So would Big Z if he could find his 3 pt shot. Coming into last season I thought Z had better numbers from beyond the arc but stuggled some last season. I hope they both get up closer to 38% or so. If that happens our team is so scary to try and stop..
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
Some? I think that's an understatement. He went on a 3 for 30 type stretch(or something of the like), which stretched February - April.
I really wonder if his minutes increase this year, pretty noticeably (like, 20+ minutes).
Say Tomi plays 26 at the 5; and Z plays 14 at the 5; at Mirk plays 30 at the 4.
Who else is getting the non-Mirk 4 minutes? Saying Z wouldn't get at least 5-6 .... the logic just wouldn't add up.
3 for his last 31.
Starting from the MSU game all the way to UCONN.
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I expect Vaaks is the best shooter on the team, especially if they are being guarded. If Brad feels he is the best offensive player in the portal a huge part of it is his diffucult shot making ability. The distance and difficulty of the type of shots he took at Providence are not the same as Jakes open corner 3s. Now, if Jake is wide open and Vaaks is too i bet they are real similar and awesome from 3. Ill take either all day long on a wide open look.
In close games i bet Mirk plays as much as possible and closer to 35 but i do think most games Z will get 15 or a lil more at the 5 and another 5 to 8 backing up Mirk. If its not a blow out id expect Z and T to have fairly similar minutes on the floor. In blow outs some others will get some tick behind Mirk and maybe even T.
I really don’t get the position-minutes logic.
For instance, Ben last year played 22.5 minutes and Mirk played 29.5.
Let’s say Mirk played all his minutes at the 4. That only leaves 10.5 available for Ben. So where are the 12 other minutes coming from?
The 3? That’s where we have Stojakovic and Davis, who each played 19.6 and 26.3 respectively.
Obviously he’s not a PG, SG, or C.
Stojakovic and Davis both played a non-negligible amount of minutes at the 2… Having Mirkovic as a ballhandler allowed you to play Jake at SG as a non-handling connector.
More than a few times (mostly while Bam was out) we ran a lineup of Wagler, Davis, Ben, Mirk and Tomi for an extended period and another game we ran out a giant Wagler, Ben, Mirk, Z, Tomi lineup (anyone remember which game this was? I remember it happened but can’t recall against who).
IlliniwekKDR
- Colorado Springs, CO
Maybe a little off topic, but I really hope Hunter sent Kofi a card today
Guys, here’s the lineup:The end of the Elite 8 game with Iowa is on BTN right now!
5pm to 6pm: TTU at Illinois (currently airing)
6pm to 7pm: 2025 USC at Illinois (I think we lost this game)
7pm to 8pm: Music City Bowl Illinois vs Tennessee
8pm to 9pm: Illinois at Purdue (Wagler Masterpiece)
9pm to 10pm: Elite 8 Illinois versus Iowa
10pm to 10:30pm: The Journey (says featuring Illinois)
10:30pm to 11:30pm: Illinois at Nebraska
All these are in eastern time
…..
Not that complicated: just have BTN on your TV all night.
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Vaaks will be a machine.
Correction, this is actually our football game we won. (Olano walk off FG)
I have read many articles that he was the highest rated transfer portal player