Illini Basketball 2022-2023

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#377      

Mobi

M
Mobi
jrichisamazing said:
Matthew Mayer's 3pt % did drop last season. He went from 40% to 32%. If Goode is a lights out shooter and Mayer is streaky, maybe he takes Mayer's spot. But I'm guessing Mayer is better defensively, in transition, and on the glass.
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Mayer and Goode are different types of players IMO. Mayer can put the ball on the floor and score by himself but Goode is an excellent spot shooter. I trust coaches know how to utilize each of them effectively.
 
#380      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
BRucks said:
Can someone alleviate my concern about rebounding? I have heard that Rodgers is leading the team in rebounding in practice. I don't see him getting major minutes during the season, so who rebounds for us? Meyer averaged 5 rebs. last year, Hawk at 4.3 and Shannon only 2.6. Taken together, that barely covers Kofi's output. Last year we averaged 38.5 to our opponent's 33.
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I'd say, if Rodgers is the best rebounder on the team, he's going to get major minutes during the season. BU isn't going to trade defense for offense.
 
#382      

Mobi

M
Mobi
fuggles said:
I think rebounds per 40 minutes is a better stat because it normalizes to minutes played. Here are the numbers from last year. Include Kofi for reference.
Kofi 14
Coleman 9
RJ 8
Luke 8
TSJ 4
MM 9
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I am not overly concerned cuz agreeing with the post above, my observation told me CH, RJ, and Goode were all good rebounders. Now that we add Rodgers, Mayer, and Dain, I think we will be more than OK. The only unknown is pretty much Dain.
 
#383      

dbeverly26

dbeverly26
dbeverly26
Mobi said:
I am not overly concerned cuz agreeing with the post above, my observation told me CH, RJ, and Goode were all good rebounders. Now that we add Rodgers, Mayer, and Dain, I think we will be more than OK. The only unknown is pretty much Dain.
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I think your observation is correct, those three guys all finished with a higher rebound percentage than Giorgi did in any year he was here. I'm less worried about losing Kofi because we're losing Plummer and Trent along with him, and those two guys were on the court for 60+ minutes a game combined and really didn't rebound at all, as one might expect given their short stature. Add in Mayer, who rebounds as well as anyone Underwood has ever had here who doesn't hold a Jamaican passport, and I think we'll be fine. Maybe a bit worse off but I don't expect it to be a serious flaw.
 
#384      

Guest

Guest
Guest
illiniballknower said:
This is far from true, unless you measure the strength of an entire conference based off of one team. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/where-did-the-big-tens-march-magic-go/#:~:text=The Big Ten's margin is,flops is hard to discern.
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I went and looked at what he said exactly and it sounded to me as if he was just referencing last year's dismal performance by the Big Ten. I checked it because I was going to send him your article via email (ketaylor@syr.edu in case anyone wants to although that email address sounds like his admin. asst perhaps). Here is his quote:

“At the end of the day, you play for the [NCAA] tournament,” Boeheim said, via ESPN’s Myron Medcalf.
“You can say what you want about the Big Ten. They sucked in the tournament,” he said. “To me, that’s what they did. All of their wins were in their league. If you can’t play in the [NCAA] tournament, then you’re not good.”

I mean, I guess one could take it either way but to me it sounds as if he was just talking about last year. But I certainly could be wrong.

I did enjoy reading the your cited article (above). Good to know for future arguments, I mean, disagreements with people I know. Thanks for posting it.
 
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#385      

Bigtex

Bigtex
DFW
Bigtex
BRucks said:
Can someone alleviate my concern about rebounding? I have heard that Rodgers is leading the team in rebounding in practice. I don't see him getting major minutes during the season, so who rebounds for us? Meyer averaged 5 rebs. last year, Hawk at 4.3 and Shannon only 2.6. Taken together, that barely covers Kofi's output. Last year we averaged 38.5 to our opponent's 33.
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IMO - this team will average a larger number of rebounds vs opponents than last years team. Our size and athleticism will allow us to get rebounds we missed last year
 
#386      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
BRucks said:
Can someone alleviate my concern about rebounding? I have heard that Rodgers is leading the team in rebounding in practice. I don't see him getting major minutes during the season, so who rebounds for us? Meyer averaged 5 rebs. last year, Hawk at 4.3 and Shannon only 2.6. Taken together, that barely covers Kofi's output. Last year we averaged 38.5 to our opponent's 33.
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it’s all gonna work out.
 
