Illini Basketball 2016-2017
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I think the biggest question with Mav his first 2+ years was his drive. He seemed like a guy who was just content to ride along, get a degree, and be a good teammate. Once Fletcher came on board, the switch flipped and his competitive edge went way up. It's obvious how much more he cares about being a good basketball player now. He's finally in the process of realizing his potential.
I literally made a pure numbers comparison, acknowledged that stats don't tell the whole story, and included, "obviously, we'd all rather have Thomas Bryant." Are you seriously calling me out on that?!? It's literally numbers listed on a page that actually happened in real life: it's incontrovertible! No one--least of all me--EVER said, "Maverick Morgan is as good at basketball as Thomas Bryant." Come on :tsk:
So what was the point of listing all the stats?
IllinoisFan733
- Chicago
To show that Mav wasn't a bum the second half of the season, like some posters were alluding to.
1) For fun. 2) Showing that Mav was not a complete liability/non-factor like another poster was insinuating. Not intended to be the same thing as drawing direct talent-based equivalencies.
Edit: Sorry, that wasn't nice.
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Sure, and I agree. Although again, it was primarily just playing more minutes that caused these numbers to increase. His tempo-free stats were pretty muc the same. Still, it's good to see that he was able to maintain his efficiency with increase playing time.
Oh.
Welcome to the dog days of summer at IlllinoisLoyalty.com
Maverick Morgan was the perfect candidate for a redshirt season his freshman year to work on his body. Unfortunately, for him he didn't have that opportunity.
Many tall and slender 17-18 year old young men need time to develop their bodies to gain strength and explosiveness.
Maverick is going to be a great weapon for us this season. He has a good back to the basket post game, soft touch and can pick and pop out to 16 feet.
He and Thorrne will both get around 20mins/game (give or take) and we'll always have a fresh post player in the game.
Thorne and Finke will play well together and Mav and Leron will be a great pair too. Coach Groce will have the luxury of several types of lineups if all 4 of those guys can stay healthy.
Lots of reasons to be excited about this up and coming season and for the future of our Beloved program.
It's time to chase titles again!
Many tall and slender 17-18 year old young men need time to develop their bodies to gain strength and explosiveness.
Maverick is going to be a great weapon for us this season. He has a good back to the basket post game, soft touch and can pick and pop out to 16 feet.
He and Thorrne will both get around 20mins/game (give or take) and we'll always have a fresh post player in the game.
Thorne and Finke will play well together and Mav and Leron will be a great pair too. Coach Groce will have the luxury of several types of lineups if all 4 of those guys can stay healthy.
Lots of reasons to be excited about this up and coming season and for the future of our Beloved program.
It's time to chase titles again!
Assuming health, I feel like I have a relatively good idea of what to expect from most guys on the roster. One of the few exceptions in my mind is Tate. In offseasons past we've heard about how he's in the gym working on his game, improving his jumper, etc. This year it's been crickets since his reinstatement, except for the strength gains fletch posted yesterday. It's his senior season. With Tracy coming back, and TJL coming in, you'd think we'd have at least seen some fluff piece about how hard he's working, and that he's not just automatically conceding his minutes to those two. With tracy and tjl both coming off injuries, you'd think there'd be opportunity, especially early to grab a hold of some minutes, and make a statement. Weird that we haven't heard what he's up to, or maybe I just missed it.
Excellent observation. That does seem weird. Perhaps, he didn't make great gains from the strength program so Fletch didn't post them? Maybe Tate wants to avoid the media and attention after what he experienced? I have no idea. Hopefully, Jaylon realizes that he has only one more season to play and the team needs him to step up and produce. I believe he has the talent to succeed at this level if he developed his three point shot. If he was a threat to shoot and score from the outside, his game would be above average for a BIG PG. If he were to practice shooting like Malcom, his shot would improve enough to be a threat from the outside which would open up the offense for others and allow him to penetrate more frequently where he is effective at drawing and dishing.
Have we heard how anyone is doing skill-wise? We've heard that Abrams is back, Hill played well at the Nike camp, and Kipper enjoys challenging himself against Hill. But I think that's really it.
Tate will be more effective with Thorne on the floor. Thorne can carve out space, catch the ball, and finish. Unbelievably, Mav might also fall into this category now. Hill, Kipper, DJW, and AJ should give us more explosiveness and athleticism which will also benefit Tate. Plus, I think he's probably going to be our best, or at least the most proven, defender at the PG spot to start the season.
Tate is what he is. By the end of last season it looked like Groce preferred Lewis and Hill over Tate. Any minutes Abrams and Lucas can't play, I expect Hill to fill in.
Groce and Co.'s ability to develop talent has been nothing short of extraordinary as evidenced by Hill and Mav. I would have never imagined Mav being a solid player after watching him for 2 years and now he's more than capable as Thorne's backup. Hill was a 3 star recruit and after 4 years under Groce he'll be contending for POY in the B10. The former coach couldn't make Leonard better after 2 years. Imagine what Groce can do with Tilmon after 2 years!
Hill was the #70 recruit in the country, but still, his development has been amazing and some of the credit has to go to the staff.
Yep, you can always hope for a Quinn Richardson or Chris Gandy type surprise senior season, but we pretty much know what we're getting from Tate at this point.
If Tate is playing much at all that is a problem for the team. It means Abrams and Lucas are not recovered or had another injury. The problem with Tate is it literally creates a 5v4 situation on offense. You cannot have a guy the other team does not need to cover. I don't think Tate will drastically improve his shooting at this point.
As a fan of Tate, this is pretty much how I feel too. Kinda get the impression Lucas will be gunning for Tate's minutes and vice-a-versa. Can't be 100% sure but Lucas will be at least equally offensively potent and there may not be as big a gap defensively between the two as some posters seem to think.
With the potential depth on the wing, what are the chances Malcolm is the back up point guard again if Tate/Lewis arent getting it done and 2-3 of JCL/AJ/KN/DJW are?
Offensively there's a prime scorer (who must be accounted for with man and help d) and reasonable distributor at the point, and shooter/slasher options on the wing. Defensively, you could have a relatively tall/long line up which could switch everything outside in M2M and/or play a pretty intimidating zone.
Offensively there's a prime scorer (who must be accounted for with man and help d) and reasonable distributor at the point, and shooter/slasher options on the wing. Defensively, you could have a relatively tall/long line up which could switch everything outside in M2M and/or play a pretty intimidating zone.
Sorry to break it to you but Lewis graduated and Nunn was dismissed from the team a while back....
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
There's a fun game during the recruiting waiting period between the end of contact periods and the commitment season: Which Illini have made the greatest single-season improvements? Chris Gandy is on that list. Kevin Turner? Warren Carter?
KT for sure
blackdog
- Champaign
Did we seriously go back in time a year here?
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