Who cares? Any true Illini fan knows (Any NCAA basketball fan really) you have up and downs. good games, bad games. Consistency is key at ANY level of the sport. BH would not be getting the criticism he has if his percentages were the same game to game, but did without the highs and lows. This is on the staff to put him, and everyone else, in a position to be the most consistent player they can be.... We would all rather have a player score 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in every game than someone who scored 20 and 4 points, and 6 and 2 rebounds, and 4 or 0 assists in alternating games..... Right? As a coach if you could reliably plan for the consistencies as opposed to hoping for the highs, you are going to have a much better team.
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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Any player featured in the Nike Hoops Summit is a top-shelf prospect. Should never put too much stock in a freshman, but he's a great piece.
I don't think his play style is necessarily conducive to an impressive highlight reel but we are talking about a 6'9 250lb physical big with an incredibly smooth jumper.
Why would you not want him? The twins aren't exactly the most physical players so the frontcourt really needs someone like Mirkovic that can bang. I think there might be certain matchups where his foot speed gets exposed defensively if he's forced to guard quicker players on the perimeter but hopefully he can offset that by punishing those smaller/quicker players on the boards and inside offensively.
I actually thought the opposite. He has way more to his game than i first thought. Really nice shooter, big body down low and made some nice passes. Just seems like a very good all around player.
Weird statement. Yes we have depth but he played at the nike hoops summit, seems like a pretty intriguing skillset. Only 19 years old, more than a valuable piece to develop.
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Nobody is saying Mirk is L Garza but there are a lot of similarities. A little shorter but same standing reach. Slightly less max vert than Garza but probably a better dribbler in traffic. If this is a 6 to 7 on the depth chart type guy for us I am all in and its gonna be a great year.
Keep in mind, the other dudes in most of those highlights are grown men (a few of whom were VG college players), not 17 year old boys.
That's a little misleading though. He averaged 5 minutes in the 21 games he played. If you spread that out over 35 games the team played, he averaged 3.1 minutes per game.
I see that, too. The only problem is Garza is a C. I don't see Mirk playing C in our system and I am afraid he will be abused by quick PFs at the defense end. Hope I am wrong.
and he more than held his own against the top prep prospects in the world at nike summit
Even more misleading when you consider that he played a total of 108 minutes and half of those came in 4 games. EIU, SIUE, Maryland Eastern Shore, and Chicago State. After Chicago State, he never played 5 minutes in a game that wasn't a blow out loss.
I have zero expectation of 3 pt productivity from Ty. If he can make a few 5-12 foot jumpers, that would be significant progress and I'd be delighted.
robertgoulet
IL Board Resident Crooner
- Austin, TX
Remind yourself he's 6'9 250lbs while watching it.
Give us break - sure, Mirk doesn't have a pure jump shot with no earth-shattering dunks shown here - yet, I'm glad he's on our team and not somewhere else - plus, his last name ends in "ic" - that makes it elite.
Lol.
You are tough to impress. I WATCHED him be one of the best players on the floor in an all star game less than couple of months ago with top talent.
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
I watched him in Nike Hoops summit play against McDAA. Much more useful than a highlight video. He was a low usage key contributor to the World team 2Q run. In just a 15 minutes he was 3-5 (cuts to basket), 3 rebounds, played solid defense and passed the ball well. Very high IQ player. Always in right place. Defended other bigs well, good positioning for rebounds Good handles. Not overly athletic but strong, and jumped well enough. Well coordinated. In comparison other players (mostly on USA) shot the ball or went hero every time they touched the ball. If he was athletic he would be Blake Griffin and going straight to NBA.
Mirco is going to be solid contributor this year.
With big Z, Mirco and Ty I feel very comfortable at PF.
Last year we tried to play Ben there which really hurt defense and rebounding. Morez was much better but was a foul machine.
He does look pretty raw in the highlights, but he also displays some variety to his game. I'll grant you he doesn't look fast or explosive, but if you find a way to put the ball in the basket, the 'how' is a lot less important. I thought Coleman was slow when he came in from high school, but he worked on his body with Fletch and got a lot better.
billybaroo
- Pebble Beach, CA
I thought Tomi would be a nice and much needed but mostly serviceable piece last year after watching his highlights. I certainly didn’t expect him to be the best player on the court for us most nights.
He could play C, but PF is his position. And Tomi and Z will take virtually all the minutes at the 5. He's 6'8 w no shoes and 250 lbs and long arms.
That's what I meant. He can play C but there are no minutes. So he will have to defend at 4. A drop coverage candidate. Haha!
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