Andrej makes us final four favorite. Andrej + Blackwell makes us one of the natty favorites
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
Seems a bit risky to not have a backup plan and hope you catch lightening in a bottle two years in a row with a freshman. Coleman may turn out to be a stud, but Blackwell is a proven commodity. This team has a chance to be special....like to have known production vs potential.
Watching the Nike Hoops Summit, I saw a lot of similarities between Mirk and Morillo - and even what we all wanted Ty to be if he could have stayed on the court. He is not as tall as Mirk, but appeared to have a tighter handle. His shot is not as good as Mirk's right now, but it's closer to Mirk's than Ty's. He was hustling, looking for boards, and seemed to have good vision.
I mean take it with a grain of salt bc it was 20 mins of an all-star game, but I was impressed.
I share the sentiment. I was not a fan of how much hate online he got last year, but for him to have the redemption arc he did this season made me so happy. He really locked down and grew as a player on and off the court. His mentality and ability to create game changing plays was something any team needs.
Now him getting 3 Senior Night send offs though would be hilarious
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You’re not asking him to be nearly what we asked of Keaton though.
Assuming Andrej is back.
Source?
It’s your take, and that’s fine, but it’s clearly what the staff aims to prioritize.
Recent B1G movement:
Nolan Groves (G, Texas Tech) commits to Minnesota
Steele Venters (G/F, Gonzaga) commits to Washington
Darin Smith Jr (F, Central Conn St) commits to Rutgers
Ty Rodgers (G/F, Illinois) enters the portal
Rekease Passmore (G, Maryland) enters the portal
docs.google.com
Nolan Groves (G, Texas Tech) commits to Minnesota
Steele Venters (G/F, Gonzaga) commits to Washington
Darin Smith Jr (F, Central Conn St) commits to Rutgers
Ty Rodgers (G/F, Illinois) enters the portal
Rekease Passmore (G, Maryland) enters the portal
B1G Roster Tracker
Sad Ty is gone and sad he had to sit the past 2 years with injury. Hope the best for him.
I also think Lucas Morillo can bring a lot of the same things to the court that Ty did. Both have good handles, passing and vision for their size. Both rebound the ball well. Ty probably the better defender but Morillo's shot is better. Could see him playing a roll that Ty may of played had he stayed.
This. If we only get one of Blackwell or Andrej i don’t see the team being better than this year, and that is what I am expecting. McNeil would be a nice add but he is pretty one dimensional at the moment as he provides little creation and rarely puts pressure on the rim
Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
We better hope Niko Medved is never able to put together a real roster at Minnesota. I believe in that guy as much as almost anyone in the B10.Recent B1G movement:
Nolan Groves (G, Texas Tech) commits to Minnesota
Steele Venters (G/F, Gonzaga) commits to Washington
Darin Smith Jr (F, Central Conn St) commits to Rutgers
Ty Rodgers (G/F, Illinois) enters the portal
Rekease Passmore (G, Maryland) enters the portal
B1G Roster Tracker
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
If they added more shooting he'd be awesome at St. Johns.
I recall watching Ty play for team USA and looking forward to his arrival in Champaign. The guy has had some adversity thrown his way. Hope he destroys it somewhere else - (hopefully in the Big East or some other non-BIG conference!)
Edit: Likewise Depaul could be a good fit too
Imagine if Wagler had chosen Minnesota before getting the Illinois offer. Minnesota could have made the tournament and we would have had to rely on Bam + Lee or Petro at pg for most of the year.
No, but that's a big drop-off from what Blackwell has proven he can produce and then hoping you get production from a freshman. If we're all in on Blackwell and don't get him, I'd love to see us go find a proven scorer that would make us legit title contenders. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying...we're gonna be really good next year for sure. Just a difference between being 2nd weekend vs national title contenders.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I really do think where we've gone since then reflects Brad evolving as a coach from the red-faced treadmill jockey stereotype to someone who can bring the best out of a broader range of personalities. Not that the Podz case created that change, I think it has just happened organically.
But it really is comical how high-horsed people get about refusing to admit the mistake here. To act like the staff can't have misevaluated isn't bad analysis, it's ultimately just not analysis at all.
We've got a chance to be. When you're a top 5 KenPom team who made the Final Four it's hard to push even further upward, but with our Big Four back we've got a real chance.
Vaaks, Coleman, Stojakovic, Mirk, Tomi with Z, Jake Davisic, Lee and Morillo on the bench does feel a man light though.
I think the question is whether the missing guy is a big who pushes the rotation up the positional ladder and strengthens the rebounding versus a quick little guard who pushes the rotation down the positional ladder and adds to our shooting and ability to check smaller guards.
Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
Yeah, I'd already forgotten about that, even though we were reminded 3 times every single game this season. Minnesota would have been completely different this past season. Anyway, yeah, I'm a big believer in Medved. If he can get the talent, look out for the Gophers.
Which announcement do we anticipate being first: Andrej or Blackwell’s commitment?
I could be wrong but I thought his first redshirt was because he wasn't going to play and wanted to save a year of eligibility.
Hahaha sheesh. This got me at first too!View attachment 49817
Saw this transfer announcement and had a panic attack for a split second. I am unwell around this time of year lol
Tre was a wing. Had he stayed we may not have had interest in AS. So, no it would not have changed for KW.
I got you. If we miss on blackwell, even if Coleman is the starting 2 guard, still target a veteran - agreed.
Personally, if Blackwell goes elsewhere and Drej stays, I'm fine with rolling with Coleman at the 2. But, would rather target a big wing who can defend, rebound, and is atleast a threat from 3 as the backup instead of a true 2 guard. A guy like LeJuan Watts. But I'd be thrilled with McNeil as well.
Imo - he’s the most important and impactful piece.
Yeah if we don't end up getting Blackwell, that would not be a surprise to me, as we've missed before on our early high profile portal targets.
What would be a surprise to me, though, is if we miss but also NOT pivot to someone new, whether that ends up being a different guard or someone bigger. Brad and the staff have always been great at the pivot, so it would be odd to me if we are willing to give a huge bag to Blackwell, but if it doesn't work out, then we're just going to say, "eh, nevermind, we're good with what we have"??
And that kind of seems to be the insider sentiment if Blackwell falls through? Maybe I'm reading through the lines wrong...
One of the nice things about retention is players rarely stagnate. Either due to age they improve - like freshmen Mirk to sophomore Mirk - or to more time getting acclimated in the system - like Junior TSJ to Senior TSJ.
With Vaaks already here, and adding Coleman, if the season started tomorrow and Drej was back, I think they'd be better than last year. Now, would i guarantee a final four?
The Podz schtick is exhausting.
He was not good enough to play meaningful minutes on a b10 championship team and then chose to transfer to a smaller school rather than compete for his minutes the following year.
Transferring was the right decision for him. Not guaranteeing minutes was the right move for our program. Why is this controversial?
Orangetool
Give me back my Afta, heh heh
Ideally we retain Dre (plus get Blackwell) and Dre just finds someone he can trust that knows a thing or two about shooting mechanics to improve his 3 pt%
Well done.