Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#303      
Noticed the chief in one frame of the crowd at the 4-second mark of the longer video, I knew deep down in my heart he wasn't gone, just somewhere else (for now... :unsure:)

1782511662319.png
 
#307      
Is it crazy to say Vaaks and Coleman are 2 of the top 4 guards Brad has had in terms of shooting ability?

1. Plummer
2. Keaton
3. Vaaks
4. Coleman
Plummer hit .408 on 98 of 240 3pt shots in '21-22, but had 35 assists to 43 TO's and went undrafted
Wagler hit .397 on 87 of 219 3pt shots '25-26 but also had 157 assists to 66 TO's (and was a deservedly #5 lottery pick)
Vaaks could possibly outshoot them both and also get lots of assists and be a 1st round pick.
BTW, Jake Davis shot .406 from 3pt in '25-26 and was our 'Plummer' sharpshooter off the bench.
 
#308      
Vaaks could possibly outshoot them both and also get lots of assists and be a 1st round pick.
It’s highly, highly unlikely he “outshoots” Plummer. 3.0 threes per game at 41% is bonkers. He was a generational flamethrower (at least in terms of Illinois history).

I think Vaaks makes more 3s per game than Keaton, because he’ll take more attempts. Doubt he shoots Keaton’s percentage though.
BTW, Jake Davis shot .406 from 3pt in '25-26 and was our 'Plummer' sharpshooter off the bench.
Jake did it on 3.6 attempts per game. Plummer did it on 7.3 (and still shot a higher %).
 
#309      
We’ve had 4 guys in program history hit 90 threes in a season: Bradford (96), Dee Brown (99), Plummer (98), Luther Head (116).

Plummer: 40.8%
Head: 41.0%
Bradford: 41.5%
Dee: 43.4%

The caveat here is that 3pt distance was much more manageable when Bradford / Luther / Dee played — 19 ft 9 inches, compared to 22ft 2 inches.
 
Last edited:
#310      
We’ve had 4 guys in program history hit 90 threes in a season: Bradford (96), Dee Brown (99), Plummer (98), Luther Head (116).

Plummer: 40.8%
Head: 41.0%
Bradford: 41.5%
Dee: 43.4%

The caveat here is that 3pt distance was much more manageable when Bradford / Luther / Dee played — 19 ft 9 inches, compared to 22ft 2 inches.

The real caveat is two of those guys played in one of the best college basketball offenses of all time in terms of getting open looks. Dee is my favorite illini ever he did nothing but hit wide open threes his third year to get that percentage. When he had to create his own shot the next year he couldn't throw it in the ocean.
 
#311      
There's an obvious romanticizing of former players (it makes sense, just pointing it out)

This Ty / Morillo discussion reminds me a bit of reading yesterday that maybe Morillo could fill the vaunted 'Justin Harmon role' as if there was a poster-child for the best ever 18 minute per game guard at Illinois and Just Harmon is him. Like... Morillo is a top 50 player, I am fairly certain he can give us at least something similar as a dude who was 3 inches shorter and a zero star recruit who spent 4 years between Juco and the WAC.

(btw, this Ty / Morillo discussion is clearly more grounded than that comment was so not necessarily trying to draw a 1:1 here)
I really genuinely like Justin Harmon. Seemed like a great teammate and I always thought he played hard. However, he really didn't produce outside of a solid run in January when TJ got suspended(which was nice) but he was basically invisible in March.

Feliz would be the bench guard I would love to have on the current roster.

To play devils advocate a bit though, Justin Harmon was still a 5th year player that averaged 14 on a very good Utah Valley team and he was awesome in the NIT(there is a lot of talent in the NIT despite all the jokes). He dropped 32 on New Mexico in that tourney that had Jamal Mashburn Jr, Jalean House, and Donovan Dent.

However, there is a huge difference between being an 18 year old freshman and a 23 year old senior(which is why you used to see a lot more mid major upsets when the small schools in March were full of 21-22 years old playing against power conference schools full of freshman and sophomores).

Morillo is a top 50ish recruit and so was Ty who didn't do much as a freshman. So I wouldn't necessarily even expect Morillo to give the production Harmon did.

Maybe he will, but top 50 guys aren't always ready to produce as freshman(some top 10 guys aren't).
 
#315      
I really genuinely like Justin Harmon. Seemed like a great teammate and I always thought he played hard. However, he really didn't produce outside of a solid run in January when TJ got suspended(which was nice) but he was basically invisible in March.

Feliz would be the bench guard I would love to have on the current roster.

To play devils advocate a bit though, Justin Harmon was still a 5th year player that averaged 14 on a very good Utah Valley team and he was awesome in the NIT(there is a lot of talent in the NIT despite all the jokes). He dropped 32 on New Mexico in that tourney that had Jamal Mashburn Jr, Jalean House, and Donovan Dent.

However, there is a huge difference between being an 18 year old freshman and a 23 year old senior(which is why you used to see a lot more mid major upsets when the small schools in March were full of 21-22 years old playing against power conference schools full of freshman and sophomores).

Morillo is a top 50ish recruit and so was Ty who didn't do much as a freshman. So I wouldn't necessarily even expect Morillo to give the production Harmon did.

Maybe he will, but top 50 guys aren't always ready to produce as freshman(some top 10 guys aren't).

Ty played almost 20 minutes per game as a freshman, you're just looking at his offensive production which we already know about. He played a good sized role on that team, which is what we should also expect Morillo to do (albeit in a different capacity; he'll probably be more involved offensively).
 
#316      
Morillo is a top 50ish recruit and so was Ty who didn't do much as a freshman. So I wouldn't necessarily even expect Morillo to give the production Harmon did.

Maybe he will, but top 50 guys aren't always ready to produce as freshman(some top 10 guys aren't).
Morillo providing Harmon’s production as a freshman would be a home run.
 
Back