Illini Basketball 2022-2023

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#201      
When I contemplate scoring leaders it really emphasizes the complete change in the team. Shannon and Mayer are the experienced players but not leading scorers for their teams nor were Hawk or RJ. Dain is an obviously talented offensive player but has no college experience. Skyy and Jaden have been scorers in HS but no college experience either. Trying to guess the scoring averages is tougher than guessing minutes for me.
I'm guessing your minutes at zero! :giggle:
 
#202      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Lol. Wow. Agree with the competition factor. But there is a problem with the antecedent in this preceding dialogue. Who are we talking about ... Ty or Sincere ? Ty is the perfect tempo changer to roll off the bench. Sincere is the official designated sleeper that nobody should "sleep" on. It's RJ's position to lose, and I'll take the early bet on RJ to start and keep it.

Rodgers is who I was referring to. The point was that he's going to be bringing it, big time. If someone falters, Underwood's gonna make a change.
 
#203      

Ignatius Shang

5th year PhD, school of Information Sciences
Champaign, IL
When I contemplate scoring leaders it really emphasizes the complete change in the team. Shannon and Mayer are the experienced players but not leading scorers for their teams nor were Hawk or RJ. Dain is an obviously talented offensive player but has no college experience. Skyy and Jaden have been scorers in HS but no college experience either. Trying to guess the scoring averages is tougher than guessing minutes for me.
My guess is RJ. Shannon, Mayer, and Hawk are unlikely to change their rules, but RJ could have many more chances next year.
 
#204      

DB11Headband

Chicago Burbs
When I contemplate scoring leaders it really emphasizes the complete change in the team. Shannon and Mayer are the experienced players but not leading scorers for their teams nor were Hawk or RJ. Dain is an obviously talented offensive player but has no college experience. Skyy and Jaden have been scorers in HS but no college experience either. Trying to guess the scoring averages is tougher than guessing minutes for me.
RJ
Skyy
TSJ
 
#205      
Rodgers is who I was referring to. The point was that he's going to be bringing it, big time. If someone falters, Underwood's gonna make a change.
Not to get into a silly linguistic battle, but I don't even see it as a case of faltering.

There are two guys on the team, Shannon and Mayer that can reach up and touch their ceiling as a player right now. All the rest are far below their ceiling. Any of them could get a lot closer this summer, fall, and over the season. Guys who improve by 10% from now through January 1 will likely end up losing time to the couple of guys who make 50% jumps.
 
#206      
The starting five is DD,CH,TSJ,RJ
and SK. Mayer is not starting in front of CH!!
 
#209      
The starting five is DD,CH,TSJ,RJ
and SK. Mayer is not starting in front of CH!!
I would bet on Hawkins, Mayer, RJ, TSJ, and Skyy. I think Mayer is as close as you can get to a lock to start.

And I doubt we start both Dain and Hawkins together, unless we add another quality Big. They might play together a bit, but they'll primarily share time at the 5. The game today is all about quickness, ball movement, and shooting and I think that's what BU wants.

Golden State's tallest starter is 6'7.
 
#211      
Dain is not coming off the bench!!! He's the only true post player that we have and nobody on this team has his skill set. If Mayer supplants anyone it will be RJ. But the fact of the matter is that this team is so deep that this team will be coming at teams in waves. I do not know why everyone keeps sleeping on Sencire ?? By January this Illinois team will be a monster !!
 
#212      
Intensity alert: (am assuming) Rodgers lands in CU this weekend. He's going to push RJ hard.

Heard a very positive report on Harris. Don't sleep on him.
I’m big time high on Epps he oozes with game hope Harris will keep up. Bonus
 
#214      
I would bet on Hawkins, Mayer, RJ, TSJ, and Skyy. I think Mayer is as close as you can get to a lock to start.

And I doubt we start both Dain and Hawkins together, unless we add another quality Big. They might play together a bit, but they'll primarily share time at the 5. The game today is all about quickness, ball movement, and shooting and I think that's what BU wants.

Golden State's tallest starter is 6'7.
But the beautiful thing about CH,DD and Mayer is that they all bring something different to the game,once they learn how to play together it will be a thing of beauty to watch. And once this team comes together it will be like letting a pack of wolves loose on a herd of sheep
 
#215      
Dain is not coming off the bench!!! He's the only true post player that we have and nobody on this team has his skill set. If Mayer supplants anyone it will be RJ. But the fact of the matter is that this team is so deep that this team will be coming at teams in waves. I do not know why everyone keeps sleeping on Sencire ?? By January this Illinois team will be a monster !!
As of now, we only have 11 scholarship players. Last year, we started with 14, and suffered from depth issues for many stretches of the season. Every year, we hear how deep we're going to be and it rarely happens. Players get hurt (although last year was hopefully an aberration), players aren't as good as expected (especially FR who haven't acclimated to a higher level of play). And in addition, most coaches typically go about 8 deep (reduced to 6 deep in the Tournament).

