Im a 247 loyalist, i think its by far the best of the options. But got it, that makes sense now - thank you for clarifying
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
Im a 247 loyalist, i think its by far the best of the options. But got it, that makes sense now - thank you for clarifying
Keaton played 44 minutes in that game. I would've loved to have given him a breather.
The one time we did take him out, Mirkovic had a bad turnover (it was probably one of his worst games).
Bos (and Stoj) were out that game. If the staff thought Petro could offer anywhere close to his $ in value, then I think Keaton would have rested more than 36 seconds.
True, and this completely blew my mind... but that Wisonsin game was the one Boswell also missed in addition to Andrej (though Boswell can play off ball, Mihailo no).
Mihailo got in the game to give Keaton a breather the week prior in the Purdue game that was also hotly contested and close throughout. No clue why he was trusted in that game with a full squad, but not in the Wisconsin game the following week.
See above, he was trusted in Purdue game the week prior to give Keaton a breather with a full squad.
The fact we're trying to settle this debate using single games to stand up our arguments against probably means there isn't a clear cut answer. You want to apply the label 'bust' come hell or high water, and I think its more nuanced. I don't think we get a definitive answer either way.
Our 9th man needs to be more playable than Petro was last season.
Playable meaning able to get into games.
Playable meaning able to get into games.
I don’t know either. But I’m thinking it had to have been mostly a match-up thing.
Yes, for 68 seconds in the first half. Why didn't that continue? He never saw the court the rest of the season except garbage time.
I previously said: "If he was "good" but merely overshadowed, he would have played more than 1.4mpg (including 13 DNPs) in the 22 games after Jan 8, especially given the injuries and OT games we had. That suggests the staff didn't think very much of his ability to contribute."
I already said I don't need to argue about the label. The part I'm not going to let go of is that I'm convinced he was either not close to being worth the $ we paid him, or if he was the staff should have found more ways to use him (I also acknowledged the possibility that he couldn't get up to speed after the missed time, but I think that's at least partially a reflection of his ability/fit/coachability, plus that wasn't your argument anyway).
If this was any other year there are 3-4 freshman that would get significant minutes. Reality with this roster is that maybe 2 of them get enough tick. We have 6 competing for those roles and 4-5 that could be the ones.
First world problems!!
First world problems!!
I get saying we want this, but what does it even mean to need it? As your post admits, we didn't have this thing we "need," and we made the Final Four. This is like me saying I need 10 hours of sleep a night. I'd obviously love to have that, but I also have kids and a demanding job and a minor addiction to a college sports message board so I haven't actually had a 10 hour sleep in about 9 years. And things are mostly fine.
Your guess is as good as mine as to why it didn't continue, but I'm not going to spend the next two pages discussing that subject (because nobody here knows that).
Definitely wonder about 'ways to use him', because to me it seemed he'd have played more if he was more versatile than 'on-ball creator'. I didn't think much of his ability to contribute either at that same point, however I never thought it was because he wasn't a good player. It was because Keaton secured the only real position Mihailo could play. We weren't going to roll him out at the 2/3 when we have Jake. Makes no sense.
If we both agree he doesn't need to wear the label 'bust' then I'm done here. I never claimed he was worth what we paid him, I argued against him being a bust due to the nuance of Wagler coming out of nowhere and Mihailo not having a role mostly due to that. But lesson learned: you don't win every single investment, so no sense in being this angry you overpaid for a guy and another much cheaper guy ended up being way better and you rode him all of the way to a Final Four.
Does anyone else but me wonder why we are building a roster of really good guards with only a couple of young, unproven bigs under 6'10" returning next season and no bigs recruited at this point? With Tomi, Z, and likely Mirk departing next year, it seems practical to be seeking a couple elite 7 feet + bigs in order to compete.
That said, I am sure BU and staff know this and are pursuing a couple, and quite likely are aware of what might be available in Europe or elsewhere. But not a thing has been reported here by our insiders of which I am aware...or anyone. I would certainly like an Aday Mara clone or two...or somehow get Z and Tomi another season which would blow everyone's mind. Seems to me it was proven last year that a 7'+ athletic big is needed, and hopefully two. I like this season's roster, but next season will depend much on some guys we have not even heard of yet.
That said, I am sure BU and staff know this and are pursuing a couple, and quite likely are aware of what might be available in Europe or elsewhere. But not a thing has been reported here by our insiders of which I am aware...or anyone. I would certainly like an Aday Mara clone or two...or somehow get Z and Tomi another season which would blow everyone's mind. Seems to me it was proven last year that a 7'+ athletic big is needed, and hopefully two. I like this season's roster, but next season will depend much on some guys we have not even heard of yet.
Let's just leave it at "he wasn't worth what he paid him." We'll never agree on exactly why or whether he meets the criteria for a bust, so there's no reason to argue about it.
And it's funny you think I'm angry about this (I'm not), since I thought you were angry about people calling him a bust.
I, too, would love an Aday Mara waiting in the wings on our scout team.