Illini Basketball 2024-2025
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With KJ, it’s almost like he only shoots when no one else is open…or when the game is on the line. It must be so much fun to be on the floor with him. Nothing seems to bother him. If you get open, you’ll get the ball. If your team needs a bucket in clutch time, he’ll make a play.
My first child is due the week after the Final Four. I already told my wife that if we win the Natty, we're naming him Underwood. No last name, no middle name just..Underwood.
But Jakucionis has a nice ring to it, too.
Illinois Basketball Climbs Higher in Latest KenPom Rankings
Ken Pomeroy's proprietary formula is much higher on the Illini than the AP poll currently is
www.si.com
Shouldn't you have changed your name to Brad in this scenario?
impressed hes owning this, even if a few days after
I think that’s awesome too. Now if we could just get him to stop using the non-word: “irregardless”. (Wisc. Post-Presser)
I will forgive him this once.
How much NIL would it take to entice KJ back for a second run?
All of it. And even that might not be enough.
Some are projecting him as a top-5 pick. The #5 pick in last year's draft signed a 4 yr deal for about $37.5 million.
KJ would be a cool name
Not to mention, the quicker you get drafted the sooner you get your second NBA contract, which is where the money really balloons… as long as you are a baller.
I think KJ is going to be a guy we hear about long after his days as an Illini, so the cost of delaying being drafted is actually more than simply what he would earn as a rookie. It’s also the difference between what he could make in year 5 after free agency vs year 4 of a rookie deal.
It depends on if he is the third or the fourth pick. The third pick makes 8.5 million in the fourth pic makes 7.8 million so it at least be that.
I was thinking he could be Daddy Brad if he changed his name... With the new kid
That's it. You've convinced me. Will also suggest my wife change her name to The Game.
No longer upset at BU, glad he owned his substituions errors against NU. A common mistake I seen mostly in basketball but sometimes in baseball (pitchers) is where you freeze out your own players by not playing them. He went too long with some players who were having an off night and then compounded it by not playing the bench early enough. Then by the time it is painfully obvious a change is necessary you have sat you have frozen out your bench player by sitting him the whole second half.
I'm not sure what is going on with Booth, but his length and speed with his size can help at spurts. Not the strongest rebounder, but add him with either Tomi or Morez and now you have more length on defense. His outside shooting is decent as well.
I'm not sure what is going on with Booth, but his length and speed with his size can help at spurts. Not the strongest rebounder, but add him with either Tomi or Morez and now you have more length on defense. His outside shooting is decent as well.
If Booth could harness just half of Morez' toughness, he could be a heck of a player. But he views himself as more of a 3-and-hypothetical-D kinda player (with an also hypothetical 3-ball), rather than the do-it-all big forward he could be (and needs to be to see the floor).
In pure cost-benefit terms, it's really all about the later contracts. If he's good enough, being 23 vs. 24 won't make a difference for his second contract. But say he goes pro after this year and signs exclusively 4 year contracts (we'll use that as the average for high-level players, with 5 years being max-level guys and 3 years being more common for mid-high-tier players) -- that would make him 31 signing his 4th NBA contract, with the potential to ink another decent final contract at the age of 35 (again, assuming KJ is awesome). If he waits a year, then that 4th contract comes at age 32, and the odds that teams will pay him big $$$ goes down a bit, and the odds of getting another contract at 36 go down quite a bit.
I think kids just want to get to the league ASAP so they can (1) be amongst the best fraternity of ball players in the world, and (2) instantly be millionaires (in contract form).
Also I agree with you that, judging by the (very, very) early returns, we could be hearing about KJ for a longgg time. I would not be surprised if he's the best pro Illini since Deron.
He’s going to be a lottery pick so there would be no amount possible. Every year in college he plays, he gives up a year in the NBA where he could be making 30/40/50 mil a year down the road on his second contract. The key to NBA wealth and success is finding the fastest way to stick in the league (that’s generally by being a 1st rd or lotto pick to get your foot in the door). Then the big money is your 2nd contract. KJ’s certainly done enough to be a 1st rd and probable lotto pick. There’s no benefit to coming back.
His closest comp is gonna be Reed Sheppard from last year. The good news is Reed went #3 last year. The bad news is he’s already out of the Rockets rotation. Not good for a top 5 pick. Obviously the goal is to be Tatum, not Fultz. But he will have a chance to prove himself in the league
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