He didn’t say starting, FWIW.
Illini Basketball 2023-2024
- Status
Joel Goodson
- ties will be resolved
if Gibbs-Lawhorn can give us -10-15 mpg of quality play, that could be enormous
HUGE.....
Look, I hear you. I'm erring on the side of pessimism because there is certainly potential for this offense to be...inelegant. But like, I'd take our best 5 over the vast majority of the country's best 5. That goes even more so if we're talking our top 8-9. Point guard or not, this team is too talented and too old to just totally write them off.
Chief, as a "true sports poster" I would add that there is a reason they play the games. Whatever this team might look like on paper, it is unknown at this point how they may play as a team. RayJ would makes us a better team on paper but (especially after last year) I would be cautious of claiming that we would actually be a better team with him. It would definitely not be guaranteed.
A second year guy who knows the system, wants to be here, and has no immediate need to make sure he gets his own, may not give us the highest ceiling, but it makes the issues from last year far less likely this year. And I am not sure we have not upgraded from what we had at PG last year - at least defensively and in following the game plan. Far from being screwed, I think this year will be entertaining and far more enjoyable from a fan standpoint than was last year - which drove most of us nuts. But alas, you could be right. All could be lost.
I want to take the bait here.
How do you define "totally and unavoidably screwed"
This Illinois team is a sure fire tournament team in my book and that doesn't qualify as screwed. We could finish as high as 3rd in the conference (don't think we will, but could) that's not screwed either
Simpson, played at PU and writes for the News Gazette say DGL has the it factor. When you see certain players, you see they have it. He could play in the NBA.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I cannot agree, unfortunately.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I've gone from chuckling at the mood swings around here to genuinely just not understanding them a lot of the time.
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Big Jack
- Decatur
No one cares if you choose to ignore someone. Just keep building your house of bricks to keep anyone with a differing opinion away.
I'm not in total despair and agony like Gritty, but I have serious concerns about how we will counter when teams ultimately figure out how to stop Ty. Underwood has been good about making one change throughout the season to get us back on track, but by the time the tournament rolls around, we don't have another response.
Ty presents a lot of problems for opposing teams but also presents problems for our own team. Hopefully we can counter those issues on offense and it will be a net positive for us. Also the silly tropes of "wanting to be here" and "plays hard and hustles" doesn't make a 6'7" PF a better PG. Attitude and hustle are always important, but those intangibles don't make Ty Rodgers better than RayJ on paper or off.
Ty presents a lot of problems for opposing teams but also presents problems for our own team. Hopefully we can counter those issues on offense and it will be a net positive for us. Also the silly tropes of "wanting to be here" and "plays hard and hustles" doesn't make a 6'7" PF a better PG. Attitude and hustle are always important, but those intangibles don't make Ty Rodgers better than RayJ on paper or off.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Soooooo many good things with the team going into this season.
How about just looking at the Super Seniors;
TSJ - First Team All-B1G. Avg 17.2p 4.6rb, 2.8a, 1.3st. Has played in 114 games and started 84. 1449 career points.
QG- 131 games and 85 starts in the ACC and PAC12. 1280 careers points and 757 rebounds.
Domask - Would have been 4 time All-MVC if not injured soph year. 106 games all starts. 16.7p 5.8rb 3.8a last year. 1615 career points 564 rebounds 356 assists.
Harmon- 2years at Utah Valley played in 58 games with 43 starts. Led team with 14.0p last year.
So maybe that's not good enough for you?
Add in a now Senior Coleman Hawkins who (Love him or Hate him) should be poised to have his best season. He's played in 91 games with 47 starts.
Then there's Dain. Avg 9.5p 5.5rb 1.2bl in his 1st full season of college hoops. 33 games and 21 starts last season.
Luke Goode who was rumored to be penciled in as a starter before he went down with his injury.
And Sencire......gotta love Sencire. He played in 33 games with 7 starts.
And Ty....... yup, gotta love Ty too. 33 games but no starts.
So it's really hard to imagine that this team with all this talent, depth and experience doesn't at least go to the tournament and win one. (But I'm betting more than one)
Yeah, not to mention the 2 freshmen.
And, for the record, that's 493 total starts in D1. I think that's quite a few.
How about just looking at the Super Seniors;
TSJ - First Team All-B1G. Avg 17.2p 4.6rb, 2.8a, 1.3st. Has played in 114 games and started 84. 1449 career points.
QG- 131 games and 85 starts in the ACC and PAC12. 1280 careers points and 757 rebounds.
Domask - Would have been 4 time All-MVC if not injured soph year. 106 games all starts. 16.7p 5.8rb 3.8a last year. 1615 career points 564 rebounds 356 assists.
Harmon- 2years at Utah Valley played in 58 games with 43 starts. Led team with 14.0p last year.
So maybe that's not good enough for you?
Add in a now Senior Coleman Hawkins who (Love him or Hate him) should be poised to have his best season. He's played in 91 games with 47 starts.
Then there's Dain. Avg 9.5p 5.5rb 1.2bl in his 1st full season of college hoops. 33 games and 21 starts last season.
Luke Goode who was rumored to be penciled in as a starter before he went down with his injury.
And Sencire......gotta love Sencire. He played in 33 games with 7 starts.
And Ty....... yup, gotta love Ty too. 33 games but no starts.
So it's really hard to imagine that this team with all this talent, depth and experience doesn't at least go to the tournament and win one. (But I'm betting more than one)
Yeah, not to mention the 2 freshmen.
And, for the record, that's 493 total starts in D1. I think that's quite a few.
I get what you’re saying but we have plenty of evidence of what our team can look like when it doesn’t have a true point guard on the floor. That was essentially all last season after Skyy left, and even Skyy only had one or two games where he was a decent point guard. Worst case scenario, we have a veteran bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense, just like we did for most of the season. It’s not that complicated of an offense anyway.
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
On one of the recent Illini Inquirer pods one of the hosts (I forget which) mentioned that they are working on Goode running around a lot using screens and shooting off of movement. This excites me more than just about anything I've heard this off season because I've felt for a while that we didn't do enough off ball screening for our shooters. Hopefully it's not just Goode and this goes a long way towards fixing the stagnant offense.
I bought the hype a little bit last year even though my eyes told me not to. This year I will wait a little longer. Lots of maturity and talent. I believe our floor is much higher than last year but the lack of a true PG will limit our ceiling. How much completely lies on Brad's shoulders.
I say this all as someone who owns a signed Ty Rodgers jersey and love his game. Not many want him to succeed more than I do. Just a great kid.
Cautiously optimistic for a top 4 finish in B1G and 4-6 seed for the tournament.
Your friend(imaginary or otherwise) IS correct that it appeared Hawkins WAS indeed trying to pass to an imaginary friend.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Just gonna bookmark this for later.
Chief Gritty has spoken . . . the 2023-2024 Illinois men's basketball season has been declared a disaster, and will be cancelled due to disinterest.
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