Was just checking out how the big 3 transfers had been doing of late and saw that stat line. Man I feel for the kid. Crazy that about 1.5 years ago a large majority of Illini fans would have put the pecking order of that class as RJ on top followed by Goode and then Podz. Ya just never know.
Former Illini in College Hoops
I saw RJ play a few minutes and he looks like he regressed. Georgia was a poor fit IMHO.
Skyy looks better, seems to have matured and us healthy. Was getting teammates involved and passing.
Skyy looks better, seems to have matured and us healthy. Was getting teammates involved and passing.
blackdog
- Champaign
Skyy Clark: 14.4 ppg, 38% fg, 26% 3pt, 64% ft, 2.6/2.8 A/TOs. Pure volume green light numbers on a bad team.
Epps has been better but not great either. 16.8 ppg, 43 %fg, 38% 3pt, 93% ft, 5.0/4.4 A/TOs.
In the games I’ve seen parts of, I thought Epps has played pretty well. I’ve still not seen much from Skyy to indicate why he was rated so highly coming out of HS. I know he was injured and he is possibly still working his way to being fully back. I hope he gets back to where he was, but on the floor I’ve never seen more than a fine player.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Haven't yet watched any of the former guys, but based upon these stats for Epps:
- 17 ppg and 5 Assists per game are both outstanding
- 38% from 3-point range (equivalent to 57% from 2-pt range) is approaching ELITE
- 93% FT is absolutely ELITE
- 4.4 turnovers per game would be his one truly crappy stat
Like Podz, a really good player who left the program.
Podz was drafted #19 overall. Epps is a volume minutes/shots guy on a bad college team (G'town is 3-2 and lost at home to Holy Cross). Same as Clark. Louisville is, well, not good.
Epps is not a PG, he's a scorer. Now if he wants to make the NBA, he better learn how to play PG, but we struggled last year too when he was forced to play PG.
I find the narrative “yeah but Epps is on a bad team” a little annoying (too strong of a word but can’t think of a better one). I don’t want to rehash his time here or why he left, but once he decided to leave he looked for the best spot for him. Taking NIL out of the equation since I don’t know what he’s getting nor if he had better offers, he chose a school in a good conference with a new coach (most I’ve heard kids like playing for Cooley) who told him we’re going to build something so come be a part of that and you’ll have the ball in your hands. Probably similar to the same pitch Ayo got, and no I’m not saying he’s as good or will be as good as Ayo. But as a guard that has to be enticing. And G’town currently has the 16th ranked 2024 class with two top 75 kids and a top 175 kid — and none are a PG. so Cooley seems to be holding up his side of the bargain.
Lieb hasn't really done much but one thing we sure could use his is free throw shooting. All eight of his points were from the line vs Wright St. He's connected on 13/16 for the year.
Yet epps has a higher TS% than Podz did ly (62 vs 60).
Podz scored 22 on 16 SPG per sports ref and epps as of today is at 19.7 on 13.8....epps is actually higher PPS
Maybe I'm mistaken, but normally we refer to guys as "volume guys" when they are low efficiency chuckers and epps isn't that IMO so far this year. But epps is at top tier levels on TS% for a guard (as was podz). Whether or not he'l keep this up is another story. But Season to date, I'd say thats great for a soph without adding asterisks.
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Yeah, I had posted that prior to him padding stats against another 300ish ranked cupcake they nearly lost to again.
Yesterday's performance doesn't really change my assessment. I do not think he is anywhere near as good of a player as Podziemski.
I don't think he's on Podz level either. Overall point is I don't see how you look at his % and points even before the last game and say its just volume. His TS is damn good. I could buy that narrative for skyy, but not for epps so far.
Bigtex
- DFW
Let’s stop the Epps and podz comparison
Besides leaving after 1 year at Illinois the comparison ends
Podz didn’t play enough went to a program where he would see more minutes and thrived.
Epps played plenty. Wanted more NIL $$$ but Illinois wasn’t willing to pay what he wanted. Sure seems like there was some negative stuff between coach and Epps maybe contributing to him leaving.
There's no narrative. Volume refers to shot attempts & usage. The number is the same whether you convert 10% or 90%. Makes a huge difference that he's on a bad team and can put up 20 shots vs. playing on a decent team with other players that also demand shots/usage and shooting 10 shots. Is that a narrative or just math?
