Yes, they watched the hypothetical one.
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
Unfiltered thoughts after watching QC for Team America:
It's been years since I've felt worse about our depth (and the 9th man) going into the season - fear being they'll be totally unplayable and we won't have an option at all after the top 8.
It's also been years since I've felt this good about our starting 5.
I'll choose to believe the latter wins out.
It's been years since I've felt worse about our depth (and the 9th man) going into the season - fear being they'll be totally unplayable and we won't have an option at all after the top 8.
It's also been years since I've felt this good about our starting 5.
I'll choose to believe the latter wins out.
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anyone else think Carey Booth would've had a solid 8-10min role on this team? there's room for an athletic forward in a small role.
in 2025, jake davis was the ideal #9thMan, so Booth got buried. No reason to dislike the young man.
I think there was a similar role available when Booth was here and he still couldn’t earn it
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Brad said Booth was lost on the court and his teammates recognized it to the point where one brought it up to him. We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel if we’re longing for him as the #9thman.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Where are these magical 9th men?
Since the 21 season, our 9th man has averaged 6.8 minutes and 1.8 points per game, most of which came in early season blowouts. Pretty confident one of the freshman can contribute that this season. And most of those 9th men were freshman at the time and rated lower than ZZ coming out of high school.
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Is it because the former is an absolutely insane position?
Who are these storied 9th men that you felt so good about?
I think an athletic forward would be a good final addition, personally. A guy with a similar body and playing style as Booth.
While we have positional size, the Front court gets thin if Tomi is winded, and/or Z is in foul trouble.
That Ben H. type of clean post defense was such an asset last year, when it was needed.
Here's my explanation:
Looking at our seasons stats, our 9th men are serviceable enough to play in 70% of team games, at minimum. (last season was an exception, which speaks more to the Petro misfit rather than it being the norm)
So, I'd like the same for next year as well.
Like I said last thread, my benchmark for Zens (assuming he takes that role) would be around 28 games played and 18 made threes.
28 games would mean 70%; and 18 threes would mean he's a threat shooting the ball. Is that a realistic possibility? That's where my concerns lie.
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Additional way to think about it would be:
if/when you lose two of your top-eight to injury for a game, do you play 6 guys or can you stretch it out to 7? That itself plays a significant part between a win and a loss.
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It wasn't much of an opinion about the #9thMan discourse. Just the possibility of whether he could earn a role on the team.
I really liked him as a prospect. 6"10 with what looked like a 40-inch vert, with great range and shooting ability.
Not many guys like it.
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100%. He was a dominant player playing next to a consensus lottery guard with 'the kid who was passed over' story.
I'm not expecting better efficiency from Mirk or any kind of break out. Just be Mirk and let the rest of the team settle in. We have all the pieces, and having the FF experience means these guys will have a better sense of how to tackle the tournament when the lights are brightest.
Agreed. I don't think Mirk will need to change his game much. He was awesome last year, and even with marginal improvement, will be one of the best players in the B1G. He kind of flew under the radar because of the rapid ascension of Wagler from "project" recruit to All-American.
Mirk is going to have to embrace being the face of the team, because he is going to start the season at the top of the scouting report, and be the guy everyone wants to talk to and about.
The new challenge for him. He is going to get a lot more press, and likely feel more pressure to perform. I suspect, based on some of his interviews, that he already puts a lot of pressure on himself and takes a great deal of personal responsibility for the outcome of games. Having that pressure come from outside can be different. How will he respond?
He is one of the great characters in the game. I think the rest of America is going to fall in love with him this year, the way we all did last year.
20-21: freshman Coleman Hawkins
21-22: freshman Luke Goode
22-23: freshman Sencire Harris
23-24: freshman DGL
24-25: soph Jake Davis (Mercer)
25-26: freshman Lee/Wagler
If you felt so great about those guys as #9thman, I wouldn't be so quick to write off the guys we have for that spot this year. They're rated about the same as higher as the guys you felt so strongly about.
