NBA Draft

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#301      
Fly Illini Fly!
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
i've rarely - maybe not at all - have seen him in the top 20 in mocks. if he's gonna be 25-ish, he should consider coming back
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#302      
AZILL
Some of y'all need to chill on the Will Riley negativity. You do realize he reclassed right? Should of been a Sr in HS this year. And yet, look at him now. Growing physically, improving his game, and by most accounts is a 1st round NBA draft pick. Still improving it seems, both physically and between the ears if his progression at Illinois is any indication. And guess what? He could certainly continue to improve, by leaps and bounds even, in a basketball only environment. I'd love to see him sneak into the top 20 picks!
 
#309      
BretMyBeachHouse
Second place is 1st loser said:
Now, I'm not sure why scouts think we used him the wrong way? He had the keys to the car from day one with no restrictions. If they're pinning his erratic play on the staff, that's fine, but the same scout should be sharing how they believe he should have been used.
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Well, scouts don't us fans any insights and perhaps wouldn't share any just out of caution.

Multiple people on the board have suggested that somehow KJ being given a lot of latitude equates to "being used the right way." Coaches are supposed to coach. When a player has deficiencies in their game, the onus is on the coach to try to correct them.

I have no idea of the veracity of the criticism, but the idea that young players just need to be able to do what they want on the court is a good idea isn't a good way of utilizing talent.
 
#310      
BretMyBeachHouse
Second place is 1st loser said:
Just wondering where you thought the insult was? He could very well be right. We all love will and we all want him to do well. That said, he needs a LOT of physical development, he was taken advantage of on defense and he didn't have an explosive first step. They said, he could go on an incredible heater and it was fun to watch. He carried us a couple of times.

I don't think that it's unreasonable to think that he and his agent don't want any of that to be uncovered if he's getting good feedback from a couple of teams.

Will is going to be an interesting case. He's clearly a project from a physical standpoint. It's going to take time. He's still a kid.

He seems to be mocked in the mid 20's. If that's the case, he's going to get drafted by a team that's pretty good and potentially really good(championship level) and they'll have absolutely no need to play an underdeveloped 18 year old. That's a tough spot for him. That said, as long as he doesn't slip into that second round, he's guaranteed money.

If he goes 5 on 5 and slips because of the above, a LOT changes. The poster was right. Sometimes the less you(or they) know, the better. Will could be in that category. That's not an insult. It's the reality in big business with huge dollars on the table.
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The insult was this line.

"What concerns me with Will is that this is a “cover your ears and go ‘la la la la la… I can’t hear you’” decision."

The idea that he and his family and his agent aren't listening to anyone and refusing to take advice, etc. That's insulting.
 
#311      
BretMyBeachHouse
RabidDawgClassic said:
Well... we've seen it before. Kofi opted to take the advice of his advisors instead of returning for another year. He later said he regretted it. Adam Miller has expressed regret as well and Coleman Hawkins has certainly waxed nostalgically about his four years at Illinois, glossing over his brief stop at K-State. Hell, even Ayo didn't go as high in the draft as many -- including himself -- thought he would. College basketball has no shortage of players who project themselves higher in the draft than they end up going, so it's not necessarily an insult to wonder if Will is doing the same, considering his projections have been all over the board.

If Will stays in the draft, my hope is that he climbs into the lottery or at least very close to it. The Combine is where players often hear the hard truth. Will opting to not play in the 5-on-5 concerns me in that he may not be open to hearing unflattering reports. A player who's a consensus lottery pick like KJ has something to lose by playing and very little to gain. Riley though may need to prove something to up his position, but may also drop considerably if he plays poorly.
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Sure, Riley is just like Kofi. :rolleyes:

I guess will find out. Since you're holding out hope that he's in the lottery, perhaps your suggestion that he's ignoring all the good advice wasn't what you meant.
 
#312      
Oracle21
You absolutely have to make that trade. The main reason Luka was traded was the Mavs didn’t want to pay him the SuperMax. Very hard to build a winning team when 1 players makes that much.

Feels rigged too me as far as draft lottery. No way was the NBA going to let Flagg end up on the Wizards, Jazz, or Hornets.

Mavs basically got Dirk 2.0 but with way better defense and on a rookie deal. They’d be contenders next year if Irving hadn’t gotten hurt.
 
