Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
A lot of *woosh* responses to Piotyrs post
Illinois 92, Illinois State 65 (Exhibition) Postgame
- Status
Mirk flashed similar skill set at the Nike Hoop Summit vs the top US high school talent last spring
hes legit and far ahead of where prior freshmen bigs have been coming in.
had some crazy moments- his outlet for big Z dunk came off a loose ball recovery, one dribble then one handed (all in right hand) greater than half court pass in stride to Z. had another drive to the lane where he dribble behind his back with his LEFT hand to right then passed
its an exhibition, its early but he has a ton of tools in the bag already, excited to see his growth
hes legit and far ahead of where prior freshmen bigs have been coming in.
had some crazy moments- his outlet for big Z dunk came off a loose ball recovery, one dribble then one handed (all in right hand) greater than half court pass in stride to Z. had another drive to the lane where he dribble behind his back with his LEFT hand to right then passed
its an exhibition, its early but he has a ton of tools in the bag already, excited to see his growth
Maybe he does know what he was doing and maybe this team will be great, but making that comment after beating a mid major team missing 2-3 of their better players is maybe a bit premature? Let's give it a minute to see what they have.
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
Joel Goodson said:
a shame that Brad and company don't know what they're doing
I guess haven’t seen many of @Joel’s posts. He forgot to put the /s at the end…
I think he was saying the opposite - as in lets not assume Brad knows what he is doing because we beat Illinois State who isn't any good
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
Keep in mind we were missing 3 key players also plus Ty.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Thanks for the write-up @grue2 . Informative especially for those of us who did not see the game. Well-written and no over-the-top vulgarity or hype (good or bad). The kind of stuff I'm sure the coaches would say to the team in the next practice.
For those who only want 5-star reviews, may I direct you to the Jackson State thread. You may prefer this style.
LouHenson
- Naples Florida
Excuse my not being informed, but have we gotten some kind of word that Ty will actually play this year? If so, when is it hoped he could return? Thanks I just not seen more than “maybe” by BIG season?
Great writeups here, Grue. Agree 100% on all accounts. All in all, I agree with many of the posts about the positive signs, but I think we need to be careful not to get too carried away.
ISU did not have a very talented team out there on the court. I think we need to keep this in mind before we anoint David Mirkovic as the second coming and Brandon Lee as the next Feliz. I might suggest we give our players the chance to prove themselves against competitive B1G level competition first before we jump to conclusions.
Werner mentioned the injury on a recent podcast. Apparently BU mentioned it at a press conference. Timeframe 6-9 months rehab I think.
I see a starting lineup of Petrovic, Boswell, Stojakovic, Mirk and Tomi as our best five.
We have seen some recent comments on this board about AS not being the Alpha dog/skilled offensive scorer that it was hoped he would become.
My question, to those who have seen him play since coming to campus is will he be that guy or more of a solid piece of the rotation who may or may not be the go to guy?
This team has lots of guys who seemingly have the talent to step up and lead the offense on any given night. Do we need to feel like that role belongs to any one guy or are they all sufficiently capable that anyone can fill the role when others are off or getting focused upon defensively? I see the latter, and for sure KB will be ready to do his part at any time, but do we need an offensive leader like TSJr. or will this be more like UConn in 2023? Give me your thoughts and observations.
By the way, I did not see but listened to the ISU game and was pleased with how BH played....getting his share of boards and scoring in the paint while not bombing away with a half dozen or more quick threes. He doesn't need that pressure and after getting "Fletched" should feel like he can use his quickness to the ball and increased strength to compliment the Ivisic boys on the boards. Now, if only he can learn to hit those booty ball faders like Jalen Pickett I will officially name him to my All B1G team. He should be as confident as any player on the team in his sixth season due to having been through a B1G season and getting Fletched. Maybe even CoHawk confident.
Also, it was good to see Lee and Wagler get on the court and prove to have promising futures. And yet for freshmen to find minutes and fit into this experienced lineup, it will prove a steep hill to climb. Collegiate players generally grow both physically, mentally, and talent wise from season to season. Here is hoping that proves true for our Illini. If Lee and Wagler find 10 min. per game each it will be surprising....given that it will not be required due to injury or illness. Not sure if Mirk's performance level yesterday will be his norm or if he is due for a Will Riley adjustment.
