Illini Basketball 2024-2025

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#376      
Kasparas is going to be a stud in his year here. He reminds me of a Marcus with better handles and passing ability. This team is going to be fun to watch. Especially come tourney time. I just hope that we get Tomislav cleared to play by BIG time. We are definitely going to need him. I like this team to win
Damask? Liberty? Griffen?
 
#377      
better outside shooter too. yeah, KJ's a next level facilitator. no slight to Marcus, he was flipping great for us.
Damask? Liberty? Griffen?
At risk of blasphemy, what about Frank Williams as a comp? KJ is primarily a highly skilled ball handler/facilitator but can score too. He's also bigger than most at the position just like HRF.
 
#378      
I was using that as an example not as fact🙄. What I’m saying is just because a team returns a guy that 5 minutes and another player that played 8 minutes doesn’t mean they are in a better position than us. Doing all these charts and crap means nothing to me. Losing NBA players and impact starters or players means more. Most of the top teams lost those type of players. Not just us.


Continuity matters. Returning minutes matter. People who do this for a living have analyzed the data in far greater detail than any anecdotal evidence you throw around.
 
#379      
.....
But talent is important too. So is coaching. We are very well endowed in both departments. We will be good. You don't have to deny reality or make stuff up to think so.
thats-what-she-said-what-she-said.gif
 
#382      
Good analysis- this is why I don’t mind us not being ranked- as excited I am for the season, the reality is this team will need time to gel, we still need to find out who will be the leader in the locker room (I think Ty and Kylan are good leaders, but it might be better for the team if it’s Kasparas), is everyone going to be happy with their roles, we lost two top assistants, which is a big deal, etc

The thing that gives me hope that Brad can bring this team together in a way he wasn’t able to 2 years ago is that I think he really learned from that experience. I don’t think he would bring in another Skyy or Mayer (not that they were bad guys just didn’t come with the right mindset)- I have to think he was honest with everyone and he has a good sense that they will fit in.

If this team can gel , Kasparas steps up as a leader, the team buys in defensively even a little , then we will be really good in March. But it will be a shock to me if we’re good in Nov, just too much to figure out early on - but that journey will be fun to watch!
Kasparas has not played a single minute of collegiate ball at this level, speaks another language as a first, and is a frosh. IMHO, for him to lead a team with some pretty experienced and talented vets such as Ty, Kylan, and Ben is likely trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. What is more important is that he feels valued and encouraged to play with confidence and with a team of guys who appreciate...and depend upon...his talents. He can work on being the Alpha dog when his turn comes. Meanwhile, he will play a very important role that will put enough pressure on him to perform.
 
#383      
Just plugged all of the game times into my calendar, and it's awesome that the team is getting some respect with the major network broadcasts. Most of the weekday home games are in the 8 pm BTN timeslot, which is great from the point of view of us being seen as the prime time game for the evening, but not great for me personally because that puts me back in Bloomington about 11:30 pm after the game. I'll probably survive that first world problem. :)
 
#384      
Are the four new west coast teams getting a 'full' share of the conference TV money this year?
 
#385      
MLT -

Practice clips: The positional size, athleticism and shooting ability leap off the screen.

Recruiting: Illinois has become a brand.

Morez: Creates his own “gravity” by quick rim-rolls after setting picks.

Early success: Might be a roller-coaster ride relying so heavily on Freshmen to have the ball in their hands.
 
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#387      
At risk of blasphemy, what about Frank Williams as a comp? KJ is primarily a highly skilled ball handler/facilitator but can score too. He's also bigger than most at the position just like HRF.
If KJ is 90% of HRF, banners will be hung.
 
#388      
MLT -

Practice clips: The positional size, athleticism and shooting ability leap off the screen.

Recruiting: Illinois has become a brand.

Morez: Creates his own “gravity” by quick rim-rolls after setting picks.

Early success: Might be a roller-coaster ride relying so heavily on Freshmen to have the ball in their hands.

LaTulip is a very good analyst, and the antithesis of a hype man (which, FWIW, I can't stand)
 
#389      
Early success: Might be a roller-coaster ride relying so heavily on Freshmen to have the ball in their hands.

I'm guessing KB will have the ball in his hands a lot early on.
 
#390      
It's pretty ridiculous of ESPN to stick such a good game as just-outside-of-top-25 Illinois vs. top 5 Alabama on the SEC Network. But whatever. Makes me glad the B1G isn't on ESPN anymore...
Yeah this strikes me as odd unless that night is full of marquee matchups that pushes ILL/Bama down a couple channels.
 
#391      
Last post because I'm realizing this is hopeless.

"A team returns 25 minutes vs our 18 for example. Big deal."

All the teams you mentioned return more than 25% of minutes and we return less than 18%.

School / returning minutes
Duke / 27%
UConn / 45%
Purdue / 54%
UNC / 48%
Auburn / 57%
Baylor / 33%
Illinois / 14%

But the difference between 14% and 25% is the equivalent of about 16 spots in the KenPom rankings. The difference between 14% and 35% is about 33 spots.

Continuity explains about 25% of the variance in a team's performance on average. Below is data from the NIL / Portal era.

View attachment 36681

But talent is important too. So is coaching. We are very well endowed in both departments. We will be good. You don't have to deny reality or make stuff up to think so.
Believe the importance of this has really diminished with free agency. In the past you were generally replacing with frosh and sometimes a transfer. Now we are replacing 4 guys with starters from other major programs. Add a couple of 5 stars and a 23 year old frosh without the experienced transfers and the formula would work. How did it work for IU last year? Mediocre starters from last year are still likely to be mediocre.
 
#392      

Continuity matters. Returning minutes matter. People who do this for a living have analyzed the data in far greater detail than any anecdotal evidence you throw around.
Returning minutes and continuity matters when it’s a key player in your rotation. We just don’t agree on this. So I suggest moving on.
 
#394      
The roster turnover is a thing.... That can be overcome but has to be factored in. I'm little more concerned about our frontcourt depth if big t isn't eligible for a while... Even when he's here I'm little concerned. Would have loved if one of Coleman or Dain were still here. Solves a lot of the doubts
 
#395      
Eh I don't mind BIG+ now. I do watch a bunch of other sports though that hardly ever get on tv. They also changed the subscription model. It no longer is school based and they have either a monthly or yearly sub that includes all schools and all sports including Hockey (which used to be it's own addon).
I don't mind B1G+ now that I've figured out how to cancel my subscription on Roku.
 
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