He played 40 minutes vs UNC and 37 against us. He might just be one of those guys who needs to see the game unfold for a minute, gather himself and off he goes.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Agree. Mark is a must. We need a TSJ type of player but they are hard to come by. It will be nice to have Andrej back but I suspect we can find a better player at the same price. My main question is: can we find a European superstar? If my memory serves right, I have not seen one in college basketball.
I honestly think one of the fundamental differences between this year's team and last year's team is that when guys like Wagler, Mirk, and Stoj came in there were a slew of players like Boswell, Tomi, Jake, and Ben who had played a year under BU and knew the culture and could help guide the new players. We've all heard Wagler talk about working with KB early on. That's the kind of stuff you can't find in the portal.That doesn't work the same way if it's not year-two KB that Wagler is teammates with, and instead it's KB's replacement. That player is too busy trying to find his own place on a new team with coaches he's never worked with before. I'm sure that Wagler still ends up really good, but I'm not sure it all ends up fitting as seamlessly.
Definitely feels like the staff really want retention again for next season. Absolutely make Mirk numero uno cause he is the player to build around for next year. Get Mirk back and I think that increases the chances of having the twins back. Clearly, Z and Tomi are enjoying being back together and don't know how many programs out there that are willing to pony up the amount to lure both of them. And I think Tomi's intention was to hit this year upcoming draft but year 2 Tomi has been very inconsistent so perhaps coming back for one more year could do good to further raise his draft stock for next year if he is able to regain his year one form. Feel confident Jake will be back. Great year 2 this season for him. Seems like Ty is on the will be back train so if true that's great because this team needs DAWGS! Andrej definitely is the wild card so it'll be interesting to see where that will fall.
At his previous stops Andrej shot 31.8% and 32.7% from the three-point line. Not great, but if he could get back to those numbers that would make a significant difference.
I am certainly not a shooting coach, but I believe a summer of work on that jumper and he could make a nice jump in that area, He becomes so much more dangerous if he can do that.
He has frustrated me endless times, but I believe in the guy. I think having a year under his belt playing in our program and you will see a better version next season.
We talked about the jump TSJ made in year 2. I DO NOT expect a TSJ jump, but I think there WILL be a jump.
Jake has made big strides in year 2. So has Ben. There are lots of examples.
It’s not my money to be sure, but I’d bring back everyone I can. As Gritty pointed out, we have done really well with identifying players, but if you keep having to replace 6-7 guys you are really pushing your luck.
Again, not my decision but a core of Mirk, the Ivisic twins, Andrej, and Jake is a nice start to a really good team.
I want to be looking for 4 or 5 guys who really fit what we need as opposed to 9 or whatever.
I have not information to back this up but I genuinely feel like the likelihood of Stojakovic returning drastically increases with each win.
I think the Illini likely need him to play well to win and I think making a tourney run is a lot more attractive to him than scoring 20 pts a game for a losing team.
The chances he is our starting SF is exactly 0%. He was brought in to please Misko.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
mebbe. who knows? some (a lotta?) fans would've said the same thing about Wagler as a starter a short time ago
While I may not stand a chance against Izzo's mom, I can still see that Andre could be significantly better at:
1) Reading the floor as he drives and making better choices on drive/pass/lob.
2) Defense. Look at him vs. BAM, especially when fighting through screens.
3) More off ball movement and cuts as a way of moving defenders. (This one is heavily dependent on what Tyler runs.)
4) 3pt shooting (as mentioned)
I suspect that he needs to improve at least 2 if not 3 of these to earn a serious sniff by the NBA.
I think he has the choices of:
a) Maximizing the money he earns in college, which is something he can control, or
b) Maximizing his shot at the NBA, which IMO is near zero right now. (Good, yes. Good enough, no.)
Rumor has it that he doesn't need the money, so how much does he want to play in the NBA vs. elsewhere, or not at all.
If most of the core stays, they can do much more advanced actions and defensive shifts. Teaching (and learning) a system is much easier when only one person on the floor is new.
I was extremely impressed by Alex Wilkins from Furman.
Good size(listed at 6'5) and extremely quick. UConn legitimately couldnt keep him in front.
Shot 33% from 3 on 5.7 attempts per game and was 82% from the line which would suggest he had the potential to be a good shooter.
He's very skinny but the athleticism will play at the big10 level. Too many turnovers but the ceiling is ridiculous imo.
Wagler is a once in a lifetime exception. Comparing to it is just not a fair standard.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Pretty sure there were no Denzel GIFs regarding players that signed with other teams — at least not officially sourced GIFs from Indy. He doesn’t throw out the Denzel GIFs lightly and whenever one appears you can almost always — if not always — feel confident about it.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
no clue if Dre is coming back. but I highly, highly doubt that money is the overriding factor here
His stats from Europe and his film. I could see him playing a role for us off the bench next year, but I don’t think he’s a starter.
It obviously depends what other pieces we add, but if we put some more athletic pieces around him then maybe.
Yeah, that’s great, but Wagner didn’t sit out half the season because he wasn’t ready to play at this level. If Bilic was ready to contribute he would be playing now.
If Bilic is good enough to be the starting SF on next years team, don’t you think they would have found a role for him on this years team?
If you’re confident in it, we can lock it in that you think he’ll be a starter next year and re-visit this when the season starts next year.
2 down 4 to go
It’s like the minority who look at our football team and think “why can’t we be Indiana.”
99.9% of the time it doesn’t work that way.
Examples ? Genuinely curious …
I know my hit rate isn’t 100% …
Recruiting can change in 5 minutes … Sometimes before I even have a chance to get the message relayed to here …
But I try my best to only bring Denzel out when things are nearly done or when the staff/sources tell me it’s good to go …
It’s a big factor …
Role, Money … Who’s coming back with him ? Who can we bring in to get better ? All things that they’ll discuss …
He likes it here though … He REALLY likes winning … He likes Brad …
Andrej could improve his passing which should be doable. He is an absolute magnet when here drives, so there are often others open.
It's not YOU with the Denzel, it's those who ripped off your schtick (a solid one) and if you hint that there's potential....we all see Denzel in our dreams, then nightmares.
Storr, RayJ, Sarr....then circumstances change because of money. That's just how it goes. In today's recruiting/portaling, nothing is done until the season tips off and the uniform is on.
IIRC, the 3 “misses” of the offseason were Sarr, Dix, and Sellers.
And the 3 “hits” we landed in place of them were Mirkovic, Petrovic, Stojakovic. I’d still say that’s quite the bargain.
Among those 3, just swap the name Petrovic for Wagler and that’s even better lol.
Z was the one we were confident in before the offseason started — it was Illinois through and through, never really in doubt.
And the 3 “hits” we landed in place of them were Mirkovic, Petrovic, Stojakovic. I’d still say that’s quite the bargain.
Among those 3, just swap the name Petrovic for Wagler and that’s even better lol.
Z was the one we were confident in before the offseason started — it was Illinois through and through, never really in doubt.
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