Illini Basketball 2022-2023

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#402      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
What? No. 8-15 footer for 70%+. Um…no. That’s exactly what BU does not want him doing. Or anyone.
First of all, very few would convert to the 70%+ you speak to. If they could….shoot it all day every day. That’s like hitting 3’s at a 50% clip. But no one shoots 8-15 footers at that rate.
CoHawk is currently rigid on offense…as are a few others. They haven’t found their rhythm on the offensive if they aren’t in transition. At least not yet.
Hell, the problem in the Virginia game was all of the forced 8-15 footers that were turn around fadeways….terrible, forced shots.
Check my history….I love the O&B. Rarely do I post anything “negative”. But the reality is there is at times very little flow to the offense when not in transition AT THIS STAGE OF THE SEASON.
It will come no doubt, but our success this season will likely be based on cutting, passing, open looks from three, and driving to the basket for relatively easy finishes. Right now we just aren’t in synch like we can (will) be.
Just my perspective.
BU has said numerous times that cohawk is our trigger on offense.....does many things well and his D is top notch.....Do I wish he was a 18 ppg and 10 rpg player.....h*ll yes I do................But i think cohawk will have a good nba career by emphasizing what BU tells him to do......

JMHO
 
#403      
I’m guessing we will see another year of Coleman next year! Don’t see him anywhere near the NBA yet. Scoring struggles concern me, as do the six turnovers last night.
 
#406      
Along those lines, Coleman checks in today at #29 in Sam Vencenie's NBA Draft big board.

TSJ at #20 ("Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. is the guy I’ve gotten the most positive notices about from scouts and college coaches in regard to improvement this season").

Can’t like that last statement enough. No matter what your level coming in, this staff will make you better. What a great brand to have for recruiting.
 
#407      
Few things that give Dain great upside

1. Still not in great shape. If he gets in shape like Kofi he will be able to play 35 mpg and run the fast break
2. Has good handles for big man - can take the ball 12 feet from hoop and drive to basket or pull up for jumper
3. Good shot blocking instincts and timing. Get in shape to get another 12" of vertical and he could become elite shot blocker
4. Free throw shooting is rock bottom - can only and must improve
5. Can't tell yet but if he can hit the free throw line jumper and even lob in an occasional three pointer it will open up the drive
6. Nice footwork and Akeem like fadeway. Truly the dancing bear.

Not the Hulk strength size of Kofi or refined footwork but still could become an all time great Illini big. Get to work Geoff!
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His footwork is soooooo much better than Kofi it’s not even close
 
#412      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
I agree with WillyG42 and Mr. Roberts in both your views aboot dain over Kofi, but to me , Dain is soooo much quicker in his body movements......

Dain's footwork is faster , his pass outs are faster .....It's his first step qick movements of his whole body that's much more impressive that Kofi......

I will forever appreciate what Kofi has done for the Illini program .......I really do...........Dain , IMHO , brings a more versatile skill level than Kofi....

Kofi was the sledgehammer , ground and pound , whereas Dain is more of a dancer , using finesse and quickness to score in more ways than Kofi....

Dain has score via dunks , offensive rebound tip in's , reverse layups , 8 foot shots , falling away jumpers and left or right hook shots....

I have been more surprised by Dain than anyone else on the squad........BU and the AC's all talked about Dain's skill level and now I really believe it wasn't coachspeak but a robust assessment of how good he really is..........I hope he continues to improve from his injuries as he is classified as a redshirt freshman , so at least a couple more years after this year to really shine..........

JMHO
 
#414      

lstewart53x3

Scottsdale, Arizona
B1G KenPom rankings:

Purdue: 8
Indiana: 11
Ohio St: 18
Iowa: 22
Illinois: 23
Maryland: 25
Michigan St: 26
Penn St: 32
Rutgers: 35
Wisconsin: 38
Northwestern: 48
Michigan: 55
Nebraska: 119
Minnesota: 155

6 teams in the top 25.
10 teams in the top 38
12 teams in the top 55.

Tough season ahead.
 
#416      
B1G KenPom rankings:

Purdue: 8
Indiana: 11
Ohio St: 18
Iowa: 22
Illinois: 23
Maryland: 25
Michigan St: 26
Penn St: 32
Rutgers: 35
Wisconsin: 38
Northwestern: 48
Michigan: 55
Nebraska: 119
Minnesota: 155

6 teams in the top 25.
10 teams in the top 38
12 teams in the top 55.

