He showed a ton of offensive potential last year and I agree that he’d benefit significantly from a true PG. I’m not convinced this team has that at least not yet. And he was , at times, a major defensive liability last year. Still like him and hope he has a tremendous year.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Joel Goodson
- ties will be resolved
Agree that Dainja could take a big step or three this season. He's pretty gifted offensively. Seems like he's putting in the work on his physique. Obviously, needs to be more consistent and his D needs to be a good bit better. Ceiling is high, hopefully he's driven to reach it.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Seriously people have no idea how good Dain is and what he a accomplished this season. Some days the craziness of crap said on here is insane.
You can't teach his foot work and his skillset for his size is great. People should listen to Latulip's analysis of Dain. At times, Dain was fantastic in drop coverage and was doing things freshman shouldn't be able to do. Does he still need to get in better shape? Yes. Did he suck on D when his O wasn't going? Yes. Does he need to mature and get better at free throws? Yes. But he is oozing potential.
He was a lottery pick based on his athleticism and potential not his actual college game. That’s why a lot of high school players use to get drafted base on potential.
Sad news
Heck, the NCAA tournament.
Well yeah Meyers was a lottery pick but the NBA draft is based on potential and Meyers was a very athletic 7 footer.
Leonard had 1 good year where he average 13.6/8.2 on a bad team that went 6-12 in conference.
Tisdale was a 3 year starter that averaged double digit points for 3 straight years and 6+ rebs as a Jr and senior while also becoming a 3pt threat as a Senior. He played on teams that finished 2nd/5th/4th in the Big10 and went the tourney twice and got a win.
Plus all the advanced metrics like win shares, point to Tisdale being basically just as good all 3 of his years as Meyer was in his 1. Meyer likely would have gotten better but Tisdale was a more impactful player in his time.
I have high hopes for the dancing bear, but the legend of Dain as this perpetual freshman is overdone. He’s from the same class as Hawkins. He’s going to be a senior this year, and a grad student if he stays/transfers next year.
Did people refer to Podz last year as “basically a freshman”, “actually his first year”, etc? For some reason this board treats Dain different than all other players in that regard.
He certainly had some really nice post moves last year. If he is taking a big step forward with his on-court awareness, positioning, and recognition of play-calls, then he should have a very good season. As you said, it was his first real season of college basketball on a new team learning a new system, and most freshmen are going to struggle with what he struggled with. The real if to me though is if he's more committed to the system and being diligent in his learning of the offense and defense along with studying game film. Last season not only did it visually look like he wasn't the best basketball student, but I want to say a few of you insiders floated that as well confirming it. So if that has changed, I think he'll have a really good season. Otherwise, he'll need to learn quick as I think Amani will start pushing hard for some of his minutes.
Glad to hear though he's looking great to you. That's definitely some positive news around these parts.
Dain is not in the same class as Hawkins. Hawkins will be a senior this coming season while Dain will be a junior.
Last year was his first full year of college ball after playing three games at Baylor the year before, then sitting out the second semester at Illinois. Though technically not, last season was was essentially his redshirt freshman year. It’s also possible, when the time comes, Illinois could petition the NCAA for a fifth year for him since he didn’t play the max amount of games his actual freshman year.
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I think Domask is what we hope Goode turns into. Should play starter minutes IMO.
That is tragic. Sorry to hear that.
He sat 2020 at Baylor, transferred to Illinois and sat for 2021, and played for Illinois 2022.
This season will be his 4th season on a D1 team whatever you want to call it. I’m not knocking him for it, and think he’s a great player.
Ah… gotcha. I didn’t realize he redshirted in 2020-21.He sat 2020 at Baylor, transferred to Illinois and sat for 2021, and played for Illinois 2022.
This season will be his 4th season on a D1 team whatever you want to call it. I’m not knocking him for it, and think he’s a great player.
2020 should be the covid year so he should have an extra year without petitioning.He sat 2020 at Baylor, transferred to Illinois and sat for 2021, and played for Illinois 2022.
This season will be his 4th season on a D1 team whatever you want to call it. I’m not knocking him for it, and think he’s a great player.
Goode
Derek Harper is in the top group, too. Definitely top 5 point guard of all-time here.
Perhaps Ty Rodgers down the road?
And that was inspite of him not being used properly. Nearly every game we played former coaches announcing would comment about how he was being used. What an elite talent Meyers was with tons of ability. I feel that someone like BU would have put to much better use. Thats why he was a lottery pick after just two seasons inspite of that. The scouts in the NBA saw him own Indianas big man his Sophomore year.. Tisdale never could do that God bless him. Meyers was not used properly most of the time. That is not on Meyers and imo BU would maximize someone like Meyers if they ever come along Oh man i hope they do! Your are correct.
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It was not the quality of competition he played against but more a about a lack of quality passers on the team who couldn't even make simple passes into the post.
While he was drafted on his potential, he still averaged 14, 8, and 2 blocks. All his numbers were his sophomore year were better than Tisdale had in his best seasons..
Look, I liked Tisdale and thought he was a good player, but it’s not like he carried us to new heights or anything.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Like you, I LOVE Dain's game! Outstanding presence & footwork in the paint, and he puts that wingspan to work defensively with all the blocked shots. (If only Kofi had such moves around the basket!!) Really looking forward to seeing him take another step forward this coming season.
I also see him as a lock Top 5 big man in the conference, with the potential to be Top 3 in his upcoming Junior season. He needs to earn Brad's confidence so that he can be a double-digit scorer for us in 2023-24 and get his minutes up to ~25 per game. And a feathery touch from 7-10 feet would do wonders for his game, too. I hope that's what he's working on this off-season.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
I lived there three years, the last year in the new section. Can't beat it for your ability to just roll out of bed and be on the quad in 5 minutes
There are a couple of big questions for him.
1)Is his free throw shooting going to be improved? He was a liability, especially late in games, from the stripe. It was hack a Dain.
2)Can he stay out of foul trouble? That was an issue last year. Two fouls by the 10 minute mark of the first half.
3)Can he finish at the rim? That spin move was fantastic. It was quick and decisive, but then he'd soft soap it and miss a layup vs jamming it.
Those really hampered him last year. Not sure we'll know any of the stuff until they lace them up for game #1....or a game vs a team with legitimate big men.
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