Illini Basketball

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#751      
Illinicpa14
RockfordIllini said:
Yes, and if you look at this year, I think the big ten only slightly underperformed expectations based on seeding. I think if Michigan or Purdue had advanced to the Elite 8 they would have slightly over performed overall. 2021 was the real aberration and with that being the bubble year it’s hard to tell how much of an effect that extra week of isolation had. Not ready to call it a trend yet.

The NCAAT is so random I do think we are due to get hot at the right time and outperform our seeding, particularly if we continue to bring in length and shooting.

I know we didn’t this year, but we certainly could have. Houston’s MO was to give up 3’s but contest, and I thought that left the potential for Plum to have a big game. Because if he’s on, all he needs to do is get it off, it doesn’t matter if it’s contested. Of course he didn’t, but if he had one of his 8-10 games that he’s capable of having, we probably advance. And we will have one of those games at some point. The key is just to get in as often as possible.
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You’re going to be in trouble if you’re counting on any player going 8-10 from the field to win, much less from 3. Kofi shooting from within 5 feet shoots 60-65%.
 
#752      
jjv0004
I still think that if Illinois starts the 2022 season with 2 freshman point guards, they are going to struggle. I was really hoping for a portal PG.
 
#753      
Illinicpa14
jjv0004 said:
I still think that if Illinois starts the 2022 season with 2 freshman point guards, they are going to struggle. I was really hoping for a portal PG.
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Would a good best case comparison for us next year in this capacity be 2021-2022 Kentucky- Oscar + TyTy as the main dudes?
Feel like kofi alone puts our floor as a 8-10 seed if absolutely nothing else went right as he can overpower the bottom half of teams.

Obvs they had the tourney upset but going in most thought they could hang with anyone.
 
#754      
KnoxIllini2
skyIdub said:
Any list of skinny, mobile, elite shooting, NBA 7' -ers that doesn't include Dirk Nowitzki is summarily dismissed.
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ptgrd23 said:
I think it depends if he becomes injury prone in NBA or can thrive He only averaged 14 pts per game as a freshman. I think he should stay another year, get strong and improve his game. It would help him if Drew Timme went to NBA so he could become the main man at Gonzaga.

* Kevin Durant durable - HOF
* Kevin Garnett durable - HOF
* Porzinagas - injury prone, lost his mobility
* Anthony Davis - injury prone - has one Covid NBA title
* Shawn Bradley - bust
* Manut Bol - bust
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Im Out Shark Tank GIF by ABC Network
 
#755      
TheFameProtector
jjv0004 said:
I still think that if Illinois starts the 2022 season with 2 freshman point guards, they are going to struggle. I was really hoping for a portal PG.
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Depends how good Skyy Clark is. If he is more like the top 10 player he was rated pre-ACL injury, I’m not going to be concerned. Duke and KY has done pretty darn well with that kind of PG over the last decade. I would say that the floor will certainly be lower but the ceiling quite high.
 
#756      
ptgrd23
Freshman pgs

Kiwane Garris - great
Derek Harper - great
Bruce Douglas - great
Deron / Dee - great
Frank - great
 
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#757      
othawhitemeat
ptgrd23 said:
Freshman pgs

Kiwane Garris - great
Derek Harper - great
Bruce Douglas - great
Deron / Dee - great
Frank - great
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Yeah, I think many of those were great but were given the keys for a not quite ready team. However, all those would have blended well with a ready team. I think Freshman point guards can do well with a team handed to them. I think if we land Clark along with having Epps, they are so good as long as we surround them with the pieces, we will be fine.
 
#758      
MDchicago
othawhitemeat said:
Yeah, I think many of those were great but were given the keys for a not quite ready team. However, all those would have blended well with a ready team. I think Freshman point guards can do well with a team handed to them. I think if we land Clark along with having Epps, they are so good as long as we surround them with the pieces, we will be fine.
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That's my sense as well. Freshman PG/CGs starting or playing starter minutes for NCAA champions over the last decade or so include Jalen Brunson at Villanova, Marquis Teague at Kentucky, Tyus Jones at Duke and Shabazz Napier at UConn. In the right situation, it can work.
 
#760      
Emerson Bigguns
jjv0004 said:
I still think that if Illinois starts the 2022 season with 2 freshman point guards, they are going to struggle. I was really hoping for a portal PG.
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I think it depends on what makes the kid a 5 star. If it's athleticism and shooting, there could be a big learning curve. If its floor vision and basketball IQ, we're fine.
 
