There's no doubt about dix efficiency on the offensive side especially his 3 point shooting it's definitely a give and take comparing if dix was on this this team rather then Andrej but with Adrej your getting a guy with length that Brad loves and also a capable go to guy who can be called on to get you a basket when needed also a plus defender compared to dix.Andrej don't have to rely on the 3 we have capable big guy shooter who can draw the other teams bigs with shooting which will open the paint up for Andrej and if they collapse the lane then kick it out to the Ivisics and let them feast.overall I love the Andrej add think it really helps our offense and hopefully Andrej takes the next step in improving his 3% like has his free throw shooting over his first 2 seasons.ILL
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Absolutely. This season with the roster as it is, you take AS over Sarr.
Sarr is going to role play is way right into the NBA draft. He's going to be a stud. The "we didn't want him anyway" take is makes you sleep easier at night take.
Yeah I agree with this this- as good as Sarr will be and he'll probably get drafted, that doesn't make us wrong for not wanting to wait on his decision and getting older this year
There is a guy out there who is currently in the draft and expected to go in the 2nd round and since he’s international he has until June 15th to withdraw. If we have a bag that was left for WR just in case it’s much bigger than what a 2nd round NBA pick receives.
I agree with that--but that's different than saying Sarr is a role player.
I agree, if you had any money to pay Riley then sell the boosters on a guy being the missing piece.
I hoped that it would be Watkins or Luis but both stayed in so get an international guy.
Is the guy you have in mind Avdalas? Alex Toohey would be a fantastic roster for imo but he previously decommitted from Gonzaga and I don't know if he could come to college after playing in the NBL. Im unsure where the NCAA draws the line like could some of the g league ignite guys come to college now? Could a guy like Thierry Darlan come to college now?
blackdog
- Champaign
I would have been more than happy to take Sarr but for this team and next year only I think we got the better end of the deal.
I don't have much of an opinion on where sarr will end up in terms of contributions to a team.
I have very little doubt that we made a correct choice in not waiting on him.
I have very little doubt that we made a correct choice in not waiting on him.
Will Riley was a role player last year.
Neoklis Avdalas. VG prospect.
Don’t get me wrong a lot could be worse than Stojakovic, Boswell, Ivisic bros, Petrovic…. it just feels like there’s a missing piece, particularly on the wing. The guy from Greece would be great but doesn’t look like we’re involved.
I think it's telling that the team he ended up with also didn't wait on him. They only went back to him when it became obvious Coward wasn't withdrawing from the draft. Really glad we didn't pin our hopes on that recruitment.
Personally, I found it quite interesting the many portal guys that were mentioned and what they could and could not bring to the Illini. But in the end, my hopes were pinned on and answered by BU who has to be considered on of the top evaluators of not only needs but "fits" for his program. I like the roster we have, will know what their ceiling can be after a few games, and will live and die with every slam dunk, shot block, three pointer, and amazing pass of the 2025 season. Can we just skip to Nov. now? I hate Summer!!
Okay, but, he was THE, or at minimum a significant reason, we won as many games as we did. If your definition of a 'role player' is simply that they didn't start, well that's easy to say. I think he was a top 5 contributor over the season myself. It's certainly debatable.
Sarr is a project offensively
It's not sour grapes. The absolute last thing I wanted is another freshman to be offensively dependent on (one that's much more raw offensively than Will or KJ).
25-26 Petrovic > 25-26 Sarr
25-26 Andrej > 25-26 Sarr
Sarr's in a great spot at Duke to be a complimentary 2-way player at Duke. I think he'll thrive in that role
Illinois needed a PG. They got one with Petrovic. Boswell is a combo guard. Always has been. Always will be. Love Bos as a complimentary offensive piece and a terror on ball on defense
It's not sour grapes. The absolute last thing I wanted is another freshman to be offensively dependent on (one that's much more raw offensively than Will or KJ).
25-26 Petrovic > 25-26 Sarr
25-26 Andrej > 25-26 Sarr
Sarr's in a great spot at Duke to be a complimentary 2-way player at Duke. I think he'll thrive in that role
Illinois needed a PG. They got one with Petrovic. Boswell is a combo guard. Always has been. Always will be. Love Bos as a complimentary offensive piece and a terror on ball on defense
Goillinikobd
- Southeastern US
Let’s see,
Riley was BIG 6th POY, which makes him the best damn role player in a pretty good league, good enough for the NBA, one and done.
I would take a whole roster of role players like him.
Riley was BIG 6th POY, which makes him the best damn role player in a pretty good league, good enough for the NBA, one and done.
I would take a whole roster of role players like him.
Fair take on Will. He did comes in as a younger than normal true freshman.
That said, 1)he was our best player from mid February on, 2)he was playing alongside a lottery pick, 3)his ceiling, from day 1, was that of a first round draft pick and 4)we had not other player like him. His size, ability to get to the hoop and finish, while also shooting the deep ball......that was extremely unique to our team.