#387      

Combo

C
Combo
Chieeeeffffff said:
I used to have the same mindset, but in the era of advanced analytics, you get direct insight into how lucky or unlucky your draw is. The last two years we have gotten absolutely hosed by drawing top ten Kenpom opponents in the second round (Houston was top 5). A single elimination tournament is a crapshoot after the first round. Let’s put it this way: in a hypothetical, single elimination NBA finals format, the Bulls never win their first title despite ripping off four straight after that initial home loss.

Of course, the optics and perception are different, and we all crave that deep tournament run. It will happen. The Nova/Kansas model is instructive here: dance every year, obtain high seed, and eventually (even with some inexplicable exits along the way), good stuff happens.
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Last year we got hosed by all the injuries. While Houston was indeed a tough 2nd round matchup, given how decimated our lineup was, we weren't going far regardless of draw.
 
#388      

Tbear90

T
Tbear90
jrichisamazing said:
Matthew Mayer's 3pt % did drop last season. He went from 40% to 32%. If Goode is a lights out shooter and Mayer is streaky, maybe he takes Mayer's spot. But I'm guessing Mayer is better defensively, in transition, and on the glass.
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Like the post, but Mayer dealt with a nagging injury all season long. My hope is he will be completely healthy. Our elite recovery areas and Fletch will keep him close to 💯 all season.
 
#391      

willillini

W
willillini
BRucks said:
Can someone alleviate my concern about rebounding? I have heard that Rodgers is leading the team in rebounding in practice. I don't see him getting major minutes during the season, so who rebounds for us? Meyer averaged 5 rebs. last year, Hawk at 4.3 and Shannon only 2.6. Taken together, that barely covers Kofi's output. Last year we averaged 38.5 to our opponent's 33.
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i cannot, this is our Achilles heal. I can only tell you that Underwood has to be stressing team/guard/5 man rebounding everyday. we have length
across he board and will have to storm the boards at both ends. good news: Contested three point shooting by the opponent turns into guard
rebounds, turns into fast break dunks. that's the recipe....
 
#392      

PtGd

P
PtGd
While awaiting the opening tip of the opening game, and also for the weather to get back up into the seventies, whichever comes first, I thought I'd take a few minutes and consider some comps of another Top Twenty-Five Preseason pick, which also happens to be on our schedule. This is what I found:

Much has been said regarding The Illini returning players, or lack thereof, and it is well noted. Largely I'm convinced, one of the reasons for the somewhat lower ranking than some might have expected, or hoped for.

But, from what I can tell, we are not alone. Take the UCLA Bruin's for example; their low number of returning players are almost equally concerning if you are a Bruin fan. In my opinion.

Unless I am mistaken, the information provided by UCLA Men's 21-22 stats and compared them with their 22-23 roster, they can be equally concerning such as ours.

They have just six returning players, only five with significant minutes, as follows:

6-7 Sr, Jaquez Jr., Jaime; Avg 30.5 mpg and 13.9 pts with 5.9 Reb
6-5 So G Jaylen Clark; 18.1/6.7/3.8
5-11 (R) Jr Tyger Campbell; 32.3/11.9/2.5 (141 A / 44 TO in 33 g)
6-10 (R)Sr C Myles Johnson; 18.1/3.6/5.4
6-4 Sr G David Singleton; 16.7/4.8/1.5
6-10 Jr C Kenneth Nwuba; 6.2/1.5/0.9

None of the above should strike fear into the cares of the die-hard Illini Loyalty fan. But also, the same as us, they have a plethora of incoming Freshmen. Editor's Note: for those living in South Boston, plethora means plenty. Sorry if I threw you off.

Their Roster page lists eight Freshmen, two of special note to Illini Recruiting fans, who surely will receive significant minutes, are:

Amari Bailey, 6-5 G; Chicago, and,
Mac Etienne, 6-10 C; listed as (R) F.

