Illini Basketball

Dan · Mar 19, 2023

Moretti ready to put in offseason work after redshirt, adjustment semester: 'I’m comfortable here'

After two months of adjustment, Illini redshirt freshman point guard Niccolò Moretti is ready to attack his first college offseason

247sports.com

pruman91 · Mar 19, 2023

LvilleILL said:
We will be preseason top 3 in the b10 if the offseason plays out the way I think

morning bro ..............................appreciate the upbeat tiding's you have offered up this morn........................I will accept your musing's with no pressure cast your way as you have offered no guarantee's but a possibility and that's all i need to feel the vibe.........

It's the vibeless jellyfish here that will attack any and all hypothesis' that offered any semblance of hope..............

Thanks for sharing your opinion's ........I look forward to you and 3-4 more here to keep me grounded , but hopeful........

Eternal Optimist · Mar 19, 2023

Excited to see what Moretti can do. I just want to see smart and consistent basketball. We have too much talent to turn the ball over as much as we did this year. Well, I guess there was consistency there. I think our team suffered from way overthinking things a lot. Hoping the off-season is great to hone all that in for everyone and the players understand how close they are to really doing something special. The ingredients are there.

Big Jack · Mar 19, 2023

LvilleILL said:
We will be preseason top 3 in the b10 if the offseason plays out the way I think

Is Hutch coming back along with Podz! ILL!!!!!
/s

Big Jack · Mar 19, 2023

pruman91 said:
morning bro ..............................appreciate the upbeat tiding's you have offered up this morn........................I will accept your musing's with no pressure cast your way as you have offered no guarantee's but a possibility and that's all i need to feel the vibe.........

It's the vibeless jellyfish here that will attack any and all hypothesis' that offered any semblance of hope..............

Thanks for sharing your opinion's ........I look forward to you and 3-4 more here to keep me grounded , but hopeful........

Pennsy · Mar 19, 2023

Big Jack said:
Is Hutch coming back along with Podz! ILL!!!!!
/s

Yeah well, if it is legal to re-portalize, then let's welcome that notion!

BackThatPassUp · Mar 19, 2023

Big Jack said:
Is Hutch coming back along with Podz! ILL!!!!!
/s

Yup and to round out the trio....Bryce Hopkins!

pruman91 · Mar 19, 2023

Big Jack said:

yep , I did .......................what did I did ??...................

Illiniwiththechief · Mar 19, 2023

Miles Leonard said:
Love me some Sencire but I had to do a double take when I saw the graphic of his FT%. And the number was...very graphic.

22%?? You almost have to try to shoot that badly from the line.

I honestly think the kid is just nervous stepping on the line with 15000 people looking at him in complete silence. He will grow out of it. Imma screenshot this post, hopefully it ages well.

doowink · Mar 19, 2023

LvilleILL said:
We will be preseason top 3 in the b10 if the offseason plays out the way I think

Will we be Elite?

BoiseBaller · Mar 19, 2023

LvilleILL said:
We will be preseason top 3 in the b10 if the offseason plays out the way I think

Curious. Do you expect any staff changes? Could really use someone to put in a decent offense.

One Man Fast Break · Mar 19, 2023

BackThatPassUp said:
Yup and to round out the trio....Bryce Hopkins!

Bryce Hopkins, Podz and a Healthy Austin Hutcherson will make for the most formidable trio in the Big Ten.

LvilleILL · Mar 19, 2023

BoiseBaller said:
Curious. Do you expect any staff changes? Could really use someone to put in a decent offense.

yes

ChiefGritty · Mar 19, 2023

LvilleILL said:
We will be preseason top 3 in the b10 if the offseason plays out the way I think

Unless Edey is back Shannon would probably be the preseason BTPOY. (I assume Kris Murray and Jalen Hood-Schifino will go pro)

That feels...kinda weird?

I dunno, I'm conflicted, this was such a bad vibes mess of a team the thought of mostly running it back doesn't give me the excitement maybe it should.

LGIllini · Mar 19, 2023

ChiefGritty said:
Unless Edey is back Shannon would probably be the preseason BTPOY. (I assume Kris Murray and Jalen Hood-Schifino will go pro)

That feels...kinda weird?

I dunno, I'm conflicted, this was such a bad vibes mess of a team the thought of mostly running it back doesn't give me the excitement maybe it should.

I know exactly what you mean. Shannon seems like a great kid, but there were definitely chemistry issues and a break-down of communication between coaches and players this season. Not sure who played what role in it, but I know I don't want to see anything like it again next year.

Stevegarbs · Mar 19, 2023

LGIllini said:
I know exactly what you mean. Shannon seems like a great kid, but there were definitely chemistry issues and a break-down of communication between coaches and players this season. Not sure who played what role in it, but I know I don't want to see anything like it again next year.

I think Mayer leaving with provide huge addition by subtraction benefits to the team chemistry/run what coach asks for issues.

SescIllini · Mar 19, 2023

My perception is that BU schematics are overly complex. Seems like other NCAA coaches run more basic offenses/defenses.

Saw a team yesterday effectively switch to a zone to stop the isolation plays.

I think this leads to our turnovers, slow starts and ealy season losses/poor games.

Illini 993 · Mar 19, 2023

Looking over the portal offerings, I am intrigued by Mike Mitchell Jr, from Pepperdine. He is a sophomore, last year 11, 4, and 5. But he seems to be a very good 3 point shooter - 44 % this year, 40% last year. Along with the 5 assists/game, that is the type of guard we might be able to use.

