Illini Basketball 2022-2023

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#153      

rtbritt

rtbritt
rtbritt
Mobi said:
Ben Simmons is an interior player who calls himself a PG, IMO. You can do that these days, a.k.a Jokic but last time I checked, he was listed as a C with 37% 3P%. I might be too harsh but Simmons is a joke. Knowing how to pass does not make you a PG. Hawkins, while no comparison to Simmons, might actually become a real perimeter player with his skill set.
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I don't want to keep harping on this non-Illini related convo....BUT Simmons literally was an ALL-STAR in the NBA while actually PLAYING POINT GUARD. He literally had the ball in his hands down the court and made plays for his teammates. He was a high-assist guy.

Just because the guy literally has no shot, does not mean he is a guard. Just because he is post player size, does not mean he is a guard. Yes, there are questions whether or not a team is better off with him as a 3/4, simply because he refuses to shoot, but he has been an nba all-star while playing point guard.

Like the other guy said, there may be some similarities to Hawkins in some parts of his game, but this is not a good comparison and I don't think you've watched any games of Simmons playing. IMO
 
#154      

2qtslow

2qtslow
2qtslow
RJK01 said:
Has Clark left town?
Also, who's the tall bald dude on the bench during games? Non recruiting staff member?
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Posters here on Loyalty said he moved out of the apartment (dorm?) he shared with Epps prior to the end of the semester. I haven't seen any such posts lately, but neither does there seem to be any Skyy sightings on or around campus. My guess is that he returned to his home refrigerator.
 
#156      

Mobi

M
Mobi
rtbritt said:
I don't want to keep harping on this non-Illini related convo....BUT Simmons literally was an ALL-STAR in the NBA while actually PLAYING POINT GUARD. He literally had the ball in his hands down the court and made plays for his teammates. He was a high-assist guy.

Just because the guy literally has no shot, does not mean he is a guard. Just because he is post player size, does not mean he is a guard. Yes, there are questions whether or not a team is better off with him as a 3/4, simply because he refuses to shoot, but he has been an nba all-star while playing point guard.

Like the other guy said, there may be some similarities to Hawkins in some parts of his game, but this is not a good comparison and I don't think you've watched any games of Simmons playing. IMO
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I don't follow Simmons but I have no doubt he is as good as you described. I don't like him being called a PG, simply due to my bias b/c I prefer labeling players based on their defense position rather than the offense position.
 
#157      

jumpingjack

J
jumpingjack
RockfordIllini said:
As of today on KenPom we are 40 in AdjO and 25 in AdjD. Considering our “new” offense and defense still represent a small percentage of our total games, I think it’s possible we get to top 20 in both by end of the regular season. Defense I think is still skewed downward because of all of our turnovers on O which led to easy baskets. And offense presumably is also skewed downward I would assume because of our turnover %.

But, if we continue to take care of the ball and maybe take a small step forward on our 3pt shooting, we should move up in both. As BU says, our half court defense is elite. Don’t look now, but if you squint you can see a F4/Natty contender starting to come together.
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Yeah, the monster is growing by leaps and bounds this month. Once this defense is completely locked in, I like our chances in March and April.

Screenshot_20230118-194806.png
 
#158      

IlliniFaninHoosierLand

IlliniFaninHoosierLand
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
Tip time for rematch vs. Nebraska on January 31st moved up to 6:00 PM with game still airing on BTN. Change in start time is for rescheduled Northwestern/Iowa game that will be played that night at 8:00 PM.
 
#163      

SCMART Illini

S
SCMART Illini
Is there a possibility that every big ten team other than Purdue ends up with at least 10 losses? This conference is so balanced and crazy from night to night, 10 teams will probably end up really close to 8-8. NCAA seedings will be interesting.

I know a couple teams will probably get hot and end up in a solid 2 or 3 spot, but Wis. and NW are the only teams that only have 5 losses now. Hopefully It's ILL that gets hot, but who knows?
 
#164      

Boomauer

Boomauer
Boomauer
We harp on the horrible free throw shooting of this team....but it's really just 3 guys bringing % down. Epps-81% Melendez-80% Mayer-77% Shannon 76%
Dain-49% Rodgers-31% Harris-20%
Hawkins 62%.

Now...If Brad can just devise his offense around keeping 3 guys off the line..
 
#165      

Point-Illinois

P
Point-Illinois
Harris’ FT shooting is awful. Hopefully he makes that a big part of his improvements in the off season.