The other six listed newcomers I am not familiar with. Maybe the Loyalty experts reading this will provide that information before game time.

So with that said, my analysis is that I don't see a lot of difference in the expectations and potential of the two teams, and am not sure the voters got it right. Maybe our Fighting Illini should be rated #8 and the Bruins should be #23.

Either way, we shall soon find out.

- ILL -
 
#393      

Shane Walsh

Shane Walsh
aka "Captain Oblivious"
Cynthiana, Kentucky
Shane Walsh
PtGd said:
While awaiting the opening tip of the opening game, and also for the weather to get back up into the seventies, whichever comes first, I thought I'd take a few minutes and consider some comps of another Top Twenty-Five Preseason pick, which also happens to be on our schedule. This is what I found:

Much has been said regarding The Illini returning players, or lack thereof, and it is well noted. Largely I'm convinced, one of the reasons for the somewhat lower ranking than some might have expected, or hoped for.

But, from what I can tell, we are not alone. Take the UCLA Bruin's for example; their low number of returning players are almost equally concerning if you are a Bruin fan. In my opinion.

Unless I am mistaken, the information provided by UCLA Men's 21-22 stats and compared them with their 22-23 roster, they can be equally concerning such as ours.

They have just six returning players, only five with significant minutes, as follows:

6-7 Sr, Jaquez Jr., Jaime; Avg 30.5 mpg and 13.9 pts with 5.9 Reb
6-5 So G Jaylen Clark; 18.1/6.7/3.8
5-11 (R) Jr Tyger Campbell; 32.3/11.9/2.5 (141 A / 44 TO in 33 g)
6-10 (R)Sr C Myles Johnson; 18.1/3.6/5.4
6-4 Sr G David Singleton; 16.7/4.8/1.5
6-10 Jr C Kenneth Nwuba; 6.2/1.5/0.9

None of the above should strike fear into the cares of the die-hard Illini Loyalty fan. But also, the same as us, they have a plethora of incoming Freshmen. Editor's Note: for those living in South Boston, plethora means plenty. Sorry if I threw you off.

Their Roster page lists eight Freshmen, two of special note to Illini Recruiting fans, who surely will receive significant minutes, are:

Amari Bailey, 6-5 G; Chicago, and,
Mac Etienne, 6-10 C; listed as (R) F.

The other six listed newcomers I am not familiar with. Maybe the Loyalty experts reading this will provide that information before game time.

So with that said, my analysis is that I don't see a lot of difference in the expectations and potential of the two teams, and am not sure the voters got it right. Maybe our Fighting Illini should be rated #8 and the Bruins should be #23.

Either way, we shall soon find out.

- ILL -
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three amigos GIF
 
#394      

jjv0004

J
Greenville, SC
jjv0004
PtGd said:
While awaiting the opening tip of the opening game, and also for the weather to get back up into the seventies, whichever comes first, I thought I'd take a few minutes and consider some comps of another Top Twenty-Five Preseason pick, which also happens to be on our schedule. This is what I found:

Much has been said regarding The Illini returning players, or lack thereof, and it is well noted. Largely I'm convinced, one of the reasons for the somewhat lower ranking than some might have expected, or hoped for.

But, from what I can tell, we are not alone. Take the UCLA Bruin's for example; their low number of returning players are almost equally concerning if you are a Bruin fan. In my opinion.

Unless I am mistaken, the information provided by UCLA Men's 21-22 stats and compared them with their 22-23 roster, they can be equally concerning such as ours.

They have just six returning players, only five with significant minutes, as follows:

6-7 Sr, Jaquez Jr., Jaime; Avg 30.5 mpg and 13.9 pts with 5.9 Reb
6-5 So G Jaylen Clark; 18.1/6.7/3.8
5-11 (R) Jr Tyger Campbell; 32.3/11.9/2.5 (141 A / 44 TO in 33 g)
6-10 (R)Sr C Myles Johnson; 18.1/3.6/5.4
6-4 Sr G David Singleton; 16.7/4.8/1.5
6-10 Jr C Kenneth Nwuba; 6.2/1.5/0.9

None of the above should strike fear into the cares of the die-hard Illini Loyalty fan. But also, the same as us, they have a plethora of incoming Freshmen. Editor's Note: for those living in South Boston, plethora means plenty. Sorry if I threw you off.

