Illini in the Pros (Basketball)

[lstewart53x3]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2070516193526485058

This is the kind of thing that could kill a program with a lesser coach.

You’ve got a Chicago kid who committed to Illinois his sophomore year of high school transfer out after his freshman year of college go on to win a Natty and become a Lotto pick, then give an interview on CNBC claiming he left because “he didn’t feel comfortable getting developed at Illinois”.

If it was anyone other than Daddy Brad at the helm, this interview would be the biggest news of the decade.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

hoop-explorer.com has shot charts

at Illinois: 80% at rim, 20% mid-range, 0% threes

at Michigan: 67% at rim, 21% mid-range, 12% threes

Is he more efficient at the rim, or from three point range? Well, his 3 point percentage was in the 'below average' territory while his rim % was like 99th percentile

He got a tiny wee bit more freedom to shoot threes (he shot 35 total in 40 games at Michigan), but does that showcase what he's good at and what he will do in the NBA?

Doesn't really matter because he went 9th in the draft and got a NC, but this thought process that it happened because he shot a bunch of mid-range and 3s and was taking guys off the bounce and playmaking all year long is just wrong.

How do they define “at the rim”? If he gets the ball 12 to 15 from the basket and makes a move to get a layup, is that at the rim? But that is very different than getting the ball 5 feet from the basket and getting a layup. Of course the majority of his shots are going to be at the rim, but you really think he would have been used the same way at Illinois this year as he was at Michigan?

A lot is made of the 3-pt shot thing, but I don’t he ever wanted or expected to be hoisting up 100 of them on the season. But look at it from his perspective. He loses time to Ben because in large part Ben can hit from long range. You don’t think his thought process might have been, well hell, I can shoot 34.3% from three, which is what Ben shot? Turns out he could cuz that was his percentage at UM.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2070565360223322176

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

How do they define “at the rim”? If he gets the ball 12 to 15 from the basket and makes a move to get a layup, is that at the rim? But that is very different than getting the ball 5 feet from the basket and getting a layup. Of course the majority of his shots are going to be at the rim, but you really think he would have been used the same way at Illinois this year as he was at Michigan?

A lot is made of the 3-pt shot thing, but I don’t he ever wanted or expected to be hoisting up 100 of them on the season. But look at it from his perspective. He loses time to Ben because in large part Ben can hit from long range. You don’t think his thought process might have been, well hell, I can shoot 34.3% from three, which is what Ben shot? Turns out he could cuz that was his percentage at UM.

you think Morez Johnson is the 9th pick in the draft because he shot 34% from 3 on 35 attempts?

Ben shot 5x the attempts as Morez. This is akin to saying Carter Bryant shooting 41.4% from 3 on 1.3 attempts makes him as good or a better shooter than Jalen Brunson who shot 35.3% on 6.5 attempts.

One guy is coming off pindowns and curl cuts, being closely guarded, spotting up from deeper with less space. The other is taking wide open 3’s sparingly mostly to try and keep the defense somewhat honest. If that’s morez’s perspective that he’s a better shooter based on the percentage logic, he’s wrong, and every basketball front office exec and coach would agree.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

A lot is made of the 3-pt shot thing, but I don’t he ever wanted or expected to be hoisting up 100 of them on the season. But look at it from his perspective. He loses time to Ben because in large part Ben can hit from long range. You don’t think his thought process might have been, well hell, I can shoot 34.3% from three, which is what Ben shot? Turns out he could cuz that was his percentage at UM.

A narrative that refuses to die despite how absolutely wrong it is.

At Illinois Morez averaged 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes. When you consider that 5 fouls gets you a foul out, and coaches pull players to prevent foul outs, can you agree this may have impacted his minutes?

Now consider that Morez averaged just 3.7 fouls per 40 at Michigan. That's 2 entire fewer fouls per 40 minutes!

Btw the difference in minutes played between Illinois and Michigan was 7.5 per game. At 5.7 fouls per 40, that comes out to a fouls every 7 minutes. At that rate and the minutes he played at Michigan, Morez would have been averaging 3.5 fouls a game. BU doesn't let players cut it that close. In fact, no Illini has averaged more than 3 fouls a game since Giorgi in 2018-2019 and that was out of complete necessity.

He 100% played more at Michigan because he figured out how to defend without fouling. Classic freshman to sophomore transition stuff. That would have happened here too.

 

[NarrowJ]

How do they define “at the rim”? If he gets the ball 12 to 15 from the basket and makes a move to get a layup, is that at the rim? But that is very different than getting the ball 5 feet from the basket and getting a layup. Of course the majority of his shots are going to be at the rim, but you really think he would have been used the same way at Illinois this year as he was at Michigan?

A lot is made of the 3-pt shot thing, but I don’t he ever wanted or expected to be hoisting up 100 of them on the season. But look at it from his perspective. He loses time to Ben because in large part Ben can hit from long range. You don’t think his thought process might have been, well hell, I can shoot 34.3% from three, which is what Ben shot? Turns out he could cuz that was his percentage at UM.

