Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#52      
Emerson Bigguns
RockfordIllini said:
I’m still surprised there wasn’t enough draft interest in Momcovic to keep him in. Shooting feels like the most coveted trait NBA teams are looking for these days, and he was the best shooter last year and also has good size at 6’8.
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If he were a 3 & D guy, sure. He's a 3, no D guy and not a good rebounder, passer, or creator. He has one NBA skill. It's the best skill to have in this context, but not enough to get him drafted anywhere near the number he would need to get a contract in the neighborhood of what UK likely shelled out.
 
#53      
Emerson Bigguns
ugottabjoshinme said:
This 9th man stuff is such a nothingburger to me. It blows my mind that it has consumed this much talk in here. I guess we need something to talk about since the remaining 99% of the offseason hit the best case scenario.
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Its a recruiting thread, and there is just nothing else to talk about here... It's like complaining about the color of the upholstery in our Lamborghini.
 
#54      
wc_illini
lstewart53x3 said:
And all of those guys, except for Jake, were freshman ranked at or below ZZ’s level, so coming back to your original point:

If you were confident in the 9th man headed into each of those seasons, why are you not confident in the 9th man headed into this season?
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Agreed. The argument for wanting more depth this year shouldn't be that we have less than previous years, but that this year seems like one to put all our chips in for.

Maybe the rumored final addition will put this to rest, or maybe there wasn't enough $ to upgrade any of the depth we have, or maybe no proven reserves were available by the time our roster was settled enough to know what would fit (while I've pointed out that guys have accepted such roles on other teams in the past, I do know that they aren't plentiful).
 
#55      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
21ChampaignSt said:
My challenge would be, if our 9th man is always playable (with the exception of MP) then why would the expectation be that our 9th man this year isn't playable? Wouldn't past experience tell us that, according to your games played criteria, the staff actually has a 9th man on the roster they're confident in?
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Well, that's the point. They (Zens) needs to be an upgrade from Petro and on-level with those other guys... just for a playable body in case of necessity.

How likely is that? Fair question to discuss and opinionate, and time will tell.
 
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