Get bigger. Find a mid-range shot (3pt shot if we are lucky). Get his FTs up to 70%+.
 
#166      

illini80

illini80
Forgottonia
illini80
SCMART Illini said:
Is there a possibility that every big ten team other than Purdue ends up with at least 10 losses? This conference is so balanced and crazy from night to night, 10 teams will probably end up really close to 8-8. NCAA seedings will be interesting.

I know a couple teams will probably get hot and end up in a solid 2 or 3 spot, but Wis. and NW are the only teams that only have 5 losses now. Hopefully It's ILL that gets hot, but who knows?
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Play 20 B10 games so anyone ending up 8-8 seems…..unlikely? J/k I certainly think 3-4 teams at 10-10 is possible/likely. Any more than that and we could be pretty disappointed in how many bids the B10 gets for the tourney. Not getting much love already.
 
#167      

jumpingjack

J
jumpingjack
Point-Illinois said:
Harris’ FT shooting is awful. Hopefully he makes that a big part of his improvements in the off season.

Get bigger. Find a mid-range shot (3pt shot if we are lucky). Get his FTs up to 70%+.
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He needs to put in Ayo time on his shooting form, mostly hand placement.
He knocks 3s down in warmups like it's nothing but at game speed, it starts breaking down.
If he starts putting together an offensive bag to go with his defensive energy, he'll be a menace next year.
 
#169      

SCMART Illini

S
SCMART Illini
illini80 said:
Play 20 B10 games so anyone ending up 8-8 seems…..unlikely? J/k I certainly think 3-4 teams at 10-10 is possible/likely. Any more than that and we could be pretty disappointed in how many bids the B10 gets for the tourney. Not getting much love already.
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yeah, probably no one will finish 8-8. lol. Just really balanced this year. Say what everyone wants about Underwood, but he usually seems to have a much better team by the end of the year than when they started. Hopefully this year is no exception.
 
#170      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
illini80 said:
Play 20 B10 games so anyone ending up 8-8 seems…..unlikely? J/k I certainly think 3-4 teams at 10-10 is possible/likely. Any more than that and we could be pretty disappointed in how many bids the B10 gets for the tourney. Not getting much love already.
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Where are you seeing that? This site has 9 teams in. https://bracketologists.com/visualizations/projected-teams-by-conference

And this site has 10 teams. http://www.bracketmatrix.com/

IMO the way the conference stacks up this year, is optimal for getting lots of teams in. Purdue is really the only team dominating right now, so almost everything else is a chance for a solid quad 1 or 2 win.

Plentiful opportunities to stack quality wins + minimal chances of hurting resume + very few teams handing out L's (only Purdue) means a lot of solid tournament resumes.
 
#171      

Navy_illini

N
Navy_illini
Big ten is balanced and if we get 10 teams in 6 probably will be out by first round. I can make the case for at least 4 teams making the sweet sixteen depending on the week and with a good draw we could have 2 in the elite 8. Other than PU I haven’t seen a consistent enough team to make final 4
 
#172      

illini80

illini80
Forgottonia
illini80
jrichisamazing said:
Where are you seeing that? This site has 9 teams in. https://bracketologists.com/visualizations/projected-teams-by-conference

And this site has 10 teams. http://www.bracketmatrix.com/

IMO the way the conference stacks up this year, is optimal for getting lots of teams in. Purdue is really the only team dominating right now, so almost everything else is a chance for a solid quad 1 or 2 win.

Plentiful opportunities to stack quality wins + minimal chances of hurting resume + very few teams handing out L's (only Purdue) means a lot of solid tournament resumes.
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I’m not saying it’s the be all, end all, but there are only 5 B10 teams in the top 45 Net rankings. I don’t think teams over 40 often make it in though i have nothing to back that up.
 
#173      

illini80

illini80
Forgottonia
illini80
illini80 said:
I’m not saying it’s the be all, end all, but there are only 5 B10 teams in the top 45 Net rankings. I don’t think teams over 40 often make it in though i have nothing to back that up.
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Maybe I should further say I have little belief in any predictions this early. Especially mine!!
 
#174      

grue2

G
grue2
Mid season check of my "insane" point predictions:

PlayerPredictedActualDifference if > 1pt
Mayer1110.5
Cole109.6
Dainja1010.3
Clark67
Rodgers32.1
TSJ1218.1+6
Epps69.3+3
RJM156.6-9
Harris-4.2+4
Goode4--4
Total7777.7
 
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