IllinoisssssssVarsity · Mar 19, 2023

SescIllini said:
My perception is that BU schematics are overly complex. Seems like other NCAA coaches run more basic offenses/defenses.

Saw a team yesterday effectively switch to a zone to stop the isolation plays.

I think this leads to our turnovers, slow starts and ealy season losses/poor games.

BU runs a lot of basic concepts (even the spread is a watered down version of the triangle—I watched a video once and Tex Winter said there were something like 111 reads built into the triangle). We ran a fair amount of zoom action this year, which is extremely common in college basketball these days. We did it in a way that works with our system, the same way other teams do. We also ran some p/r iso stuff like everyone else too.

In theory, every high major player is smart and talented enough to run any action you throw at them. Listen to the guys in interviews, and they straight up say they didn’t do it. If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter what you run.

I found myself wishing we ran the Princeton point series with our personnel this year. At its most basic high school team version, it starts with a high post entry into a screen away read. Watching us execute this year, there’s no guarantee we would have even made it that far.

ChiefGritty · Mar 19, 2023

Stevegarbs said:
I think Mayer leaving with provide huge addition by subtraction benefits to the team chemistry/run what coach asks for issues.

I mean like I kiiiiiinda am willing to go along with blaming Mayer and Clark for a lot of the problems, those were the principals of a lot of the rumors and whispers when it was all falling apart after all, but it's a little too convenient of a narrative for my taste.

Shannon and Hawkins would be the undisputed leaders. Really talented players, but are we totally confident in them as crunch time go-to figures? How could we be?

Does a younger and less decorated version of next year's team actually have a higher ceiling and brighter long term outlook? I'm only willing to state that with a question mark at the end, but it does stick in the back of my mind, I confess.

Scoregasm · Mar 19, 2023

We need an Alpha next year. Not really confident that Coleman and TSJ are either of those without a huge step forward. On great teams with strong player leadership, neither is an Alpha by nature. Doesn't mean it can't happen as leadership is a skill that can be learned, but neither is a natural leader.

ChiefGritty said:
I mean like I kiiiiiinda am willing to go along with blaming Mayer and Clark for a lot of the problems, those were the principals of a lot of the rumors and whispers when it was all falling apart after all, but it's a little too convenient of a narrative for my taste.

Shannon and Hawkins would be the undisputed leaders. Really talented players, but are we totally confident in them as crunch time go-to figures? How could we be?

Does a younger and less decorated version of next year's team actually have a higher ceiling and brighter long term outlook? I'm only willing to state that with a question mark at the end, but it does stick in the back of my mind, I confess.

IllinoisssssssVarsity · Mar 19, 2023

ChiefGritty said:
I mean like I kiiiiiinda am willing to go along with blaming Mayer and Clark for a lot of the problems, those were the principals of a lot of the rumors and whispers when it was all falling apart after all, but it's a little too convenient of a narrative for my taste.

Shannon and Hawkins would be the undisputed leaders. Really talented players, but are we totally confident in them as crunch time go-to figures? How could we be?

Does a younger and less decorated version of next year's team actually have a higher ceiling and brighter long term outlook? I'm only willing to state that with a question mark at the end, but it does stick in the back of my mind, I confess.

I know where you’re going with this but I’ll do it anyway. No we aren’t, and we can’t be because they’re too turnover prone.

In my dream world, Ty with a jump shot and a willingness/ability to actually use his left hand on the left side of the rim is that guy. That’s a lot of development to ask of him, but he’s clearly a dawg, so I refuse to put a cap on how quickly he can develop.

Edit: To your last question: a team of dawgs that willingly moves the ball is a great first step to that. But we need guys who can consistently hit a 3. That combination is a get better as the year goes on combination, and in theory, is very dangerous in March. See Arkansas, and they don’t even have the 3 point part.

STATS GUY · Mar 19, 2023

IlliniCub 16 said:
Sencire shot 4-20 (20%!) from the free throw line and 13-41 (31.7%) from three this year. That is a pretty wild combination that makes me think he was lucky to make as many threes as he did and unlucky to be THAT bad from the free throw line.

Maybe he should back way up at the free throw line like Bracey Wright from Indiana used to do.

Sencire and Ty combined to go 16-51 (31%) from the line. Love those guys, but good lord.

How about we just start with better form. I would take a look at the BEEF method at a minimum. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction push the ball straight down the line. Ball position is first place to begin and keep above the waist.

ChiefGritty · Mar 19, 2023

IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
Edit: To your last question: a team of dawgs that willingly moves the ball is a great first step to that. But we need guys who can consistently hit a 3. That combination is a get better as the year goes on combination, and in theory, is very dangerous in March. See Arkansas, and they don’t even have the 3 point part.

Hawkins and Shannon are proven performers who can regularly cause even top-level college basketball teams fits with the things they can do.

Rodgers and Harris are (at this moment) deeply flawed, limited, not-ready-for-primetime players.

But I've seen a lot of basketball in my day, enough to see teams with Shannon and Hawkins' personality mostly end up looking like less than the sum of their parts, and teams with Rodgers and Harris' personality mostly ending up looking like more.

That's the dilemma.

bluemountain · Mar 19, 2023

ChiefGritty said:
Unless Edey is back Shannon would probably be the preseason BTPOY. (I assume Kris Murray and Jalen Hood-Schifino will go pro)

That feels...kinda weird?

I dunno, I'm conflicted, this was such a bad vibes mess of a team the thought of mostly running it back doesn't give me the excitement maybe it should.

Shannon wasn't the problem. If anything he wasn't assertive enough

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