Haven't seen or heard much of Morillo in the highlight videos. Was impressed by him in the US vs International game.
I like it.Gotta be honest, I think QC will give us some athleticism and “chip on your shoulder” grit on defense as well. Vaaks will have an improved system, along with a Crocker Defensive Scheme the others are far more acclimated to. Add to the mix Williams off the bench, a speedier tempo, and continued rim protection from the Ivisii, we could see a noticeable improvement in defense over last year.
Maybe not #1, but I don’t see why we can’t be top 10 there. And really, that feels about what we just need given the offense. Metrics don’t like our style of play though going after rebounds more than steals and slowing opposing offenses, so it might skew things, but more balance could help.
I will say though, this is the side of the ball I’ve been most nervous about in the off season. Offense I feel strong with the playmakers and shot creators we have. Defensively, if we can create more literal stops this year we are a definitive natty contender.
I still think this was the most foreseeable outcome of this, to the point that it almost seems intentional by the NCAA to have another piece of "chaos" to point to and beg for legislative help.We will see. This is far from over either way from what I have heard.
I never heard this story..what happened?The Rheinland Rim Rattler! What could have been if he had come back for his senior year. Unfortunately a teammate beat him with a tree branch after practice one day, and he decided to skip his final year in Champaign.
I still think this was the most foreseeable outcome of this, to the point that it almost seems intentional by the NCAA to have another piece of "chaos" to point to and beg for legislative help.
All of their losses have been about not limiting folks' economic rights in an arbitrary way and saying one group gets 5 years but not the other is wildly arbitrary.
The NCAA got 1.1 billion for the rights to the tournament. They got plenty of money over the table.Amazing how far the pendulum has swung towards the athletes. The NCAA was feared for so long time with their tremendous power over athletes through eligibility. What money they got had to be under the table.
The '24 team was so bad defensively. And '26 was the second best offense ever.
film from 3 years ago? i see long forgotten illini around him.
Not sure about this. It has always been the case that players have four years of eligibility with a few exceptions a fifth. Covid is one of those exceptions. Have to draw the line somewhere. Should a player the year before the covid exception be allowed to come back and play another year because they only got four years? Just thinking out loud. Life isn’t fair, but I am not sure this is an issue of fairness anyway. This is about money.I still think this was the most foreseeable outcome of this, to the point that it almost seems intentional by the NCAA to have another piece of "chaos" to point to and beg for legislative help.
All of their losses have been about not limiting folks' economic rights in an arbitrary way and saying one group gets 5 years but not the other is wildly arbitrary.
Covid players got 5 years to play, there were multiple 6th year players. A pandemic is not the same.Not sure about this. It has always been the case that players have four years of eligibility with a few exceptions a fifth. Covid is one of those exceptions. Have to draw the line somewhere. Should a player the year before the covid exception be allowed to come back and play another year because they only got four years? Just thinking out loud. Life isn’t fair, but I am not sure this is an issue of fairness anyway. This is about money.