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In 6 games Epps has put up 83 shots(13.8 shots per game) and even had 2 games where he put up less than 10 shots, Shannon has put up 75(12.5) and has put up more than 10 shots 4 times and has never shot less than 10 per game, also in 5 games against near 300 ranked teams via kenpom. So is Shannon on a bad team as well? It's only 8 shots fewer. Epps has only put up over 20 shots once, in a game where he was 11-22 from the field. Should he have just stopped shooting even though he was on fire? Epps is shooting 45% from the field and 45% from three so clearly he's making shots. But I guess his coach needs to tell him to stop shooting.
There's some math for ya pal
Obviously, TSJ is not on a bad team. we went toe to toe with Marquette and beat Kansas. Obviously, Epps is. They lost at home to Holy Cross and almost lost to Jackson State, needed OT to beat American University.
This is simple, you guys. Look at Max Abmas. He was averaging 25ppg at ORU, and transferred to Texas where he has more guys there to share the basketball with. Guess what? He's averaging like 13 ppg because the shot attempts and usage are way down.
It's a very easy, simple thing to grasp. I've said nothing about Epps shooting percentages as that has absolutely zero to do with the original discussion/point. I dont understand the need to defend an ex-player who isn't even being attacked. All I said was he scores more points if he shoots more. Like... duh?
Retro62
- North Bethesda, Maryland
Honestly, whatever good Epps and Clark do for their teams, it doesn't trump the fact that they made our team worse. And, yes, I know Epps did some great things at times, but not enough to make his attitude acceptable.
It's fun to see what former players are up to, but I don't lament their loss, especially those two.
Even though he's playing poorly, I like RJ, and his transfer is obviously not doing him any good...so far. Of course, we spent two years waiting for the light to go on, so who's to say he would have been better off staying? But, unlike the former two, who it seems were a detriment to team morale, I never heard that RJ was a problem. Those in the know may have a different take.
It's fun to see what former players are up to, but I don't lament their loss, especially those two.
Even though he's playing poorly, I like RJ, and his transfer is obviously not doing him any good...so far. Of course, we spent two years waiting for the light to go on, so who's to say he would have been better off staying? But, unlike the former two, who it seems were a detriment to team morale, I never heard that RJ was a problem. Those in the know may have a different take.
Talent-wise, Epps was a huge loss. Anyone telling you differently is lying to themselves. It sounds like he wants to be the guy, even if it is on a bad team. He will do well and have crazy numbers some games, but he didn't want to be coached the way Underwood coaches. So, he's gone.
He literally refused to come back into a game and took himself out of games. His talent wasn't worth that kind of behavior and detriment to the team's culture. I wish him luck.
He literally refused to come back into a game and took himself out of games. His talent wasn't worth that kind of behavior and detriment to the team's culture. I wish him luck.
Epps shot well most of the first part of the season, then poorly most of the last part. I don't remember where the change came. He had shown that he was capable, so good games or a good season won't be a surprise.
Something wasn't working for him mentally last season, and he was visibly unhappy. Team chemistry? Coaching style? Bad professors? Girl problem? Bullying? Who knows, but I hope that he has a good life.
Something wasn't working for him mentally last season, and he was visibly unhappy. Team chemistry? Coaching style? Bad professors? Girl problem? Bullying? Who knows, but I hope that he has a good life.
Unlike Podz, I think we all knew we were losing a talented scorer when Epps transferred. It sucks, but it is what it is.
Also, for everyone looking at the numbers, I had done the same before his big game, and his efficiency was pretty bad without that game. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out as sample size gets bigger and competition gets better.
Also, for everyone looking at the numbers, I had done the same before his big game, and his efficiency was pretty bad without that game. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out as sample size gets bigger and competition gets better.
Epps is a bucket, but looking strictly at the numbers, you miss his biggest weakness. (and a big part of his issues with coaches at Illinois) He still can't guard anyone.
Epps didn't make our team worse, we certainly should wish he was still here in a perfect world. I wouldn't compare it to Skyy, Epps was a much bigger loss. He would be a Starter for sure, but he also wouldn't be playing hero ball and needing to shoot 59 % on high volume three attempts (that's not sustainable, fyi) to scrape out wins against KP 285 and 278. The D1 ecosystem is very large, there's lots of room for big scorers on lesser teams to enjoy some success doing that. It'll be interesting to see how his efficiency looks when he's playing in conference competition and not the drudges of D1. While I expect him to still be a very good college player, his decisionmaking makes me question if he will reach the ceiling he could have had.
Changing the subject a bit… can it pretty much be assumed now that neither Adam Miller nor Andre Curbelo will be cleared to play this year?
THANK YOU.
I forgot all about Miller.