#314      
pcvIllini
Since Will isn't participating in the games at the combine, he is 100% gonzo. The only chance we had of him coming back is if he played poorly and there is no chance of that now.
 
#315      
EmeraldCityIllini
IlliniFaninHoosierLand said:
Givony, in his post-draft mock, had KJ going to Houston at 10 and Will Riley going to Orlando at 16.

I'd fear for KJ if he ends up in Washington with how much of an absolute mess that franchise is.
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Historically, agree. New front office there seems to be far more competent though. Fingers crossed

I’d hate Houston for KJ. They already have a point guard who was picked top 3 last year who couldn’t get on the court for them.
 
#316      
PepeSilvia
BretMyBeachHouse said:
Well, scouts don't us fans any insights and perhaps wouldn't share any just out of caution.

Multiple people on the board have suggested that somehow KJ being given a lot of latitude equates to "being used the right way." Coaches are supposed to coach. When a player has deficiencies in their game, the onus is on the coach to try to correct them.

I have no idea of the veracity of the criticism, but the idea that young players just need to be able to do what they want on the court is a good idea isn't a good way of utilizing talent.
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I still just think a lot of KJ's struggles down the stretch were due to opposing teams keying on him and other guys not stepping up.

One schematic thing that I thought was extremely noticable was running a ton of pick and rolls with Boswell on the strong side and defenses were basically treating him like a Ty Rodgers level shooter and just blitzing KJ with the defender from the near corner.

Honestly, the Illini were kind of a mess in general from mid-late January into Feb. Boswell was shooting sub 20% on 3s, Tre White was getting DNP's, Tomi had mono, and Morez broke his wrist.

If you're an opposing team game planning at that point, what are you going to do? I would pressure KJ, double him on every pnr, and consistently send help defenders at him because nobody was consistently knocking down open looks.

Riley came on strong in February but he still wasn't shooting great from 3.
 
#320      
HailtotheChief
xcatcher said:
Will won’t drop past #15
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If he had shot well I would agree but he didn't really at 32% from the college 3pt line. If he does well the next few days from NBA range vs better players maybe he will but there are a lot of other talented players from college and around the world. I hope you are right but more often than not players have dropped vs expectations recently except for Meyers.
 
#322      
Homecoming 2019
HailtotheChief said:
If he had shot well I would agree but he didn't really at 32% from the college 3pt line. If he does well the next few days from NBA range vs better players maybe he will but there are a lot of other talented players from college and around the world. I hope you are right but more often than not players have dropped vs expectations recently except for Meyers.
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Lucky for Will and KJ, there is a big difference between shooting well in college and projecting to shoot well in the NBA.
 
#323      
the juiceman cometh
EmeraldCityIllini said:
Historically, agree. New front office there seems to be far more competent though. Fingers crossed

I’d hate Houston for KJ. They already have a point guard who was picked top 3 last year who couldn’t get on the court for them.
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Agree on Houston. It's a tough place for a rookie PG because they have win-now expectations. They just didn't trust Reed Sheppard with the ball in his hands. Not sure if KJ would get more trust there. Maybe if they decide to play him off the ball.

That being said, there are rumors they are going to push for a big acquisition this offseason, possibly a trade for Giannis. If they do that then either KJ or the KJ pick would probably be included in the deal, and if not, they might have more minutes for him due to the guys they'd have to package to get Giannis (or another superstar).
 
#324      
the juiceman cometh
HailtotheChief said:
If he had shot well I would agree but he didn't really at 32% from the college 3pt line. If he does well the next few days from NBA range vs better players maybe he will but there are a lot of other talented players from college and around the world. I hope you are right but more often than not players have dropped vs expectations recently except for Meyers.
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Nobody expects Will to get to the NBA and shoot the lights out as a rookie. He is a developmental pick. He shot well enough in HS, and towards the end of the season with us, that NBA scouts believe with some work and experience at the higher level of competition it will translate. Anthony Edwards was a 29% 3pt shooter his one year in college (and it did not prevent him from being the #1 pick). He shot 39.5% this season in the NBA and is a career 36% 3pt shooter. He actually shot better his rookie year in the NBA (33%) than his one year in college.
 
#325      
Emerson Bigguns
xcatcher said:
Will won’t drop past #15
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It wouldn't be super surprising at this point. Looking at the mock drafts that's about the point where, as a GM you might be looking at what is left on the board and saying, "Sure there are better player right now, but who is going to be better than him in 3 years?"
 
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