Well it’s a shot chart, which is exactly what you asked for. Now that it doesn’t show what you wanted it to show we have to find a different way to look at it?

If he was that upset about sharing minutes with Ben Humrichous then he didn’t need to sign a contract with us at the end of February. This is why it’s sort of obvious that wasn’t the determining factor.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

As a related point. It is quite funny a large percentage of the in-year outrage was around “choosing Tomi over Morez” and now those same fans are clamoring how actually Michigan was utilizing him correctly as a 4 man.

A narrative which Morez furthered with his lame practice video tweet. Dude is just a liar and I agree with juice, I’ll never root for him.

 

[orangem]

He 100% played more at Michigan because he figured out how to defend without fouling.

He lost minutes at Illinois because he was playing behind Humrichous, who coach hoped would get out of his slump. Underwood is a fantastic coach, but this was a misstep -- Morez was already one of the better players in the B1G.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

He lost minutes at Illinois because he was playing behind Humrichous, who coach hoped would get out of his slump. Underwood is a fantastic coach, but this was a misstep -- Morez was already one of the better players in the B1G.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

you think Morez Johnson is the 9th pick in the draft because he shot 34% from 3 on 35 attempts?

Ben shot 5x the attempts as Morez. This is akin to saying Carter Bryant shooting 41.4% from 3 on 1.3 attempts makes him as good or a better shooter than Jalen Brunson who shot 35.3% on 6.5 attempts.

One guy is coming off pindowns and curl cuts, being closely guarded, spotting up from deeper with less space. The other is taking wide open 3’s sparingly mostly to try and keep the defense somewhat honest. If that’s morez’s perspective that he’s a better shooter based on the percentage logic, he’s wrong, and every basketball front office exec and coach would agree.

What? Did I say that? No.

He was picked where he was certainly in part and I think a fairly significant part because the offense he was now playing in allowed him to show off more aspects of his game. That’s not not a knock on the Illini offense. It’s a great offense, but it showcases guards and wings much more. Maybe it is just a crazy coincidence that both Morez and Mara improved their draft stock by a fair amount in the Michigan offense.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

He lost minutes at Illinois because he was playing behind Humrichous, who coach hoped would get out of his slump. Underwood is a fantastic coach, but this was a misstep -- Morez was already one of the better players in the B1G.

Man, if you look at his game logs in the second half of last season you can literally see, with your own eyes, the games where Morez's play time dipped because of foul trouble. Dude was starting games and having to be pulled because he picked up early fouls. How is that everyone else's fault but his? You people give Morez more of a free pass than you give guys that live and breathe for this program it really is astounding.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

He lost minutes at Illinois because he was playing behind Humrichous, who coach hoped would get out of his slump. Underwood is a fantastic coach, but this was a misstep -- Morez was already one of the better players in the B1G.

Bingo.

It's not hard to look at the individual boxscores of games and realize this was the case. Especially from December to Early January (before Tomi's issues). If Tomi never got hurt and sick, Morez's minutes would've never broken through because Hummer was always ahead of him àt the 4 (which should've been Morez's role).

About the foul argument - sure he had some struggles. However, he did not have 5 fouls every game. We'd see him fouled out in each one of our games if it was that brutal.

Bottom line is his minutes were lower because the other guys were thought to be better basketball options on the court. I personally fully respect his decision.

Glad we figured it out with Mirk though.

 

[jamarvelous31]

Does Rez become the 9th pick if he stays? Probably not…
Is Illinois better if he stays? Probably not bc that would mean no Mirk.

I think this is a rare case of win-win for both parties.

Mirk committed 7 days after Morez entered the portal. Mirk wasn't a crazy prospect (averaged 9ppg and 7rb) and we didn't have another PF on the roster, how certain are we they were mutually exclusive? Honest question for those in the know.

At the time Morez was slotted for a significant role in our O and was addition by subtraction for UM vs us. At least statistically, the idea that UM unlocked him or something is just wrong... His per 40 & per 100 possessions differences were not anything that wouldn't be explained by the Soph jump and not fouling as much.

It seems like win-win only in the sense that both teams won in the tournament and he was rewarded for breaking his contract ahead of house settlement repercussions.

 

[jamarvelous31]

Man, if you look at his game logs in the second half of last season you can literally see, with your own eyes, the games where Morez's play time dipped because of foul trouble. Dude was starting games and having to be pulled because he picked up early fouls. How is that everyone else's fault but his? You people give Morez more of a free pass than you give guys that live and breathe for this program it really is astounding.

My guy was averaging a foul out (5.7) per 40 minutes

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

IMO, the problem with Morez was the staff saw him as a 5 and the backup to Tomi. But not as a 4.

Our top lineup should've been with the two on the court together.

 

[WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?]

