wILL-INI
- Charlotte, NC
Got me real excited to see how he progresses next year.
Illini Basketball 2016-2017
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Got me real excited to see how he progresses next year.
Agreed. I've always been impressed by his workouts, hopefully it translates to success on the court sooner than later.
According to the recent Malcolm Hill interview, it sounds like he did as well. I would bet that Finke was around quite a bit since he is from Champaign.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Think the game is going to really slow down for AJ this season and his results will vastly improve accordingly.
We need AJ's 3 pt. shooting to improve dramatically. The loss of Nunn's 75 three's and almost 40% is big. I thought in videos I saw that AJ was a better shooter than JCL, but obviously the results didn't indicate such. Defensively, AJ needs to improve, too.
Luckily the jump in skills improvement is usually greatest from freshman to sophomore season. Hopefully we have 5 guys making that jump
Barring injuries, there will be limited PT at 2-3. With Thorne/Black coming back, and Mav having improved, Hill will not likely see much time at the 4 this year (a good thing). At the same time, that pushes many committed minutes at 2-3 with Hill and JCL getting major minutes. So there will be fierce competition for backup minutes between Kipper, DJW, and AJ at 2-3. There will definitely be winners and losers in that group.
Eh, he shot 34% on the season, which is pretty good for most freshmen. JCL is not your typical case.
Where he need dramatic improvement is on defense so the coaches can feel comfortable leaving him out there.
A little boost in AJ's defense would really go a long way for him.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Maybe it's the kool-aid, but I think we'll see a much improved AJ this season.
I agree. I thought JCL and AJ would have been reversed last year going in. But I guess thats why JCL was rated so much higher. Ratings proved correct on that one. I still feel AJ will be a big time scorer at some point.
I'm curious to why people thought this. JCL had a higher shooting percentage from the 3 in high school and was just as lethal off the dribble or pass. Plus JCL played much better competition.
TownieMatt
CU Expat
- Chicago
Watching that video, it strikes me how low AJs shot motion starts. He seems to bring the ball up from about knee level when shooting, which really lengthens the time it takes him to get a shot off. I noticed that last year as well. He seemed to only be able to get his shot off when he had plenty of time and space.
Didn't both JCL and AJ shoot around 45-50% from 3 in HS. Here's a 3pt. contest JCL participated in @ LaLu. I will find the one for AJ too. Personally, I think AJ was the better of the two in HS, but in their Freshman year it wasn't even close.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7AagiSHtsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7AagiSHtsc
Here's the AJ video shooting the 3's for the Beal drill. Personally, I think just looking at videos that AJ is the better shooter.
Also, AJ's shooting from the college 3 pt line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKEMSFWyrU4
AJ is a better defender than JCL, but JCL is just a dead eye shooter.
Not last season. AJ had trouble moving his feet and resorted to using his hands a lot. JCL was lost early in the season, but I think he was pretty good by the end. He has quick feet and forced quite a few steals with his active hands.
I think a lot of it had to do with his dad posting on here. It gave us an inside look at his hard work.
This is key right here. The kid looks great in workout, but on the floor he looked flustered and out-of-sorts. The game slowing down will allow his hard work to shine.
I agree. I still believe that AJ is going to be a very effective 4 year player for us. I liked him in high school and I still like him.
I thought AJ and JCL looked equally lost on D most of the season but JCL made up for it with his active hands getting steals, and obviously he was more college ready offensively, probably due to playing a higher level of competition in prep school. AJ will be just fine going forward IMO, and I really look forward to seeing his progress on the court.
With injuries and suspensions I'd say we all agree with the starting lineup to start the season: Abrams, JCL, Hill, Finke, Thorne
The better discussion is by mid season/big ten play what is our starting lineup and main contributors off the bench:
Abrams
JCL
Hill
Black
Thorne
Top 3 off of Bench: Lucas, Finke, DJW
Next off Bench: Morgan, Kipper, Jordan, Tate
The better discussion is by mid season/big ten play what is our starting lineup and main contributors off the bench:
Abrams
JCL
Hill
Black
Thorne
Top 3 off of Bench: Lucas, Finke, DJW
Next off Bench: Morgan, Kipper, Jordan, Tate
I think match ups might play some in how the bench is played...do we need to play big or do we play small?
We love playing all these scenarios so I'll play along:
Three Point threats:
Abrams
Jordan
JCL
Hill
Finke
Rebounding:
Abrams
Hill
Jordan
Black
Thorne
Play big:
Hill
JCL
DJW/Black
Finke
Thorne
The Future
Lucas
JCL
DJW
Black
Finke
Old Farts
Abrams/Tate
Austin
Hill
Morgan
Thorne
And on and on and on
Black will never play the 3...
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