Their Roster page lists eight Freshmen, two of special note to Illini Recruiting fans, who surely will receive significant minutes, are:

Amari Bailey, 6-5 G; Chicago, and,
Mac Etienne, 6-10 C; listed as (R) F.

The other six listed newcomers I am not familiar with. Maybe the Loyalty experts reading this will provide that information before game time.

So with that said, my analysis is that I don't see a lot of difference in the expectations and potential of the two teams, and am not sure the voters got it right. Maybe our Fighting Illini should be rated #8 and the Bruins should be #23.

Either way, we shall soon find out.

- ILL -
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I think Jaquez and Campbell should strike a little fear. Jaquez and score in so many ways and Campbell is a pretty tough point guard.
 
#396      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
PtGd said:
While awaiting the opening tip of the opening game, and also for the weather to get back up into the seventies, whichever comes first, I thought I'd take a few minutes and consider some comps of another Top Twenty-Five Preseason pick, which also happens to be on our schedule. This is what I found:

Much has been said regarding The Illini returning players, or lack thereof, and it is well noted. Largely I'm convinced, one of the reasons for the somewhat lower ranking than some might have expected, or hoped for.

But, from what I can tell, we are not alone. Take the UCLA Bruin's for example; their low number of returning players are almost equally concerning if you are a Bruin fan. In my opinion.

Unless I am mistaken, the information provided by UCLA Men's 21-22 stats and compared them with their 22-23 roster, they can be equally concerning such as ours.

They have just six returning players, only five with significant minutes, as follows:

6-7 Sr, Jaquez Jr., Jaime; Avg 30.5 mpg and 13.9 pts with 5.9 Reb
6-5 So G Jaylen Clark; 18.1/6.7/3.8
5-11 (R) Jr Tyger Campbell; 32.3/11.9/2.5 (141 A / 44 TO in 33 g)
6-10 (R)Sr C Myles Johnson; 18.1/3.6/5.4
6-4 Sr G David Singleton; 16.7/4.8/1.5
6-10 Jr C Kenneth Nwuba; 6.2/1.5/0.9

None of the above should strike fear into the cares of the die-hard Illini Loyalty fan. But also, the same as us, they have a plethora of incoming Freshmen. Editor's Note: for those living in South Boston, plethora means plenty. Sorry if I threw you off.

Their Roster page lists eight Freshmen, two of special note to Illini Recruiting fans, who surely will receive significant minutes, are:

Amari Bailey, 6-5 G; Chicago, and,
Mac Etienne, 6-10 C; listed as (R) F.

The other six listed newcomers I am not familiar with. Maybe the Loyalty experts reading this will provide that information before game time.

So with that said, my analysis is that I don't see a lot of difference in the expectations and potential of the two teams, and am not sure the voters got it right. Maybe our Fighting Illini should be rated #8 and the Bruins should be #23.

Either way, we shall soon find out.

- ILL -
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I haven’t really familiarized myself with all the top teams in country, but since UCLA is in Pac 12 I know a bit about them. Jaquez is a player. Probably leading candidate for P12 player — and possibly national POY. Campbell is a real nice PG. Stat/reputation wise, they’re likely considered better than any of our returners. I’d be very happy to have either on Illini. Clark’s season stats don’t tell whole story. He averaged 15 and 6 over a 6 or 7 game stretch late in the season starting when Campbell was hurt. He, Jaquez and Myles Johnson were all on P12 All-D team last year. Not really familiar with other listed listed.

As far as recruits, Bailey and Bona are both considered future lottery picks and potential one and dones. They also have another top 50 guy coming in as well as a RS-FR who was top 75 in 2021 class.

I love the possibilities of this Illini team, but I think our preseason ranking is fair and about where I’d put us. Like I said, not up on all teams by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d put UCLA as a likely preseason top 10. Good thing is, as you said, we’ll see what’s what soon enough.
 
