I think we have a good chance of being very similar to last year in the backcourt with Vaaks being our primary ball handler and initiator of the offense with Coleman as the 2. On the defensive side of it Coleman on the ball and Vaaks on the 2 much like how Brad used Wagler and Boswell.
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
I don't care if he's 6'0 or 6'7. He looks like he sees the court extremely well, handles well, and shoots well. That's what you need from your primary PG. Defense is a concern but I think our staff will get him to be at least adequate there.
Our flexibility last year covered 2-5 with our eight man rotation with Z for the 4-5, Ben 3-4, and Jake at the 2-3. We had only KB and KW for the 1-2. With KB hurt we had no replacement for KW at the 1. Brandon Lee was not a 1 and Petrovic did not fit our system. Think our weakness this year is at the 4-5 if Mirk, Tomi or Z go down as no Ben and not sure how well JJ can cover. However covering that position probably not as critical as lead guard. Morillo has played that position as well as Brown so not without positional coverage but suspect it would be significant drop off. Foul problems could probably be covered but lengthy absences?. BU did however do a great job at covering our star when TSJ was out.
I love this notion that being 6’7” is too tall to play point guard, when perhaps one of the best PGs in the history of the Big Ten, and close to the history of the sport itself, was a 6’9” Magic Johnson.
Not saying Vaaks is the next Magic Johnson obviously, but maybe, just maybe, cookie cutter molds aren’t an adequate means of determining whether or not a player can be good at a position.
Hell, a similar 6’9” Ben Wallace was one of the most effective defensive Centers, stuffing Shaq in the Playoffs.
Let’s let the coaching staff determine the best way to use our guys, and not let height or build pigeonhole them.
Not saying Vaaks is the next Magic Johnson obviously, but maybe, just maybe, cookie cutter molds aren’t an adequate means of determining whether or not a player can be good at a position.
Hell, a similar 6’9” Ben Wallace was one of the most effective defensive Centers, stuffing Shaq in the Playoffs.
Let’s let the coaching staff determine the best way to use our guys, and not let height or build pigeonhole them.
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No defense.... No play... We don't have anyone in the line up to cover for him. We will live or die with his defense. His last year's team died with him.
54:20 — 9 guys have played 30 games only one time in Brad’s time here.
I like Jake a lot but claiming he might be the best backup in the country(or one of them) is an insane homer take.
Duke will be bringing one of Boozer or Foster off the bench and Davis would be lucky to even see the court on that roster. MSU is potentially bringing Jervis off the bench. Michigan might be bringing McCoy off the bench. USC is likely bringing Jalen Cox off the bench. And so on.
I'll give you that Z would likely start on a lot of teams and is a huge luxury, but top bench guys look like Michigan bringing Mckenney off the bench last year(along with Gayle and Cason).
I don't even think defense is a concern at least for Vaaks.
He's 6'7, has good length, and is a capable enough athlete to move his feet.
Neither of Domask or Wagler were issues defensively and Vaaks has similar enough traits to be utilized like them. Don't expect him to be a plus defender but I expect him to be utilized within the system to the point where he's not a liability either.
There is maybe a question of having a point of attack defender on the roster, but it Coleman and Stojakovic can handle that duty then I don't see much of an issue with the 3 of them on the floor.
Well, he legitimately might be the worst defender on the team. Not saying he can’t improve, but the word seems to be it was very bad last year (and is definitely a downgrade from Keaton and Kylan).
Well... I said "might be" because I expected someone like you to call me an "insane homer" (or some other silly ad hominem thing which serves no purpose other than to insult someone).
Anyway, his ORtg last year was 149.0 which led the nation. He's insanely good at what he does, which is a lot different than what Boozer/Foster do.
Cayden Boozer ORtg 122.1
Caleb Foster ORtg 119.0
This isn't to say Jake is more valuable than those guys because they are ballhandlers.
Really was meaning "at their respective positions" - Jake is a wing, Big Z is a center, Boozer is a point guard, and I guess Foster is a combo guard.
If he's 2nd best, instead of 1st... is it really an "insane homer take" or was I off by, like, maybe a guy or two?
So, in summary:
- "might be", not "is"
- "at their respective positions"
- maybe he's 2nd or 3rd best instead of the best (at his position)
Didn't mean to irritate anyone with this "insane homer take".
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I don't think it's crazy to say we aren't AS DEEP as the other top teams.
Even this podcast acknowledges it briefly:
(35:41)
Whether you think that will hurt us, is a different question; as they do go on to say the top 8 will get the overwhelming minutes, as Fly Illini alluded to.
But, injuries can definitely play a factor.
I personally think we'll be fine as long as Zens, Brown, or Lincoln is able to be the same level of 9th man we've had in past years, EXCLUDING Petrovic last season. It's always been my stance.
Even this podcast acknowledges it briefly:
(35:41)
Whether you think that will hurt us, is a different question; as they do go on to say the top 8 will get the overwhelming minutes, as Fly Illini alluded to.
But, injuries can definitely play a factor.
I personally think we'll be fine as long as Zens, Brown, or Lincoln is able to be the same level of 9th man we've had in past years, EXCLUDING Petrovic last season. It's always been my stance.
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lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yes, there’s a decently large drop off after our 8th man. No one on the other side of this debate has argued otherwise.
What we’ve argued is: how much does that matter?
— We had no 9th man last year. Made the F4.
— Even our best 9th men under Brad have averaged something like 2 points per game. That has a tiny impact on winning and almost no impact at all on the NCAA tournament when rotations shrink.
— No team can replace an injured starter with a 9th man and continue to be as good of a team. So while some 9th man’s might be better than ours, no teams 9th man is starter quality.
— In fact, what most teams would do in the event of an injury, us included, is simply shrink the rotation.
Our argument isn’t that we have the best 9th man in college basketball, it’s that the 9th man is almost meaningless to winning games, so we aren’t all that worried about it.
The most important and significant part of the bench is obviously the 6th and 7th guys, and to a degree the 8th guy.
And I stand by my ridiculous homer take that we have the best backup center in the country as well as a top 2/3ish backup wing in the country.
The #9thman is fools gold.