Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#101      
BTM33
To me, any concerns should be placed on the defense and the back court.

1. How good is Quentin Coleman?
2. Is Vaaks the de facto point guard?
3. Can we defend at a high enough level as a team?
4. Again, how do we handle quick, faster guards who can get in the lane?

We assume Vaaks and Coleman get the majority of the time in the backcourt. Strictly on defense, thats a Freshman who we have no idea how well he defends in a full season in the Big10, a 6'7 slow footed guard who most said "abysmal" was putting it generous in regards to his defense in Vaaks.

I have ZERO reservations on offense. I think we'll set records offensively and score a bazillion points, and be fun doing it.

I am concerned on defense, and it'll be up to coaching and schemes to get that done. I think they can, that's why I'm stoked for the season.
 
#104      
wncillini
RockfordIllini said:
I’m actually fine with rolling what we have. There is a lot of inefficiency we will cut out of Vaak’s game and I’m confident he will be borderline all BIG with the open shots he’s going to get and the mismatches we will have him hunting. Plus I think we can give Coleman a simplified role of spot up shooting and back cutting. And Morillo I think will be a Ty junk yard dog type but with more offensive skill. Think we’ve got a great 8 without Blackwell.

Just a couple of questions on the Blackwell front, which are mostly rhetorical: why would usage/role be a sticking point? Counting stats don’t matter much to the nba, particularly for a role a player like Blackwell is likely to fill in the league. Did his people not just watch Yaxel greatly improve his draft stock (at like 24 which never happens!) on a championship team, winning BIG POY? And what were his counting stats like? And it sounds like we have plenty of money to pay him.

If he wants to chase a slightly bigger bag more power to him, but the reasons given for backing of Illinois just don’t make a lot of sense to me. His people must not be paying attention to what the NBA is looking for. Averaging 20+ a game isn’t going to elevate his draft stock. But like I said, I think we are natty good without him, so good luck.
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Correct. I would argue Brad agrees with you, hence the big push with the giant pile of cash despite how full the roster is.
 
#105      
hoopsfan47
RockfordIllini said:
I’m actually fine with rolling what we have. There is a lot of inefficiency we will cut out of Vaak’s game and I’m confident he will be borderline all BIG with the open shots he’s going to get and the mismatches we will have him hunting. Plus I think we can give Coleman a simplified role of spot up shooting and back cutting. And Morillo I think will be a Ty junk yard dog type but with more offensive skill. Think we’ve got a great 8 without Blackwell.

Just a couple of questions on the Blackwell front, which are mostly rhetorical: why would usage/role be a sticking point? Counting stats don’t matter much to the nba, particularly for a role a player like Blackwell is likely to fill in the league. Did his people not just watch Yaxel greatly improve his draft stock (at like 24 which never happens!) on a championship team, winning BIG POY? And what were his counting stats like? And it sounds like we have plenty of money to pay him.

If he wants to chase a slightly bigger bag more power to him, but the reasons given for backing of Illinois just don’t make a lot of sense to me. His people must not be paying attention to what the NBA is looking for. Averaging 20+ a game isn’t going to elevate his draft stock. But like I said, I think we are natty good without him, so good luck.
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Solid post. But, from what I gather, the main reason for his pivot away from the Illini are:
1. His agent's alma mater is UCLA and his agent wants him there.
2. Louisville is selling him on their dream to pull off another Michigan and win it all with first year mercenaries earning stupid bags of cash.

If he sees either of these as attractive, he is likely not a fit for the Illini and culture is the thing neither of the above teams can offer. Duke, I believe, was interested and may still be, but he is even more at risk there of getting less "usage".

There is no telling what points made by recruiters looking for any thought that might stick in the mind of a 20 yo kid will become the sticking point. It is SMH time over the original point of wanting to play for a natty, but the spin of imagined paramount considerations gets crazy about now and kids are hardly ready to handle it as they get away from advice from their parents and coach and start listening to all the influencers who are only selling their personal interest.
 
#106      
Chase321
ciillini said:
I'm mostly a lurker on here, but I've gotta say some of you try awfully hard to find the negative in most any situation. Why not sit back and imagine the great possibilities of this roster?
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I don’t think that debating whether or not there is a need for another more experienced guard is looking for the negative. It’s a reasonable talking point.

