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.
Jake would be lucky to see the court on this year's Duke team (which I think is deeper and more talented than last year).
Same for the Michigan team that just won the title.
Those are the teams I'd label as "elite depth."
It's not really my expectation to be as talented as those teams, Duke has always been an anomaly for talent acquisition, but if you're comparing their depth to ours.... it's just not in the same ballpark. I'd agree Foster and Boozer are different players, but they have elite talent all over.
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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.
He might be 2nd or 3rd best backup wing in the Big Ten. Not the entire country.
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Start naming them
(I believe you, I'm just an insane homer over here lol... but the guy who led the nation in ORtg and also has another year under his belt is probably a pretty awesome backup)
I was merely clearing up that Jake doesn't comp to those guys as he's a connector/wing and they're point/combo guards
Nobody on this site that I know of has claimed we have more depth than Duke (nobody does)
who would you have in front of him in the b1g?
mckenney and mccoy prob both start for mich
lajuan watts prob a starter for wash
kur teng maybe? only guy i can think of but wouldnt completely rule out him being starter either
Buying or selling the Illini hoops team? I can't imagine being a daily reader/poster of this site and not being a buyer....EVERY SEASON. I have been for 70 years and I am not an Illini alum...though I have many ties and interests with the University of Illinois. If you are not highly interested in this year's team then why waste a second here?
This will be a talented and veteran group taking the floor in the Illini uniform. We have high expectations and should have. And we should expect BU to once again put the pieces together while these kids develop a passion of playing for each other....and a national title. Sure, they are not likely to win it all, but they will win enough games to provide a rivetting season for us all.
Is the first game tomorrow? It should be.
This will be a talented and veteran group taking the floor in the Illini uniform. We have high expectations and should have. And we should expect BU to once again put the pieces together while these kids develop a passion of playing for each other....and a national title. Sure, they are not likely to win it all, but they will win enough games to provide a rivetting season for us all.
Is the first game tomorrow? It should be.
Im not saying "insane homer take" as an insult. Just a take that you're only ever going to hear from the Illini fan base.
I don't think Jake would appear among top bench pieces from any neutral fans or general consensus.
I didn't watch Providence enough to give a super great answer and college basketball individual defensive ratings are kind of a mess.
However, so much about being a decent defender is just effort and a lot of how you will look depends on the situation you are in(teammates around you and what you're asked to do in the scheme).
Providence was the 170th ranked defense in the country per Kenpom. Take any individual Illini last year and place them on Providence and they would look way worse on defense.
Vaaks has all the physical traits to be a serviceable defender and I don't think effort will be an issue playing under Brad. Plus, he will be surrounded by way more talent in a scheme designed for him to cover up his flaws on that end.
I think without Ben the team is a bit thin defensively at the post. Will need Jason J to step up because there are only 4 bigs on the roster.