Tough season ahead.
Iowa got beat by 13 points tby cu who is unranked, these ratings are a joke, he probably thinks kentucky, duke and n. Carolina and gonzaga are still top 10.
 
#418      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

Jeff Gordon
Ah, what might have been . . .
SLU is aiming high this season, so Sunday’s game at Southeastern Conference power Auburn gave the Billikens another opportunity to perform on a bigger stage.
And the Billikens played well enough to pull the upset, too, climb into the Top 25, and gain an at-large berth credential for the NCAA Tournament. They carried a 58-53 lead into the closing stretch of the game.
“In the last four, five minutes of the game St. Louis had all the advantages in the sense that that’s an experienced team,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “That group closed out games all last year.”
But SLU’s shocking failure on the free throw line late in the game and their inability to convert shots at the rim earlier in the game doomed them to a 65-60 loss.
SLU coach Travis Ford has suffered some painful losses during his tenure in Midtown, but this missed opportunity ranks way, way, way up there. Their failure to close out this victory will reduce the Billikens’ margin for error as they go forward.

The Illini had a slow week ahead of their first Big Ten games of the season. They put in a week of practice, then ran through Lindenwood 92-59 Friday.
Things get real for Illinois again this week with a home game against Syracuse Tuesday and a massive road challenge at Maryland Friday.

Illinois (5-1): Coach Brad Underwood needs Coleman Hawkins to settle into his role as a “stretch five” facing the basket. The big fella had a rough game against overmatched Lindenwood Friday while turning the ball over six times and failing to score in 22 minutes. On the plus side, rangy sophomore wing player RJ Melendez continued his development with 17 points and four rebounds. That performance came after Underwood brought him into to chat about his lackluster earlier performances. Melendez and freshmen guards Skyy Clark, Jayden Epps and Sencire Harris will shoulder a ton of responsibility as Illinois tries to earn an excellent NCAA Tournament seed this season.
 
#419      
And I think we're gonna rip the BIG, FWLIW.

The clash of styles is going to be really interesting, that's for sure. The turnovers scare me. This year, most of the conference is playing slow, limiting turnovers, playing good fundamental defense, and not creating turnovers.

We are the exact opposite of that.

Not saying that's a bad thing. We are just different. Our games look like chaos sometimes. I have now watched every team in the conference, except Minnesota, and I can confidently say we have the most talent top to bottom. But there are a lot of teams this year that are just very solid, well coached, and their players know their roles and execute.

I could see our versatility, depth, length, and athleticism being too much and we win the B1G title again. But I could also see us getting stuck in a lot of half court games, and losing a lot of close games because we can't value our possessions, when possessions are limited.

I guess what I'm trying to say is there could be a very small difference between going 16-4 vs 12-8.
 
#420      
Well if you're going to assess his draft projections mid-season you would use another mid-season projection not an end of season one.
But the point is that these mid-season projections are meant to show what NBA front offices think of players right now, not an attempt to predict who will continue to perform and who will fall off. His mid-season projections last year may well have been spot-on for how NBA FOs were thinking of those players in November 2021, but obviously a lot of basketball got played between then and the Draft.
 
#424      

InDaAZ

Eugene, Oregon
BU has said numerous times that cohawk is our trigger on offense.....does many things well and his D is top notch.....Do I wish he was a 18 ppg and 10 rpg player.....h*ll yes I do................But i think cohawk will have a good nba career by emphasizing what BU tells him to do......

JMHO
My semi-crazy take: If I see that Coleman in the set offense is touching the ball twice as many times as his teammates - and in multiple spots on the floor - I’m going to mentally divide his total turnovers in half. Therefore, I decree he had 3 turns last game - a respectable number. 😊
Rooster Teeth Laughing GIF by Achievement Hunter

Seriously, though, BU has given him such an interesting role in their offense this year (the “trigger”). I saw some complaining about his ’zinger’ passes from the top of the key. But watch what those quick hitters do to the defense - they keep the defenders constant moving and on their heals. Whether or not they create breakdowns and scoring opportunities (they do), at the very least it wears opponents down as they chase the ball all around (combined with our style of defense, which also wears people down).

The other thing to consider if you are concerned about teammates being able to handle those rocket passes is that this is what they do in practice every day. If it wasn’t effective, BU would not be going with it.

Finally, if we want to be reasonable, we’re going to have to accept this version of the Illini in this type of offense and defense is going to turn the ball over more than what we’ve seen in recent years. The number to watch is the differential - us vs opponents. And wins, of course!
 
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