#761      
Heisenbobble
MDchicago said:
That's my sense as well. Freshman PG/CGs starting or playing starter minutes for NCAA champions over the last decade or so include Jalen Brunson at Villanova, Marquis Teague at Kentucky, Tyus Jones at Duke and Shabazz Napier at UConn. In the right situation, it can work.
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Dee and Deron did pretty well starting their freshman year with a 2nd-round exit to Notre Dame. Just sayin'.
 
#762      
phats22
TheFameProtector said:
Depends how good Skyy Clark is. If he is more like the top 10 player he was rated pre-ACL injury, I’m not going to be concerned. Duke and KY has done pretty darn well with that kind of PG over the last decade. I would say that the floor will certainly be lower but the ceiling quite high.
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Also, Epps seems Uber legit. Super excited to see him run floor general
 
#765      
Wokker
ILLINI IN NE said:
I remember reading a story about Lieb that quoted him saying he wants a degree from Illinois and playing time is secondary.

I don't see him leaving on his own accord.
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Seems like him and BBV wanting to stay is ideal. Someone has to fill spots 10-11. If they are big men with years of system knowledge and ok with little game time? Even better.

Maybe less true with BBV, as he is a decent 3rd option big, but still. Lots of benefits to this.

And who knows, maybe we’ll go all Wisconsin one day and have bigs develop and be really good out of nowhere after 2-3 years.
 
#767      
illiniguy24
LvilleILL said:
Lieb is the only one I could see at this point. Hutch and Grandison leaving will open two other spots though for sure.
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Is Hutch planning on continuing his basketball career? If so, as far as you know, does he want a fresh start or a smaller school again? Really would suck if he never was healthy enough to get a chance here
 
#770      
HailChief89
Joel Goodson said:
I'm intrigued by Rodger's ball handling and distribution skills. Will be interesting to see how they translate (with the big step up).

One thing is virtually for sure, his defensive ability, intensity and rebounding will translate. We're gonna love him.
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I agree💯! When I was in New Mexico at a base serving. I got to watch coach Steve Alford play a 1-3-1, with Darrington Hobson/ Decatur Illinois, 6.7ft at the top. 6.3, 7.0, 6.4, and 6.7 under the basket. They led the country in defense efficiency, steals, and went 31-4... Would love to see other defenses out of Coach.
I wanna see us not use the entire shot clock on offense. I don't know if 10 seconds and shoot? If it's doable?
I loved Houston and other teams pushing the 4 down 1 up top in regard to offensive and defensive rebounding! Mr. Rodgers has some intriguing abilities. I got to watch him live in 3 games and he is legit stud! Huge win....
 
#771      
MDchicago
Heisenbobble said:
Dee and Deron did pretty well starting their freshman year with a 2nd-round exit to Notre Dame. Just sayin'
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Agree they did well, helping lead the 2003 Illini to a 25-7 record, won the BTT and finished #5 in KenPom rankings (both pre-tournament and full season). Given that the eventual NCAA champion has been ranked within the top 6 of KenPom's pre-tournament rankings in 17 of the last 20 years, I'm happy with any PGs that are good enough to get us into that strata, and Dee and Deron accomplished that as freshmen. (2003, 2005 and 2021 are the only years in the KenPom era Illini have been in that group entering the tournament.)

The second round loss to ND was mainly due to white hot 3FG shooting by ND, who were 11-16 from three in the first half alone and 54% for the game.
Our senior B10 POY Brian Cook was productive (19 points, 16 rebounds) but inefficient (6-23 from field, including 0-4 from three, with 4 turnovers), and the freshmen guards combined for 19 points (7-19 from field, including 2-5 from three), six assists and one turnover. And our coach was on his way out the door....
 
#772      
IllinoisssssssVarsity
HailChief89 said:
I agree💯! When I was in New Mexico at a base serving. I got to watch coach Steve Alford play a 1-3-1, with Darrington Hobson/ Decatur Illinois, 6.7ft at the top. 6.3, 7.0, 6.4, and 6.7 under the basket. They led the country in defense efficiency, steals, and went 31-4... Would love to see other defenses out of Coach.
I wanna see us not use the entire shot clock on offense. I don't know if 10 seconds and shoot? If it's doable?
I loved Houston and other teams pushing the 4 down 1 up top in regard to offensive and defensive rebounding! Mr. Rodgers has some intriguing abilities. I got to watch him live in 3 games and he is legit stud! Huge win....
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What year was this, because with the explosion of the 3 point shot, a 1-3-1 is really hard to play with slot and corner 3s essentially left open.
 
#773      
illiniguy24
illiniguy24 said:
Is Hutch planning on continuing his basketball career? If so, as far as you know, does he want a fresh start or a smaller school again? Really would suck if he never was healthy enough to get a chance here
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Didn’t realize he’s 24 now. I’d guess he’s probably not gonna play?
 
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