I like the team the staff has put together, but as usual, people are getting way ahead of themselves.
 
#216      
I would bet on Hawkins, Mayer, RJ, TSJ, and Skyy. I think Mayer is as close as you can get to a lock to start.

And I doubt we start both Dain and Hawkins together, unless we add another quality Big. They might play together a bit, but they'll primarily share time at the 5. The game today is all about quickness, ball movement, and shooting and I think that's what BU wants.

Golden State's tallest starter is 6'7.

Yeah, agreed. It's Skyy, the 3 best wings (TSJ, RJ, Mayer), and the best "big" for the particular opponent (take your pick on Coleman or Dain).
 
#218      

sacraig

The desert
Nance commits to NC.
Pokemon Hello GIF
 
#219      
All Lieb will have to do is defend while he is in, there is enough offensive firepower elsewhere. Unlike Dámonte, if they want to cheat off of him while Lieb is on offense, he's 7' tall and 5' from the bucket.
Lieb has some offensive skills for his size!
 
#220      
When I contemplate scoring leaders it really emphasizes the complete change in the team. Shannon and Mayer are the experienced players but not leading scorers for their teams nor were Hawk or RJ. Dain is an obviously talented offensive player but has no college experience. Skyy and Jaden have been scorers in HS but no college experience either. Trying to guess the scoring averages is tougher than guessing minutes for me.
Underwood likes to talk about how it's quite an adjustment once a player goes from being a good contributor to the primary focus of the opponent's game plan. It's doubtful any of the guys have been through that at the college level - even Mayer and TSJ. TSJ had some really nice games but was basically tied for 2nd on the team on scoring last year with about 4 other guys. Mayer hasn't averaged double digits yet for a season and was surrounded by studs.

It's going to be interesting who steps up as the primary scorer. To me it's the biggest question on the team. I would love to see RJ be able to be that guy, because if TSJ and Mayer are our 2nd and 3rd scorers, that's a great sign. But as others have mentioned, RJ will definitely have to earn it. He'll be going up against defenders like TSJ and Rodgers in practice so he should be well prepared for the season if he can pass those tests. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
 
#221      
Dain is not coming off the bench!!! He's the only true post player that we have and nobody on this team has his skill set. If Mayer supplants anyone it will be RJ. But the fact of the matter is that this team is so deep that this team will be coming at teams in waves. I do not know why everyone keeps sleeping on Sencire ?? By January this Illinois team will be a monster !!
I tend to agree about Dain as well. He's 270 but appears to move like someone 230, has a 7'7" wingspan, and got to battle with Kofi in practice for a semester. As long as can stay out of foul trouble it's hard to believe he won't get a lot of pt. I know he barely played at all at Baylor, but Fletch seems to have done an amazing job (again) with him and he seems like a totally different player now.
 
#223      
Dain is not coming off the bench!!! He's the only true post player that we have and nobody on this team has his skill set. If Mayer supplants anyone it will be RJ. But the fact of the matter is that this team is so deep that this team will be coming at teams in waves. I do not know why everyone keeps sleeping on Sencire ?? By January this Illinois team will be a monster !!
I think of all the summer forecasting over the years and this boards "not realizing what we had" in various players...thinking of incoming Trent...or Giorgi...or even Kofi a little (not many forecasted 2 year all american)..

that said I am bullish on Harris too..
 
#225      
Lieb has some offensive skills for his size!
Was just merely stating on what he would need to do, to help the folks with their hair on fire. I have all of the confidence in this team and its players.

It's a new day in college basketball. If f this team has the depth to play its "top guys" way fewer minutes and still throw out the proverbial beat down, that would impact winning way more games in the tournament. These kids all wanna be pros, well treat them like so. If a kid cant understand his talent will be needed for the long term goal of a National Championship in late March, but not necessarily for a short term goal of a League Championship, they don't have a pro mindset. Injuries and sickness plagued the fighting Illini basketball programs last year and both have put together way more resilient teams this year.

I was going to go back and edit the comment about Lieb after I posted it, but if you comment in a different thread, you apparently cant go back and edit the previous thread.
 
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