Illinois 84, Western Illinois 52 Postgame

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#52      
Great game…love the focus on getting into the lane. Opens up so much.

Question for those in the know: Hansberry has not looked very good this year…doesn’t have athletic explosiveness, plays below the rim, and seems to be overthinking. I know he’s a freshman so a lot of that is to be expected. My question is what should expectations for him be long-term? Does he have the skill-set to be a solid B1G player?
I am a bit puzzled by your take about him not looking good this year? Other than the fact that he is a freshman, and it typically takes a little while to acclimate to the next level of play and system (as compared to HS - where shear athleticism can carry you), I don't know what else you expected. His motor doesn't quit. He is a beast as far as getting rebounds. He doesn't try to do things outside of the offense. He has a nice touch when he shoots. I think he will continue to develop into a very good player.
 
#53      
I am a bit puzzled by your take about him not looking good this year? Other than the fact that he is a freshman, and it typically takes a little while to acclimate to the next level of play and system (as compared to HS - where shear athleticism can carry you), I don't know what else you expected. His motor doesn't quit. He is a beast as far as getting rebounds. He doesn't try to do things outside of the offense. He has a nice touch when he shoots. I think he will continue to develop into a very good player.
Somebody's amped up on a Saturday 😂😂. Certainly I understand he's a freshman and most freshman are going to have a challenge adapting to this level. He's done some decent things for sure but as I said, in my opinion, he plays below the rim/hasn't shown much explosiveness around the rim. At 6'8", that's not a great thing. Watched some highlights from HS & that seems to be the case. That's why I was asking those in the know who have seen him in practice or other places to see what their perspective was. Is it ok to ask a question?
 
#57      
Somebody's amped up on a Saturday 😂😂. Certainly I understand he's a freshman and most freshman are going to have a challenge adapting to this level. He's done some decent things for sure but as I said, in my opinion, he plays below the rim/hasn't shown much explosiveness around the rim. At 6'8", that's not a great thing. Watched some highlights from HS & that seems to be the case. That's why I was asking those in the know who have seen him in practice or other places to see what their perspective was. Is it ok to ask a question?
Well, the general consensus from those in the know is that he is a hard worker who does all the little things. He is a rebounding natural, and will be a really solid B1G player.

I would say that if he were 6'10 instead of 6'7 or 6'8 or whatever he really is, he'd probably be a super stud playing at a blue blood school. (I know you can say that about a lot of players, so don't make fun of me too bad!)
 
#58      
Somebody's amped up on a Saturday 😂😂. Certainly I understand he's a freshman and most freshman are going to have a challenge adapting to this level. He's done some decent things for sure but as I said, in my opinion, he plays below the rim/hasn't shown much explosiveness around the rim. At 6'8", that's not a great thing. Watched some highlights from HS & that seems to be the case. That's why I was asking those in the know who have seen him in practice or other places to see what their perspective was. Is it ok to ask a question?
Lol! If you think that my measured response to what I found to be a confusing take on Amani's play so far was amped up, then you definitely wouldn't want to be around me while I actually watch the games.....Just saying. You know who has great things to say about Amani? The coaching staff. Brad was effusive in his praise of him. This is just the most recent time:


He starts talking about Amani at about the 7:35 mark. You can ask questions, however when you frame your question after making a negative assessment that doesn't match what is actually happening, people may push back. Is it ok to not agree with you?
 
#61      
He played good defense and was his usual junkyard dog self. It's becoming a narrative that he's a bad defender just like Ty isn't a good PG.
I'm just personally not seeing what you're seeing with Harmon. His help defense in the post and quick hands have definitely been good, and his recovery defense has been solid, but he is getting beat off the dribble continuously. And just to make sure my eyes aren't deceiving me, here's the defensive analytics for our players thus far adjusting for opponent (Note: The more negative number the better as it refers to the hundredths of a point prevented per opponent possession they account for when on the court):

From Hoop-Explorer
Dain: -7.3
Guerrier: -5.1
TSJ: -4.0
Ty: -3.9
CoHawk: -2.3
Domask: -2.3
Amani: -2.2
Moretti: -2.1
DGL: -1.9
Goode: -1.5
Harmon: -0.7

Now granted, this is imperfect as it doesn't account for the level of the individual opponent on the court at the same time as them, i.e. a starter vs. a bench player, however, it is safe to say that Amani, Moretti, DGL, and Justin all have somewhat artificially inflated stats if anything as they've spent a larger percentage of their minutes against backups than the starters.

So at this time, thru 6 games, Justin has had the worst individual defensive share on the team of the non-walkons. And that really matches the eye test as I'd only put him ahead of DGL at this time. I'm not trying to bash him either, I'm simply saying that Justin really needs to show more than he has if he is going to play a role as a defensive stopper on this team. In fact, analytically, the only category that he's shown to be a distictly plus player is his offensive rebounding share. Everything else for the most part is subpar.

