I'd be content with him regaining his 1st year form. Seems like he was off most of last season - just at the end he started showing glimpses of his 1st year. 9 months ago many though he'd be our best player.
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
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Easy to forget a lot of people had him as our best player going into last season.
IMHO we should be rooting for the 9th man to be so good that we can't keep him on the bench.
Last year our ninth man became an all American
You won't be saying that when we need someone to hit a three pointer at the end of a blowout so we can all have chicken nuggets.
I just don’t understand why people keep throwing shade on MP. And so, I keep dragging out the following.
I think he made a bad first impression in the first one or two games in the non-conference schedule, and that has stuck with a lot of people. You know what they say about bad first impressions. Sure, he had some rough minutes, but I think that has more to do with just not getting enough practice time with the team and not getting enough minutes on the court in actual games. I suspect the first game or two, he was nervous and wanted to make a good impression, and just tried too hard.
If KW had gone to Minnesota or anywhere else, MP would have been the Illinois PG, and I think he would have been a good one. I see him as “good” Curbello. A pure PG. It seems people forget a couple (or a few) games where he played really well that people, even sports writers via twitter, got excited. For instance, after the UTRGV game (I think, it’s been a while):
Dariush Takhtehchian, M.D
@takhtehchianmd
22-year-old Mihailo Petrovic. As advertised. Already has 12 pts, 3 dimes, 2 boards in 12 minutes
Someone here posted, "I need more Mihailo."
And another: I'll go out on a limb here and say we got a good one in Petrovic.
Really good, really quick.
And there were a few other similar posts.
And if I remember correctly, he played well against Southern U. It wasn’t just at garbage time. I think it was in the first half. MP took over the PG duties, and KW played wing. Worked pretty well, but then, Southern was not much competition. The point is, he has played well when he gets significant minutes.
And one other thing: MP is/was 22, he played PG in a Euro League that, I believe, is pretty on par with the Big Ten. At least, it was a pro league. Do you think the Illini staff did not have confidence that he could handle PG duties in the Big Ten?
He definitely did not play like a chicken with its head cut off.
What happened to our 28 games appeared in settlement? I thought if Zens hits that bar, we’d collectively rule our #9thMan season a success.
Well we've moved the goal posts
Now the hope is that the #9thman is so good that we can't keep him off the floor and he plays 30+ mins per game
Really any player in limited minutes is likely to get misjudged. Same with Lee.
I suspect that the original evaluation of Petro will prove to be more accurate than what we saw in limited exposure. He's going to be successful.
I
Except he didn’t look quick in real life. And small (petro)
There's been a lot of conversation about Mirk, Stoj, Vaaks, QC, and the steps they will take ahead of the season...
I think one of the players I'm most excited to see next year is Jake Davis. If he can make another jump defensively as he did from Y1 to Y2, it seems like he could be potentially the best 3 and D guy in the county. He was already the most efficient offensive player in KP last year (among all players at all usage rates), if he can add some strength and quickness, I bet he'll be one of our elite perimeter defenders.
There also needs to be a redemption arc for Jake Davis wig night; hopefully they run it back against Wisconsin at home this year...
I think one of the players I'm most excited to see next year is Jake Davis. If he can make another jump defensively as he did from Y1 to Y2, it seems like he could be potentially the best 3 and D guy in the county. He was already the most efficient offensive player in KP last year (among all players at all usage rates), if he can add some strength and quickness, I bet he'll be one of our elite perimeter defenders.
There also needs to be a redemption arc for Jake Davis wig night; hopefully they run it back against Wisconsin at home this year...
Yes that’s a fine bar. All of our 9th men over the years have reached it (sans Petro).
Whether Brown or Zens can gain that trust as well is the question, which is TBD.
There’s just no reason to try and expand his game because there’s so much value in what he already provides.
So he became the #1stMan.
At his size, I think he (like DGL) really only has a spot if they are highly efficient offensively to make up for defensive and rebounding downsides. Folks point to some of his turnover issues for why he wasn't seeing the floor, but I think he was also out of position defensively a significant amount of the time. If guys like him, DGL, and Lee can't be solid-to-good defenders, then there are simply too many good options offensively for them to see the floor much, in our system.
Like DGL, I think Petro can be really good elsewhere, just not in our system.
Yeah I wasn't arguing that his game should be expanded, just saying that he can be the best in the country at what he does, and I'm excited to see his progression as this kind of player.
MLT called this “the disease of more” or something to that effect where successful players want to expand their game outside of what’s actually needed from them
Edit: I misunderstood the original post
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Petro wasn’t a #9thman as we view the position now. He was a top 5 man with either Mirk or Wagler being the #9thman.
He couldn’t get on the court at all because he’s a defensive liability, rebounding liability, and not a good shooter.
Therefore his sole value was being the “pass first, 6 foot 1 PG” … something we’ve gone away from because it doesn’t fit our system. There was still value for him, but after Keaton became what he became, Petro wasn’t going to play because his value without the ball is super low.
He ended up being the 9th man.
We had a lot less continuity so things happened that were contrary to what was expected.
This year it’s the opposite. It’s a very safe bet that Brown and Zens will be the 9th and 10th men. The question is whether they can be serviceable enough for their minimal roles.
Questionable IMO Petro stays stateside after last season. If he does, and wants to play as a PG in a program, he'd be wise to get into that program and get acclimated during offseason workouts, as a guy that'll only be an asset as a ball dominant initiator, after basically a year off.
He's not going to get anything in NIL this season after a season as a 23 year old bench warmer. Likely to get more $$ overseas.
Does he want to stay stateside, in a foreign country, for little to no compensation for a year, in his age 24 season, when he can get paid more closer to home? He's going to have to go the mid major route to see extensive playing time in 26-27.
Does he want to have to prove himself as a 24 year old in college, making a fraction of what he did for his season at Illinois, for the POSSIBILITY of making more coin as a 25 year old in college the following year?
It's wild to think, with all the hoopla and buzz surrounding him, that he saw less MPG than Nico Moretti at Illinois
He's not going to get anything in NIL this season after a season as a 23 year old bench warmer. Likely to get more $$ overseas.
Does he want to stay stateside, in a foreign country, for little to no compensation for a year, in his age 24 season, when he can get paid more closer to home? He's going to have to go the mid major route to see extensive playing time in 26-27.
Does he want to have to prove himself as a 24 year old in college, making a fraction of what he did for his season at Illinois, for the POSSIBILITY of making more coin as a 25 year old in college the following year?
It's wild to think, with all the hoopla and buzz surrounding him, that he saw less MPG than Nico Moretti at Illinois
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