In my limited number of posts on this board I have always been a defender of the positive side. And I still am. I just don’t think it’s negative to say it’s disappointing if we don’t get Blackwell or some other guard to avoid a overreliance on freshmen. Is that greedy? Of course it is.
 
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#107      
JTW_iLLiNi
Chillinini said:
signing a NIL agreement and a NLI (financial aid) don't go hand in hand. Guess which one is more important to a player and their rep(s)? The other is eventually signed.
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This day in age, both pretty much mean nothing. I don't know why people are so concerned about Coleman being signed or not. He was signed with Wake Forest, where is he now?
 
#108      
Mtcillini
Longtime lurker, avid reader, and lifetime fan. My thoughts just to get started on the board:
1. Blackwell hasn’t signed elsewhere and I trust our roster builders to know weakness and missing pieces.
2. I believe we are not done and we definitely are not limited to transfer portal if we are in need.
3. The biggest - our coaches now know the inside-outs of retention players who have played together for a full year now. They will be working on fixing their weaknesses through the offseason instead of in-season patching and adjustments.

It’s just beginning my fellow brothers and sisters - let’s go!
 
#110      
Yes33
BTM33 said:
To me, any concerns should be placed on the defense and the back court.

1. How good is Quentin Coleman?
2. Is Vaaks the de facto point guard?
3. Can we defend at a high enough level as a team?
4. Again, how do we handle quick, faster guards who can get in the lane?

We assume Vaaks and Coleman get the majority of the time in the backcourt. Strictly on defense, thats a Freshman who we have no idea how well he defends in a full season in the Big10, a 6'7 slow footed guard who most said "abysmal" was putting it generous in regards to his defense in Vaaks.

I have ZERO reservations on offense. I think we'll set records offensively and score a bazillion points, and be fun doing it.

I am concerned on defense, and it'll be up to coaching and schemes to get that done. I think they can, that's why I'm stoked for the season.
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After looking at highlights it appears Vaaks is a mixture of Keaton and Kasper with a quicker / stronger wiggle. I think he’s going to be really good. Three things I think that would really strengthen our run next year:
-4 th guard - Feliz type - for toughness and insurance if any of the other three stall out or get injured.
-Big Back up for Mirk / Tomi with wide body that can rebound and defend in the paint. If one of those two get hurt we’re in trouble. Remember when tall 6’10” Coleman Hawkins got abused by the wider / stronger bigs when he was forced to guard them?
-The biggest hope - Andrej dials his jump shot in - if so, he has 1st team All-American potential.

Kudos to Brad for taking the next step, but think we also need another offense for when teams trap the pick and roll and over play as Connecticut did and Michigan did earlier in the year. Looking forward to next year.
 
#111      
LvilleILL1
Coleman and Vaaks will be signing in the next few days.

Once the portal closes, still expect one more addition at some point. Who that is, I am not sure yet.

They have eight guys they feel really confident in. Brown or Lee (if he sticks around) can take that 9th spot. If they make one more addition, they will be in the mix for that as well.
 
#112      
sdiver68
BTM33 said:
To me, any concerns should be placed on the defense and the back court.

1. How good is Quentin Coleman?
2. Is Vaaks the de facto point guard?
3. Can we defend at a high enough level as a team?
4. Again, how do we handle quick, faster guards who can get in the lane?

We assume Vaaks and Coleman get the majority of the time in the backcourt. Strictly on defense, thats a Freshman who we have no idea how well he defends in a full season in the Big10, a 6'7 slow footed guard who most said "abysmal" was putting it generous in regards to his defense in Vaaks.

I have ZERO reservations on offense. I think we'll set records offensively and score a bazillion points, and be fun doing it.

I am concerned on defense, and it'll be up to coaching and schemes to get that done. I think they can, that's why I'm stoked for the season.
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I agree..offense is set. Defense is the worry.

2- Not too worried about the PG position on offense when we have Mirk as a point forward also.

4-- Honestly I thought we handled them OK IF they werent constantly bailed out by the refs. The problem of course is when they are bailed out.

