Is 6/20 with 4 turnovers all that great?
Illini in the Pros (Basketball)
Is 6/20 with 4 turnovers all that great?
I think people need to remember that Keaton was drafted for his processing and shiftiness.
It was apparent vs. rugged defenses last year that his handle and finishing were a major work in process as he continues to fill out his frame.
Look at Ayo now vs. even at Illinois. He’ll get there. He was graduating high school 13 months ago. Not everyone comes into the league like LeBron. Yaxel is 24. That’s 5 years from now for Keaton.
It was apparent vs. rugged defenses last year that his handle and finishing were a major work in process as he continues to fill out his frame.
Look at Ayo now vs. even at Illinois. He’ll get there. He was graduating high school 13 months ago. Not everyone comes into the league like LeBron. Yaxel is 24. That’s 5 years from now for Keaton.
Anybody judging any of these players off of summer league should settle down. These games are all about chucking shots and sloppy play. These are not the players that the top players will be playing with on a regular basis. I kind of wish it would go away but I know it won't.
It looked like the speed of the game bothered him. We played super slow, so that was okay at Illinois. In the NBA, it'll be a lot faster.
Also, his lack of athleticism is real. His 2pt percentage at Illinois was bad. It was literally, his only weakness.
Overall, I'm not sure he's the primary ball handler for an NBA team. His floor is quite high, since he can be great as a secondary playmaker and off ball shooter. From that standpoint, it's hard to see him as a bust candidate.
Is there as much star potential as a guy like Acuff? No.
But the shooting and size should eventually pan out. He was a top 3 shooter in the whole draft.
This is really a useless line of thought because we can do it with every team.
2022 -- if Adam was still here, would Plummer get the same opportunity??
2023 -- if Kofi was back, do we still get Terrance? And even if we do, then is he as good with Kofi clogging the middle?
2024 -- if we got RayJ, is Marcus getting the same opportunity?? Also, is Terrance that good too?
2025 -- If we get Egor Demin do we get KJ??
2026 -- If Morez stayed do we get Mirk? If we got Sarr or Dix do we get Andrej? If we got KJ and Riley back, do we get Andrej and is Keaton the same player?
(Slight note on Andrej/Riley -- we got Andrej's commitment before Riley's decision deadline, and if he wanted to come back due to falling draft stock, we had a bag waiting for him just in case. It was said by Insiders all along. It's moot, since he went on to be a lock 1st rounder.)
2027 -- Almost certainly will be tied to Blackwell in some way, shape, form.
.....
Every team just has its own journey and makeup. Analyzing these "what if" scenarios are just brainrot.
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blackdog
- Champaign
Also in his first summer league games last year KJ seemed like he couldn't put the ball on the floor at all without turning it over. He went on to have a pretty nice rookie year once he started playing more.
Emmanuel Sharpe was his assignment the whole game.
It's only one game. Hope Keaton bounces back.
Yeah Acuff even said he played poorly in his postgame interview
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
FIFY
summer league is baptism by fire. Almost infinite of fouls favor strong players. Keaton is on the other end of the spectrum so I am not too surprised.
Overreaction to Keaton's first NBA summer league game is kind of humorous. I recall many in our fanbase saying that the summer and preseason Keaton hype was overblown when he didn't light it up in the first couple of games last fall.
It's going to take him some time for him to adjust, and he's also not the type of player that's going to flourish in unstructured summer league.
It's going to take him some time for him to adjust, and he's also not the type of player that's going to flourish in unstructured summer league.
There's countless examples of fans overreacting to Summer league play. It's a tale as old as time. If you play poorly in your first Summer leage game, you're a bust in the eyes of many online fools.
stlrunner
jakeyjakey
- St Louis, MO
Good offseason practice for the board to make sure we are ready for the 26-27 season come November!
FightinIllini30
Future insider
Other 1st rounders are all hunting their shots, Keaton lets things come to him. Dont think he will be a guy to put up 20 shots
It’s one game…..the first game…..of summer ball…..where the defense can hound you all night…..with endless amounts of fouls! Summer league is just a joke. 10 foul limit on an individual player, one free throw to determine two.
KW will adjust accordingly and be fine.
KW will adjust accordingly and be fine.
I think one game simply reinforces what most people assumed, Keaton will need to get stronger. Summer league has infinite fouls, but they weren't always fouling. He will adjust and find his opportunities.
Pace will be something for him to work on as well, many of the Clips possessions didn't get moving until there were 5 seconds on the clock, again an adjustment to make, not an indictment on ability to ever get there.
Pace will be something for him to work on as well, many of the Clips possessions didn't get moving until there were 5 seconds on the clock, again an adjustment to make, not an indictment on ability to ever get there.
Goillinikobd
- Southeastern US
To quote an earlier post, “ he (Keaton) was graduating HIGH SCHOOL 13 months ago.”
This…. Keaton is not a ball hog, he’s learning the ropes and will let the game come to him. Give him time..
Bu that's kind of what you're supposed to do in summer league. It's a showcase, nobody cares who wins.
He will adjust and learn how to showcase his abilities. Based on post-game comments, he knows he needs to be more aggressive. Hope he can just tune out the noise and do his thing. He's got a great attitude the mental side of the game has always been one of his strengths, and that will serve him well at this point in his career where being a Keaton Wagler hater/doubter seems to be very much in vogue.
Doug Alrenberger?