#397      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
jason88cubs said:
I got tickets for Penn St, Rutgers and Alabama A&M so far, hoping to get tickets tomorrow for Wisconsin. Michigan+Indiana are games I am thinking of as well
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I got my Saturday pack in the mail today. Waiting to find out what I scored on the student break tickets.
 
#398      

grantlab

G
grantlab
EyeoftheIllini said:
I haven’t really familiarized myself with all the top teams in country, but since UCLA is in Pac 12 I know a bit about them. Jaquez is a player. Probably leading candidate for P12 player — and possibly national POY. Campbell is a real nice PG. Stat/reputation wise, they’re likely considered better than any of our returners. I’d be very happy to have either on Illini. Clark’s season stats don’t tell whole story. He averaged 15 and 6 over a 6 or 7 game stretch late in the season starting when Campbell was hurt. He, Jaquez and Myles Johnson were all on P12 All-D team last year. Not really familiar with other listed listed.

As far as recruits, Bailey and Bona are both considered future lottery picks and potential one and dones. They also have another top 50 guy coming in as well as a RS-FR who was top 75 in 2021 class.

I love the possibilities of this Illini team, but I think our preseason ranking is fair and about where I’d put us. Like I said, not up on all teams by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d put UCLA as a likely preseason top 10. Good thing is, as you said, we’ll see what’s what soon enough.
Click to expand...

Yeah I’m honestly hoping we can leave Vegas with 1 win. UCLA game has the making of a 4 or 5 point spread in favor of the Bruins unless preseason expectations are wildly off for either us or them. That’s gonna be a tough game, and assuming we’d be underdogs against Baylor or Virginia too. Great opportunity for an early win but also a real legitimate chance we leave Sin City 0-2 (just trying to establish my own reality check given how stacked that field is).
 
#399      

PtGd

P
PtGd
EyeoftheIllini said:
I haven’t really familiarized myself with all the top teams in country, but since UCLA is in Pac 12 I know a bit about them. Jaquez is a player. Probably leading candidate for P12 player — and possibly national POY. Campbell is a real nice PG. Stat/reputation wise, they’re likely considered better than any of our returners. I’d be very happy to have either on Illini. Clark’s season stats don’t tell whole story. He averaged 15 and 6 over a 6 or 7 game stretch late in the season starting when Campbell was hurt. He, Jaquez and Myles Johnson were all on P12 All-D team last year. Not really familiar with other listed listed.

As far as recruits, Bailey and Bona are both considered future lottery picks and potential one and dones. They also have another top 50 guy coming in as well as a RS-FR who was top 75 in 2021 class.

I love the possibilities of this Illini team, but I think our preseason ranking is fair and about where I’d put us. Like I said, not up on all teams by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d put UCLA as a likely preseason top 10. Good thing is, as you said, we’ll see what’s what soon enough.
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Thanks Eye for the additional scouting report.

But that's what I was afraid you'd say.
 
#400      

ptgrd23

ptgrd23
ptgrd23
Guest said:
I went and looked at what he said exactly and it sounded to me as if he was just referencing last year's dismal performance by the Big Ten. I checked it because I was going to send him your article via email (ketaylor@syr.edu in case anyone wants to although that email address sounds like his admin. asst perhaps). Here is his quote:

“At the end of the day, you play for the [NCAA] tournament,” Boeheim said, via ESPN’s Myron Medcalf.
“You can say what you want about the Big Ten. They sucked in the tournament,” he said. “To me, that’s what they did. All of their wins were in their league. If you can’t play in the [NCAA] tournament, then you’re not good.”

I mean, I guess one could take it either way but to me it sounds as if he was just talking about last year. But I certainly could be wrong.

I did enjoy reading the your cited article (above). Good to know for future arguments, I mean, disagreements with people I know. Thanks for posting it.
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1666130070738.png



B10 was good enough that it took Syracuse double OT at home to beat the 9th place in B10 Indiana Hoosiers. At least IU made the big dance. Syracuse was 16-17 finished in 9th place in ACC and did not make the NIT.
 
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