Sarr's ceiling is that of a first round draft pick and he's also that slashing, explosive, athletic 3 that we're really lacking. The athleticism of our crew, I'm not sure if it's a big deal or not, has been discussed here. We'll all just have to wait and see. Sarr would have elevated that concern.
Of equal importance, I've seen Sarr only play one time and it was at that Nike Hoops Summit. He was definitely an Alpha. I don't want to short sell Stojakovic because honestly.... I've never seen him play (live either). Watching a Cal game in an awful ACC was never high on the list. We all have seen Iowa play and we know Dix could light up the scoreboard. Not sure what he would look like on a team with elite talent around him. Iowa sucked, especially defensively.
NIL, the portal, the European players.....it has everyone in wait and see mode. Look at Kansas last year. They were bad. They never meshed. Yet, look at Florida. They had a perfect mix. Who knew? They were very good the year before(2023-2024), they just had a terrible injury right before the tournament. They had some good, fairly under the radar additions and they were cutting down the nets.
That was really long weekend. Bottom line, Sarr is in the mold of an NBA player, he played overseas in a pro league, which seems to be a critical starting point when analyzing our class and he plays at a position that can potentially be a sire spot for us.
And, he could still not be as good as AS for Illinois
I don’t know if I can agree that Sarr fills a position of need. We are set everywhere except the 4 spot, and Sarr is a 2/3 with a slight frame. Even if we thought we could make it work with him at the PF spot, he isn’t going to sign up to play out of position for an entire season when he needs to show things like an ability to guard quicker/smaller players, an improved handle and ability to make shots off the dribble in order to improve his draft stock.
I think it’s pretty clear why we jumped off at the very minute it became apparent that Andrej was going to portal. They’re redundant pieces (now taking into account our roster construction) and I’d rather have the older guy with 2 years of college experience.
I think it’s pretty clear why we jumped off at the very minute it became apparent that Andrej was going to portal. They’re redundant pieces (now taking into account our roster construction) and I’d rather have the older guy with 2 years of college experience.
I'll take the guys we got over Sarr and Dix 10 days out of 10. Sarr, as athletic as he is, will be a freshman and doesn't exactly give me EDG vibes. Dix is pretty one dimensional although he is REALLY good at the thing he does well. Both one year rentals.
Petro is a 22 year old point guard with pro experience that plays similar to Curbelo before he lost his mind. He may not have the counting numbers and the athleticism of Sarr but theres great value in getting old and staying old at the guard spots. Possibly a multi year add.
Stoj appears to be a much better all around player than Dix. He can rebound and is a 3 level scorer (whose 3 needs improvement). He also at least talks the talk about playing defense but that remains to be seen. Also a multi year add with a lot of growth potential.
It seems like most responders thinks Illinois needs more depth at guard. They may be overlooking the fact that our two (USA) freshman are both pretty highly regarded guards and it it is reasonable to expect that one or both will be able to provide quality minutes (and may even surprise the naysayers!)
I'll continue to say that, in my opinion, Petrovic will end up being the most important piece on the team. He may not be the best, most talented or biggest...but if he is really good, and surpasses expectations, this team could be top tier.
He is going to have the ball alot...the difference with him and KJ will be that Petro is going to be less turnover prone (maybe extremely less). He's going to be 4 years older, he comes with a pro pedigree and he's going to be faster and more quick twitch.
The drawbacks being that he is probably only 6'...he might be a terrible defender and we gotta see if he can really shoot.
If he can be serviceable on defense and shoot it...we're going to score alooooooot of points and he will most likely spearhead that. I think he is getting overlooked as an add...the dude could turn the tide...in either way.
As far as Sarr...he's an NBA player who will be on Duke for 1 year. It would be fun to watch his growth for a year, but I would agree that AS, with experience under his belt, will be a better overall player. But Sarr's ceiling is sky high...its more of what you want with each guy. The biggest draw for Sarr for me was his defense. I think he's going to be a straight menace on defense.
He is going to have the ball alot...the difference with him and KJ will be that Petro is going to be less turnover prone (maybe extremely less). He's going to be 4 years older, he comes with a pro pedigree and he's going to be faster and more quick twitch.
The drawbacks being that he is probably only 6'...he might be a terrible defender and we gotta see if he can really shoot.
If he can be serviceable on defense and shoot it...we're going to score alooooooot of points and he will most likely spearhead that. I think he is getting overlooked as an add...the dude could turn the tide...in either way.
As far as Sarr...he's an NBA player who will be on Duke for 1 year. It would be fun to watch his growth for a year, but I would agree that AS, with experience under his belt, will be a better overall player. But Sarr's ceiling is sky high...its more of what you want with each guy. The biggest draw for Sarr for me was his defense. I think he's going to be a straight menace on defense.
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