So to summarize, this is nothing similar to Ty where analytically he looks extremely good as well as passes the eye test. This is more a case of a player not passing the eye test for the most part and also thus far being subpar analytically.
 
#62      
Lol! If you think that my measured response to what I found to be a confusing take on Amani's play so far was amped up, then you definitely wouldn't want to be around me while I actually watch the games.....Just saying. You know who has great things to say about Amani? The coaching staff. Brad was effusive in his praise of him. This is just the most recent time:


He starts talking about Amani at about the 7:35 mark. You can ask questions, however when you frame your question after making a negative assessment that doesn't match what is actually happening, people may push back. Is it ok to not agree with you?
You know what…you’re right. Bad response on my part. My b. Appreciate the insight. I still have questions about his athleticism but I hope you’re right and I’m wrong.
 
#63      
Great game…love the focus on getting into the lane. Opens up so much.

Question for those in the know: Hansberry has not looked very good this year…doesn’t have athletic explosiveness, plays below the rim, and seems to be overthinking. I know he’s a freshman so a lot of that is to be expected. My question is what should expectations for him be long-term? Does he have the skill-set to be a solid B1G player?
Agree on the bolded.

Hansberry has been asked to play a complimentary role. Hustle, defend, rebound. He's done that for the most part.
 
#64      
We should get nuggets for that!
exactly what i told my brother when it happened! i think the crowd (at least me) was more amped for dainja making 2 FTs in a row than the opponents missing 2 in a row.
 
#65      
I missed my window to reply to this post in the game thread:
IMG_0976.jpeg

I’m sorry you feel that way. But, I don’t think I was picking on the guy. I’m a big Dain fan. I just wish he was more cognizant of getting hung up in the air.

We don’t need him in foul trouble and he’s generally the last line of defense out there.
My comment was meant constructively. That doesn’t/shouldnt take away from all his other positive attributes.
 
#67      
I'm just personally not seeing what you're seeing with Harmon. His help defense in the post and quick hands have definitely been good, and his recovery defense has been solid, but he is getting beat off the dribble continuously. And just to make sure my eyes aren't deceiving me, here's the defensive analytics for our players thus far adjusting for opponent (Note: The more negative number the better as it refers to the hundredths of a point prevented per opponent possession they account for when on the court):

From Hoop-Explorer
Dain: -7.3
Guerrier: -5.1
TSJ: -4.0
Ty: -3.9
CoHawk: -2.3
Domask: -2.3
Amani: -2.2
Moretti: -2.1
DGL: -1.9
Goode: -1.5
Harmon: -0.7

Now granted, this is imperfect as it doesn't account for the level of the individual opponent on the court at the same time as them, i.e. a starter vs. a bench player, however, it is safe to say that Amani, Moretti, DGL, and Justin all have somewhat artificially inflated stats if anything as they've spent a larger percentage of their minutes against backups than the starters.

So at this time, thru 6 games, Justin has had the worst individual defensive share on the team of the non-walkons. And that really matches the eye test as I'd only put him ahead of DGL at this time. I'm not trying to bash him either, I'm simply saying that Justin really needs to show more than he has if he is going to play a role as a defensive stopper on this team. In fact, analytically, the only category that he's shown to be a distictly plus player is his offensive rebounding share. Everything else for the most part is subpar.

So to summarize, this is nothing similar to Ty where analytically he looks extremely good as well as passes the eye test. This is more a case of a player not passing the eye test for the most part and also thus far being subpar analytically.
Harmon doesn’t belong and as the season progresses it will become more and more obvious
 
#69      
Great game…love the focus on getting into the lane. Opens up so much.

Question for those in the know: Hansberry has not looked very good this year…doesn’t have athletic explosiveness, plays below the rim, and seems to be overthinking. I know he’s a freshman so a lot of that is to be expected. My question is what should expectations for him be long-term? Does he have the skill-set to be a solid B1G player?
Here is quote by Adam Finklestein's scouting report from the summer of 2022.

"While he doesn’t have elite size or explosiveness, he’s versatile and able to impact winning in a variety of ways."

You can can find the rest at his 247 recruiting profile.

Amani is probably 6-7 with a 7-1 wingspan. He is as strong as an ox and has very good hands.

Can pass or shoot with either hand. Was called a point center in high school because of his handles, passing, and court awareness.

He uses his brute strength, length, hands, and solid footwork to post up and score inside. Also to get position and rebound.

Can also shoot facing up with 3 point range. Pretty good free throw shooter too

While he runs the court pretty well, he lacks blazing speed. If you are looking for above the rim athleticism; you might be disappointed.
 
#70      
Harmon doesn’t belong and as the season progresses it will become more and more obvious
Highly disagree. As he gets more comfortable he will only get better especially on offense where you could argue he has the ability to be the the 3rd best scorer on the team.
 
#71      
Highly disagree. As he gets more comfortable he will only get better especially on offense where you could argue he has the ability to be the the 3rd best scorer on the team.
Yeah, to this untrained eye, I thought he looked pretty good in this game, especially in the first half.
 
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