I don't care if he's 6'0 or 6'7. He looks like he sees the court extremely well, handles well, and shoots well. That's what you need from your primary PG. Defense is a concern but I think our staff will get him to be at least adequate there.
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
Our flexibility last year covered 2-5 with our eight man rotation with Z for the 4-5, Ben 3-4, and Jake at the 2-3. We had only KB and KW for the 1-2. With KB hurt we had no replacement for KW at the 1. Brandon Lee was not a 1 and Petrovic did not fit our system. Think our weakness this year is at the 4-5 if Mirk, Tomi or Z go down as no Ben and not sure how well JJ can cover. However covering that position probably not as critical as lead guard. Morillo has played that position as well as Brown so not without positional coverage but suspect it would be significant drop off. Foul problems could probably be covered but lengthy absences?. BU did however do a great job at covering our star when TSJ was out.
I love this notion that being 6’7” is too tall to play point guard, when perhaps one of the best PGs in the history of the Big Ten, and close to the history of the sport itself, was a 6’9” Magic Johnson.
Not saying Vaaks is the next Magic Johnson obviously, but maybe, just maybe, cookie cutter molds aren’t an adequate means of determining whether or not a player can be good at a position.
Hell, a similar 6’9” Ben Wallace was one of the most effective defensive Centers, stuffing Shaq in the Playoffs.
Let’s let the coaching staff determine the best way to use our guys, and not let height or build pigeonhole them.
Not saying Vaaks is the next Magic Johnson obviously, but maybe, just maybe, cookie cutter molds aren’t an adequate means of determining whether or not a player can be good at a position.
Hell, a similar 6’9” Ben Wallace was one of the most effective defensive Centers, stuffing Shaq in the Playoffs.
Let’s let the coaching staff determine the best way to use our guys, and not let height or build pigeonhole them.
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No defense.... No play... We don't have anyone in the line up to cover for him. We will live or die with his defense. His last year's team died with him.
