebounds per minute, shooting not consistent but tied for 2nd with Skyy for assists per minute, behind Hawkins. his spot has more experienced players in front of him than our three guards
Lastly, don't forget that Shannon is here due to his relationship with TA.
You are probably right and I am reading too much into your statements. I just think all of the freshman are playing as well in not better than we could hope.
I would prefer 100% Goode to be honest. I can accept an 80% Shannon, not so sure about Goode. I feel he needs to be 100%, so he can give the Illini that extra hustle and tenacity. I am assuming redshirting is out of the equation?
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
You have done little more than attempt to pass off opinion as fact.
You keep bouncing back and forth between your personal “expectations” and some nebulous general expectation that you claim is not being met, going so far as to say: “We (Illini MBB) are not in this (strong) position (successful) because of exceptional play by Clark and Rodgers.”
Then you weirdly try to tie those ‘unmet expectations’ to the recruiter of each player, all without making any point as to how that is relevant.
To say Skyy Clark, in particular, is “behind schedule” (whatever that means) is just crazy talk. He is a freshman starting point guard averaging 25 minutes per game on a top-10-level team. On a team full of stars, his game averages are 8pts (on .458 shooting) and 4 rebounds. He does have 22 turnovers to go with 21 assists (and 7 steals), so you could argue he needs to work on taking better care of the ball. But to criticize his overall performance to date reveals either a lack of understanding or an agenda.
You are welcome to share your personal “expectations” and try to insulate yourself by calling out any dissent as nothing more than a product of “sensitive people,” but…
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There is no need to baby it, Skyy Clark needs to be better (or see his role reduced) if this team is going to win the Big Ten or go deep in the NCAA Tournament. He was a borderline 5 star recruit, you'd like for him to have been better to date, but oh well, that's how it goes sometimes and he's coming off an injury. Hopefully he can up his play the rest of the season.
The freshman are fine. Every single one is Big Ten caliber, right now. Which is rarer than a properly cooked Beef House ribeye. Usually you have at least one freshman who is more or less a liability and becomes a stranger to the court by January. Don't see that happening with any of our guys.
That said, I think it's fine to say that Skyy and Ty haven't met their pre-season expectations yet. Both of those guys were labeled by knowledgeable posters on this board as being 1 or 2 and done. One popular narrative was that Ty would be challenging for starters minutes by the end of the year (could still happen who knows).
There's little doubt in my mind though that the players they are in March will be entirely different than their current versions. Time is a freshman's best friend. Just need to give them some.
That said, I think it's fine to say that Skyy and Ty haven't met their pre-season expectations yet. Both of those guys were labeled by knowledgeable posters on this board as being 1 or 2 and done. One popular narrative was that Ty would be challenging for starters minutes by the end of the year (could still happen who knows).
There's little doubt in my mind though that the players they are in March will be entirely different than their current versions. Time is a freshman's best friend. Just need to give them some.
You know the best lineup includes Skyy right?
Skyy is a very good player doing what is asked of him. Hits FTs and rebounds and tries not to do anything spectacular or forced. He will make errors and learn from them...just like he has done all during his career. He has no particular elite talent and just needs to get better at all PG things. We have seen him display solid shooting and then not being able to hit the side of a barn. We have seen him take care of the ball and then have 4+ turnovers. We have seen him finish spectacularly at the rim and then get there with no chance to do anything. We simply need to take the good with the bad and hope the good grows and the bad disappears....but it takes time. This Illini team is fortunate to have him. Fortunately, he is almost the opposite of Curbelo...and in time both will be strong contributors to their team's success...but Skyy is two seasons behind.
| 4 | 2022-11-18 | Illinois | N | UCLA | REG | W | 1 | 28 | 3 | 7 | .429 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2022-11-20 | Illinois | N | Virginia | REG | L | 1 | 22 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 7 | 2022-11-29 | Illinois | Syracuse | REG | W | 1 | 30 | 0 | 10 | .000 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 7 | .000 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2022-12-02 | Illinois | @ | Maryland | REG | L | 1 | 31 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | 2022-12-06 | Illinois | N | Texas | REG | W | 1 | 21 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
Against power conference competition, Skyy is averaging 26.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 1.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and he's 4/11 (36.4 %) on two point field goal attempts, and is 5/20 (25 %) on three point field goal attempts.
That is not very good. In fact, it's bad. I'm sure Skyy would be the first person to tell you that it's bad and that he needs to be better. He's working through some things right now. There is a reason he was sitting on the bench late 2nd half against Texas and in Overtime while Epps was a huge reason the Illini won the game.
I think he will be a good player, hopefully by season end, but no reason to sugarcoat it.
Interesting take
Now take out the Syracuse game and how do those numbers look? 4/8 (50%) from 2 and 5/13 (38.4%) from 3.
Or does that not support your narrative and you expect a freshman to not have an off night?
9 games into his career and that's what you've decided?
and take out the Virginia game and he suddenly looks a whole lot worse, so I'm not sure what the point is of doing that. I don't have a narrative, I want to see Skyy do well
Skyy has no particular elite talent?! That is absurd IMHO. Also, not only do we need to improve communications on switches, but Harris is gonna get hurt if his mates don't start calling out the blindsided screens while he is guarding the ball being brought down court. He has been absolutely flattened at least a couple times.
hooraybeer
- Peoria, IL
imo Epps has exceeded expectations which has made Skyy's meeting (reasonable) freshman expectations look subpar
Not for the last 13 minutes against Texas!
ZING
But in all seriousness, he had a rough 2nd half. Hopefully he collects himself and has a great game tomorrow.
I’m just glad Epps has also shown to be competent as a replacement.
Lol yes, but statistically the best lineup we have had is with Skyy and Epps on the floor together
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