Probably due to his shot blocking skills, Simmons always give me the feeling that he is an interior type of defense guy. He definitely has the PG skills at the offensive end except for his shooting but does he really defend the 1 or 2 positions? I admit I don't follow him a lot.
Illini Basketball 2022-2023
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FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
If I was a KSU fan, I would say that we got jobbed in our own house. (probably I would say "again", but I don't watch them very often)
He guards the teams best non-post player typically. So yeah, he guards guards.
Still waiting on that definition that defines him as a point guard.
Was Rayvonte Rice a point guard?
August 15, 2020. On Twitter. By the kid himself.
"I am not a combo guard, I am a point guard that can score better than most!”
Do we really need to run this into the ground about a kid whose already taking a break from the team?
He was a PG, for the sake of his career should probably stick with being a PG, and made pretty clear that is the role he prefers.
the national
- the Front Range
The Grandison comparison makes some sense. Baylor has just begun to work themselves out of an Illinois-sized whole in the big 12 standings. I would think a guy like MM would be of great value for them (shooter and shot blocker). With so many of their championship weapons still on the team, you’d think they’d want to keep that core together (Thamba & Flagler). Also with Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua still out, you’d think Baylor would have wanted to keep him. Admittedly, roaster construction is a complicated/dynamic challenge in the NIL world (which I know next to nothing about).
I’m thankful he chose us. It’s great to see him thriving in Brad’s system. I originally thought of him as a hired mercenary but he’s become so much more integral to this team’s character. It’s been fun to watch.
I wish I would have given up on Mayer sooner. As soon as I did he proved me wrong.
More of a 2023-2024 question. After what we saw in the Minny game, does anyone here more adept at evaluating talent than me, see a Jack Ingram / Maverick Morgan type jump in performance for Lieb next season?
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Very doubtful, IMO.
From Baylor's perspective, it made some sense to keep Mayer. But staying in a single school for 5 years is like unheard these days and he obviously needed a change of scene to get to the next level possibly. I think Baylor understood that and it was not a bad idea to free up minutes for other younger players with potentials. Last, based on the poster from Baylor, he believed there was some psycho issues affecting Mayer's performance at Baylor (you would think he could easily average more than 10 ppg as an upperclassman but he has never done that at Baylor.) And if you look at Mayer's stats in his senior year at Baylor, it weren't great. I think Mayer mad the right choice to come to Illinois because our coaching staff has found Mayer's manual.
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blackdog
- Champaign
Morgan was 1st team all-state in ohio, averaged over 20 PPG as a senior, and was the #152 ranked recruit
Lieb, according to 247 was rated #480 coming out of HS.
I really like Lieb but theres almost no chance he becomes anything more than what he is given his limited athletic gifts.
Lol. I guess that is a “no”
ILLINIFAN2
- Des Moines, IA
As of today on KenPom we are 40 in AdjO and 25 in AdjD. Considering our “new” offense and defense still represent a small percentage of our total games, I think it’s possible we get to top 20 in both by end of the regular season. Defense I think is still skewed downward because of all of our turnovers on O which led to easy baskets. And offense presumably is also skewed downward I would assume because of our turnover %.
But, if we continue to take care of the ball and maybe take a small step forward on our 3pt shooting, we should move up in both. As BU says, our half court defense is elite. Don’t look now, but if you squint you can see a F4/Natty contender starting to come together.
But, if we continue to take care of the ball and maybe take a small step forward on our 3pt shooting, we should move up in both. As BU says, our half court defense is elite. Don’t look now, but if you squint you can see a F4/Natty contender starting to come together.
Agree with all points.
Simmons was the #1 recruit out of H.S., he averaged 20 and 12 in one season at LSU. And then was the #1 pick in the draft. If people are comparing style of play of the two, I see some similarities, but distinct differences also (as you pointed out). But if people are comparing talent, that's probably not fair.
It's not about Lieb. It is we will have too much talent on our team that some of them might need to find the door to leave. Let's count the 4/5 position now. There will be Dainja, Perrin, Amani, and Lieb for the next season (compared to Dainja, Hawkins, Lieb, and Mayer, who is more of a three this year.) We are not even talking about portal. Lieb's ceiling is like Omar IMO.
Ben Simmons is an interior player who calls himself a PG, IMO. You can do that these days, a.k.a Jokic but last time I checked, he was listed as a C with 37% 3P%. I might be too harsh but Simmons is a joke. Knowing how to pass does not make you a PG. Hawkins, while no comparison to Simmons, might actually become a real perimeter player with his skill set.
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We are fine. More skill coming in and we've been better without him. Having team chemistry is more important than number of stars you had as a HS baller right 0440? He was at best the 3rd best freshman on the team. Gotta earn it. I'm "Movin' on."
Then you watch our game against NW and feel like they were averaging 2 fouls called per trip down the floor. That was a fun game to watch.I always wonder this ... it's hard to imagine crews worse than the Big Ten's, but every other conference fan base says the same thing about their league.I do think the Big Ten refs unquestionably allow the most fouls to go uncalled, though.
Neither Brad nor Bret care how many stars you have and I love that
Me too. It is nice when a 5/4 start like Trent or Ayo turn out to be leaders and team first guys. But you cannot be a good team without chemistry first.
I don't subscribe to Kenpom so don't have access to the historical data but on Torvik, we are currently #31 on the year (adjoe 60, adjde 31). But when you look at only what we've done post Skyy*, we jump to #13 (adjoe 20, adjd 38).
I was surprised to see that our D had fallen. We're forcing a lower fg% on defense and we're sending opponents to the line less, but we're forcing way fewer turnovers.
*Not insinuating causation here.
I agree Simmons has been a disappointment as the #1 pick in the draft - he would be better off playing the 3 or the 4 instead of lollygagging as a PG. But did you watch him at LSU? He was absolutely dominating at the college level from day one. He did about everything at a high level, most notable dunking on anyone that got in his way. Hawk is a good athlete, but not even close to the physically specimen that Simmons was.
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