Illini Basketball 2026-2027

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#51      
IlliniChin14
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
The reason we're seeing Morillo get passed up by Williams, is because he's a bad athlete and a bad shooter.

You can't be BOTH and play at Illinois. There's numerous examples:

Kylan Boswell: not a good shooter, but a good athlete
Ty Rodgers: complete non shooter, but a good athlete
Andrej: not a good shooter, but a good athlete
Keaton Wagler: not a good athlete, but a good shooter
Mirk: not a good athlete, but a good shooter

If you have both as your weakness, it's going to be very difficult to get minutes in our system.
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#52      
Illiniguy13
Illinirog70 said:
Don't sleep on Zens. He's our third mr. basketball in the past 6 years to enroll at the beloved and the past two have played really well. He's a very good shooter and, when whipped into shape will become a good front court for the Illini.
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There will always be guys at the end of the bench, and realistically we probably won't see much of Zens or Landon Davis this season. The same thing can probably be said about Brown. It's great to be excited about their potential, but the reality of modern hoops is there's a good likelihood guys like Zens, Davis, and Brown may not be Illini in couple years. It's actually ok to sleep on them, for now,
 
#53      
OB positive
Illinilosch said:
We may truly beat Miznoz once again this year, but they will be no slouch at all. I'm predicting they will be much more improved this coming season.

But a good Miznoz team makes for a much more pleasant viewing experience for the Braggin' Rights Game. Lately, quite frankly...it's been kinda of a snooze fest!
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I'll take a Snooze fest everytime as long as we're the one winning.
 
#54      
ejam21
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
The reason we're seeing Morillo get passed up by Williams, is because he's a bad athlete and a bad shooter.

You can't be BOTH and play at Illinois. There's numerous examples:

Kylan Boswell: not a good shooter, but a good athlete
Ty Rodgers: complete non shooter, but a good athlete
Andrej: not a good shooter, but a good athlete
Keaton Wagler: not a good athlete, but a good shooter
Mirk: not a good athlete, but a good shooter

If you have both as your weakness, it's going to be very difficult to get minutes in our system.
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HUH?

Why would a guy who is a bad athlete and bad shooter be a composite top 50 recruit?

And why would we recruit him if htat is the case.

I have a hard time believing he is a BAD athlete and BAD shooter. I could maybe buy average (for HM) athete, and its probably too early to say bad shooter. Didnt he shoot like 40% from 3 in HS or EYBL?
 
#55      
lstewart53x3
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
The reason we're seeing Morillo get passed up by Williams, is because he's a bad athlete and a bad shooter.

You can't be BOTH and play at Illinois. There's numerous examples:

Kylan Boswell: not a good shooter, but a good athlete
Ty Rodgers: complete non shooter, but a good athlete
Andrej: not a good shooter, but a good athlete
Keaton Wagler: not a good athlete, but a good shooter
Mirk: not a good athlete, but a good shooter

If you have both as your weakness, it's going to be very difficult to get minutes in our system.
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Based on what Werner has said, Morillo is behind due to his back injury. Still possible he catches back up in time for the season.

But Williams provides better defense and athleticism, which this team lacks. So he might be the better overall 8th man fit for this team.

That should make you happy though, right? That would mean our 9th man is a top 50 recruit. We officially have depth!
 
#58      
ImGonnaBeILL
Illinirog70 said:
Don't sleep on Zens. He's our third mr. basketball in the past 6 years to enroll at the beloved and the past two have played really well. He's a very good shooter and, when whipped into shape will become a good front court for the Illini.
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LOVE Zens.

He's not likely to see much time barring injury this season but I definitely don't think he'd be overwhelmed if put out there now.

Dude will be a good college player by the time he's an upperclassmen. And I hope it's at illinois. I'd wager a good amount of money on that. He's already got a solid frame to continue to build upon.

Put him in a role...and he'll thrive. Why I love kids like him (vs kids that don't an FN clue how to play off the ball and never are able to adjust)
 
#59      
Mobi
ImGonnaBeILL said:
LOVE Zens.

He's not likely to see much time barring injury this season but I definitely don't think he'd be overwhelmed if put out there now.

Dude will be a good college player by the time he's an upperclassmen. And I hope it's at illinois. I'd wager a good amount of money on that. He's already got a solid frame to continue to build upon.

Put him in a role...and he'll thrive. Why I love kids like him (vs kids that don't an FN clue how to play off the ball and never are able to adjust)
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I think we absolutely have to keep Zen for the 2nd year this time to compare to the Wisc Mr. basketball experience last time. 🤣🤣🤣
 
#63      
Ill... INI 27
Best options if we have to miss Mirk a few games, Z the 5 , Tomi the 4 with JJ backup 5.
Davis starting 4 out ?
5 in 5 addition.
2 frosh ?
Hoping for more info and short recovery time but foot and surgery...ugh.
 
#69      
STLflyinIllini
might be matchup dependent to some extent, but would guess Jake starts at the 4, with maybe 10-ish minutes of the brothers Ivisic playing together per game. JJ might get ~5 minutes against certain teams.
A few of the freshman will have to be ready, but in big games BU has shown he isn't afraid of using a short bench due to injuries.
 
#70      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
LOVE Zens.

He's not likely to see much time barring injury this season but I definitely don't think he'd be overwhelmed if put out there now.
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Agreed. He’s going to be filling the Jake/Ben role.

Chances are we already have that role booked for next season, and he’s a lower quality redundant piece.
 
#75      
hoopsfan47
Don't know why no one seems to feel confident in not losing a step in early games with Z stepping into the starting lineup? He did it last year in some of our best played games. If he has worked hard in the off season, he could be spectacular since he has that kind of potential. We will see, but I do not think there will be too big of a price to pay if Mirk is back before Dec. Bottom line is we should be thankful this did not occur in Feb.

But please, don't anyone tell the basketball gods I said this or he may be out all season. I trust everyone here understands that.
 
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