Morez wasn't seen as one of the five best players on the team. This is evident by him not being on the court at the end of games. Regardless of the fouls, if you're seen as one of the five best players, you'll be on the court at the end of the game (unless you're disqualified with fouling out, which rarely happened even with Morez).

The lineup we rode with was:

PG - Kasparas
SG - KB
SF - Riley or Tre
PF - Hummer
C - Tomi
(obviously there was some fluctuations because we had so many injuries)

For those that so vehemently disagree, go back to the game at Northwestern in the big ten opener.

 

[RichieRebel]

Mirk committed 7 days after Morez entered the portal. Mirk wasn't a crazy prospect (averaged 9ppg and 7rb) and we didn't have another PF on the roster, how certain are we they were mutually exclusive? Honest question for those in the know.

At the time Morez was slotted for a significant role in our O and was addition by subtraction for UM vs us. At least statistically, the idea that UM unlocked him or something is just wrong... His per 40 & per 100 possessions differences were not anything that wouldn't be explained by the Soph jump and not fouling as much.

It seems like win-win only in the sense that both teams won in the tournament and he was rewarded for breaking his contract ahead of house settlement repercussions.

View attachment 50717View attachment 50718

Money and playing time.

I am not an insider but I am pretty sure Rez’s money went to Mirk and Z.

I am pretty sure if we lost Tomi or Mirk this offseason we would’ve gotten the overseas big that went to ‘Nova. I think it would’ve been a similar situation.

 

[NarrowJ]

IMO, the problem with Morez was the staff saw him as a 5 and the backup to Tomi. But not as a 4.

Our top lineup should've been with the two on the court together.

Whether they saw him as a 4 or a 5, he apparently agreed to whatever the plan was... hence, the signed contract in late Feb.

Why is the MoReZ jOhNsOn DeFeNsE tEaM doing so much work here? He sits firmly alongside Eric Gordon and Bruce Pearl in our Illini lore.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

IMO, the problem with Morez was the staff saw him as a 5 and the backup to Tomi. But not as a 4.

Our top lineup should've been with the two on the court together.

If that was the staffs true opinion then I’d hear morez’s beef.

But you truly believe the pitch to Morez was come back to Illinois and be the backup 5? Brad said over and over again he wanted those two together and put them together when healthy

 

[lstewart53x3]

IMO, the problem with Morez was the staff saw him as a 5 and the backup to Tomi. But not as a 4.

Our top lineup should've been with the two on the court together.

Do you think Morez’s freshman year role would’ve identical to his sophomore year role?

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

But you truly believe the pitch to Morez was come back to Illinois and be the backup 5?

Morez committed when he was in 9th grade because he loved Illinois and wanted to stay home. No one had an ounce of a clue what the roster would be.

Brad said over and over again he wanted those two together and put them together when healthy

Well... he wasn't our top option at the 4. Ben was, and to an extent Tre. During the season, his role was mostly backup 5 (starting 5 when Tomi was out).

He sits firmly alongside Eric Gordon and Bruce Pearl in our Illini lore.

To me this isn't even close.

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

What? Did I say that? No.

He was picked where he was certainly in part and I think a fairly significant part because the offense he was now playing in allowed him to show off more aspects of his game. That’s not not a knock on the Illini offense. It’s a great offense, but it showcases guards and wings much more. Maybe it is just a crazy coincidence that both Morez and Mara improved their draft stock by a fair amount in the Michigan offense.

I actually think far and away the most significant reason Morez AND Mara were drafted where they were is because of defense and rebounding.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Do you think Morez’s freshman year role would’ve identical to his sophomore year role?

No.

But I think it's very possible that he wasn't happy with his freshman year role.

 

[NarrowJ]

But it's very possible that he wasn't happy with his freshman year role.

Then why sign another contract with us? This keeps being ignored.

To me this isn't even close.

Backed out of a signed contract and went to bitter conference rival and won a NC, punked us in our own building, then talks sh1t about us about every chance he gets... probably a level above Pearl & Gordon for me, but maybe its the recency

 

[EmeraldCityIllini]

Morez wasn't seen as one of the five best players on the team. This is evident by him not being on the court at the end of games. Regardless of the fouls, if you're seen as one of the five best players, you'll be on the court at the end of the game (unless you're disqualified with fouling out, which rarely happened even with Morez).

The lineup we rode with was:

PG - Kasparas
SG - KB
SF - Riley or Tre
PF - Hummer
C - Tomi
(obviously there was some fluctuations because we had so many injuries)

For those that so vehemently disagree, go back to the game at Northwestern in the big ten opener.

I’d be careful on one game sample sizes, especially if you’re citing early season games. Keaton didn’t finish the UConn game for us. Riley didn’t finish games for us when he was struggling. Mirk wasn’t finishing games early for us against Nebraska and Bama.

Another big reason Morez couldn’t finish some games outside of fouling, was that you simply couldn’t have him on the court in a one possession game offensively because he was such a free throw liability