The NCAA needs to get back to the concept of who initiated contact. The game becomes a farce when all you have to do is penetrate and throw your body at the nearest defender.
 
#114      
illini0440
BTM33 said:
To me, any concerns should be placed on the defense and the back court.

1. How good is Quentin Coleman?
2. Is Vaaks the de facto point guard?
3. Can we defend at a high enough level as a team?
4. Again, how do we handle quick, faster guards who can get in the lane?

We assume Vaaks and Coleman get the majority of the time in the backcourt. Strictly on defense, thats a Freshman who we have no idea how well he defends in a full season in the Big10, a 6'7 slow footed guard who most said "abysmal" was putting it generous in regards to his defense in Vaaks.

I have ZERO reservations on offense. I think we'll set records offensively and score a bazillion points, and be fun doing it.

I am concerned on defense, and it'll be up to coaching and schemes to get that done. I think they can, that's why I'm stoked for the season.
Click to expand...
Vaaks played the Wagler role for Providence….and he’s actually fairly quick laterally
 
#116      
RabidDawgClassic
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#117      
jumpingjack
We are going to be an absolute monster on offense and the boards this year. I want one more bruiser of a guard but we are stacked regardless.
 
#119      
My2Cents
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
our defensive scheme (assuming we keep it) is multilayered

1. General system- pack line. Play in gaps and use length to build a wall against drivers. Make people score over you.

2. Close out under control because you are probably a larger human than the person you’re guarding, make him shoot a contested shot over you.

3. Personnel twist: if your guy can’t shoot help more. If your can shoot, help less. Other guys don’t over rotate to the bad shooter. (The dude from Houston wasn’t a horrible shooter but he got this treatment because every shot he took was a shot sharpe and flemmings didn’t take).

4. Big/little Pick and roll base is drop and go over (make the handler shoot a pull up/floater over the big—sense a theme?), but we definitely worked in more blitzes and hedges this year than recent years.
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Very well said. I was also thinking, people are underestimating how much having this many returners will help our defense. Our defense the last month of the season, was by far the best defense the team played all year. Part of that is just simply learning teammates habits/faults/strengths and a big part is communication. I also feel more comfortable knowing our coach has seen how important it is to be able to throw an occasional zone defense in to help disrupt teams. Did we lose some important pieces to last years team? yes. Are each one of the returners able to improve even more so on both ends of the floor? yes Personally, I would not be surprised, if next years defense was even better than this years team. I understand people's disappointment of not getting Blackwell and maybe being done with additions, but I for one, think the team as it is today, has just a good a chance to be in next years Final Four. Don't get so caught up in the subtractions that you forget the additions. Continuity on the court is priceless.
 
#121      
ChiefGritty
LvilleILL1 said:
Coleman and Vaaks will be signing in the next few days.

Once the portal closes, still expect one more addition at some point. Who that is, I am not sure yet.

They have eight guys they feel really confident in. Brown or Lee (if he sticks around) can take that 9th spot. If they make one more addition, they will be in the mix for that as well.
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Lee either claims that role or departs it seems.

Gotta trust the staff to make that decision at this point.
 
#122      
bobmILLINI34
With our current returning lineup, what's a realistic expectation for the Illini’s final KenPom ranking at the end of next season (2026-27)?
Expected overall KenPom rank?
Expected offensive efficiency?
Expected defensive efficiency?

KenPom has proven to be one of the strongest predictors of tournament success. Last year, Illinois finished in the overall top 5, which perfectly aligned with an Elite Eight (or better) outcome—it was spot on.
As we all know, the Illini were No. 1 in offensive efficiency last season, but only around 20th defensively.

Historically, teams that win national championships have almost always been top 10 in both offense and defense on KenPom (with very few exceptions).

Given the core returning from our Final Four team—including standouts like the Ivisic brothers, David Mirkovic, and Jake Davis—what do you think is a reasonable projection for next season? Can we push into true title-contender territory with top-10 balance on both ends?
 
#125      
Cozy Johnson
I personally can't wait to see the leap Vaaks takes next year being in a better offensive system, surrounded by better players. I think he may be way better than some on here are giving him credit for. I also think his defense will be better than at Providence, that team was a dumpster fire
 
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