Just as a point of comparison, Freshman Coleman Hawkins, who was absolutely a serviceable 9th man on a very good Illini team, did not meet this standard. 25 games played, 13 made 3s. The following year, Luke Goode, noted 3pt shooter, was 8th man in minutes played and while he did get into 28 games, only made 16 3s. The year after that our 8th man made 0 3s (Ty Rogers) and our 9th man made 13 (Sencire Harris). And in our Elite Eight year our 9th man, DGL, made 8 3s.
So yeah, probably not realistic since the only 9th man we've had in years to do it has been Jake.
I see JJ, Morillo, and ZZ in that order fighting for playing time after the top 7...depending on who is in foul trouble, injured, or needs a breather. Not sure JJ will be healthy enough to play though as that has not been confirmed and his health problem reportedly has a long recovery time. Nevertheless, I like the roster and the glimpse of QC playing on the U18 USA team last night was reason for optimism in many areas. The starting five looks to be solid with ZZ and Jake as the 6th and 7th "starters". Love the top 7 and hoping the next three surprise.
There has been little talk of what Vaaks can do other than gun away. His adaption to playing a complete game with solid defense is critical for team success. That commitment along with 1000 shots a day from the arc by AS for the next 4 months may get this team to FF level.
There has been little talk of what Vaaks can do other than gun away. His adaption to playing a complete game with solid defense is critical for team success. That commitment along with 1000 shots a day from the arc by AS for the next 4 months may get this team to FF level.
LOL no.
Well, you're missing the point as it pretains to games played.
That's the biggest determinor of whether the player is getting onto the court. (the 3s comment was more so referring to skill set)
2021 Coleman Hawkins played in 25/31 games as the 9th man. That's 81%.
2022 Luke Goode played in 28/33 games. That's 85%.
2023 Ty Rodgers played in 33/33 games. That's 100%.
2024 DGL played in 28/38 games. That's 74%.
2025 Jake played in 32/35 games. That's 91%.
All of those guys, had the team had two of the top-eight injured, would've the coaches trust to get onto the court. Or if someone just wasn't playing well and we needed a change.
2026 Petrovic was the one exception: 19/37 games. 51%. That's likely a situation you'd like to avoid, rather than think it's a normality.
Therefore, I don't think it's crazy to say we need a playable 9th man. The idea that we always play 8 is pretty propaganda.
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You either just started watching Illinois basketball or have some wild anxiety block here.
Zavier Zens is 104th on the 247 composite, which is completely in line, if not better, than what we've had historically for the 9th man (average FR has been the 145th composite recruit).
Jake Davis is probably our most accomplished 9th man going into his 9thman season, having averaged 29 mpg and 9 ppg at Mercer
Otherwise it's:
Fr Brandon Lee 124th composite
Fr Niccolo Morretti too lazy to look up his stats, he was bad.
Fr Luke Goode 103 composite
So Omar Payne 4mpg at FL
Fr Coleman Hawkins 167 composite
Fr Tevian Jones 116 composite
Fr Alan Griffin 182 composite
Fr Damonte Williams 181 composite
The thing to consider with Booth is would he play over Zens?
Zens is in a similar position to Davis in 2025 (not saying he'll be as good).
I’m still surprised there wasn’t enough draft interest in Momcovic to keep him in. Shooting feels like the most coveted trait NBA teams are looking for these days, and he was the best shooter last year and also has good size at 6’8.
My challenge would be, if our 9th man is always playable (with the exception of MP) then why would the expectation be that our 9th man this year isn't playable? Wouldn't past experience tell us that, according to your games played criteria, the staff actually has a 9th man on the roster they're confident in?
Another interesting stat about the 9th man on BU teams - only once has a player 9th or lower on the depth chart had a win share of 1 or greater. RJ Melendez in 2022 with a win share of 1. So, by that definition (which I admit the WS stat has its flaws), the 9th man is relatively inconsequential.
Last time I checked we have like 12 guys on our roster so we already have a 9th man somewhere. We are fine.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
And all of those guys, except for Jake, were freshman ranked at or below ZZ’s level, so coming back to your original point:
If you were confident in the 9th man headed into each of those seasons, why are you not confident in the 9th man headed into this season?
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