Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#26      
Combo
Det_Illini_fan said:
Gotta be honest, with how adamant Brad & Co. were about getting Vaaks the moment the portal opened and his name was in it, I’m thinking this guy is gonna be huge this year. They proudly stated they got the best offensive player in the portal, and they looked at many. My gut tells me they wanted a puzzle piece they knew exactly how they could work and improve, went out and got that puzzle piece. Like May getting Mara or Cig getting Mendoza.

Maybe I’m hyped up on a Tuesday night, but my gut is feeling this telling me Vaaks is gonna be great.
Click to expand...
I think he's literally the perfect PG for us offensively. Defense is a bit of a concern - counting on the coaches to get him passable on that end.
 
#27      
HoopsterMan
Combo said:
I think he's literally the perfect PG for us offensively. Defense is a bit of a concern - counting on the coaches to get him passable on that end.
Click to expand...
Really talented. Defense and getting him to play within some type of offensive structure vs launching at will, important.

Would be interesting to see how he'd do against anyone that has a really good POA defender that applies a ton of ball pressure, like a Fears or Demary or Jordan Smith.

Kid is savvy, creative. PC has another kid like that, Meta.

God to give Brad credit, just when you thought he couldn't commit to the Euro model more, he pulls Vaaks out of a hat. Really one of the more unique models CBB has seen. Would have been really interesting to see them against an Arkansas, which is probably the most athletic (although young), team in CBB this year.
 
#28      
Emerson Bigguns
Illini22 said:
Stefan Vaaks won't be representing Estonia in the World Cup qualifiers at the end of August. The sports director of the Estonian Basketball Federation said:
“We have been in communication with Vaaks since the beginning of July, but the university is not responding, and as of today it does not seem realistic that this will change. Stefan can come to Estonia before the national team window, but during the games the university coach wants him to be with them. Unfortunately, in terms of FIBA, we do not have any leverage to influence the situation."

I think David’s injury probably played a part in the decision to take the precautionary route. In all honesty, though, as much as it sucks from an Estonian perspective, keeping Stefan in Champaign for the best possible preparation and minimising any injury risk is probably the right call long term. I just wish we’d gotten the news a little sooner. Our fans were pretty hyped to see him play, so finding out now rather than a few weeks ago makes it sting that little bit more.
Click to expand...
Probably a lot of factors. Estonia being the #36 ranked team in FIBA is probably not the least of them. If they had a great chance to do something special in the tournament, it might be a different story.
He has a great chance to something special at Illinois.
 
Back