But overall, this should be another riveting season for our Illini cagers and fans.
My question, to those who have seen him play since coming to campus is will he be that guy or more of a solid piece of the rotation who may or may not be the go to guy?
This team has lots of guys who seemingly have the talent to step up and lead the offense on any given night. Do we need to feel like that role belongs to any one guy or are they all sufficiently capable that anyone can fill the role when others are off or getting focused upon defensively? I see the latter, and for sure KB will be ready to do his part at any time, but do we need an offensive leader like TSJr. or will this be more like UConn in 2023? Give me your thoughts and observations.
By the way, I did not see but listened to the ISU game and was pleased with how BH played....getting his share of boards and scoring in the paint while not bombing away with a half dozen or more quick threes. He doesn't need that pressure and after getting "Fletched" should feel like he can use his quickness to the ball and increased strength to compliment the Ivisic boys on the boards. Now, if only he can learn to hit those booty ball faders like Jalen Pickett I will officially name him to my All B1G team. He should be as confident as any player on the team in his sixth season due to having been through a B1G season and getting Fletched. Maybe even CoHawk confident.
Also, it was good to see Lee and Wagler get on the court and prove to have promising futures. And yet for freshmen to find minutes and fit into this experienced lineup, it will prove a steep hill to climb. Collegiate players generally grow both physically, mentally, and talent wise from season to season. Here is hoping that proves true for our Illini. If Lee and Wagler find 10 min. per game each it will be surprising....given that it will not be required due to injury or illness. Not sure if Mirk's performance level yesterday will be his norm or if he is due for a Will Riley adjustment.
But overall, this should be another riveting season for our Illini cagers and fans.
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LouHenson
- Naples Florida
So 9 months would be when? If anything beyond January that is not ideal, sort of Goode like? Not sure how it would work with Ty since he has already take a RS year?
Big Jack
- Decatur
Back earlier I this thread it was stated by a couple of insiders that he should be good to go by B1G schedule. Have not seen anyone change that time frame. Of course that is the estimation
Look in the 25-26 thread around middle of September
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LouHenson
- Naples Florida
Thanks just must have missed it? Maybe it does not matter as he would really want to play having taken so much time off?
The way Brad was talking a few weeks ago that he could be available this season.
As I recall Brad mentioned hopefully being back for most of the BIG season.
We don't have to anoint Mirk to realize he absolutely belongs as a starter. Praying we don't have to play this Ben game again. 
So looking forward to Big T - Mirk high low and continued usage of Mirk with Boswell as a screener. Andrej and Boswell gonna feast as cutters with Big T and Mirk. Going to be tough for other teams to stop
So looking forward to Big T - Mirk high low and continued usage of Mirk with Boswell as a screener. Andrej and Boswell gonna feast as cutters with Big T and Mirk. Going to be tough for other teams to stop
I didn’t see the game, though I’ve watched a fair amount of highlights. What I saw looked good, but not going to get too excited. We beat a team we should when we could be aggressive with no fouling out allowed. And ISU played without its two leading scorers, so how much did that impact how good some of our players looked. And yes I know we were without important pieces, but one would expect our guys who played to look good considering the competition without those two players. Still a good first step. Looking forward to seeing the team at full strength and especially after they’ve played together some. Could be a very fun season.
I agree I think this likely the best starting group... with wagler 6th man. mirk should start from what I saw yesterday. Please don't start Ben again ahead of people clearly much more talented than him. Ben looked like a better version of himself which is good... but still a bench player who prob shouldn't play more than 15 minutes a game. mirk and big z clearly better options. even Andre at the 4 if we want to go small
wagler may have had a great summer and he played fine in the exhibition but it didn't exactly match the hype we been hearing. it's only one game and he played fine, I'm excited to see where he will be.
Your welcome.
Not merely three "key" players, but three projected starters.
How is that different from any other game?
- Status