Illini in the Pros (Basketball)

#551      
NarrowJ
Grandpa said:
The Morez interviewer asked why he left. He said that he thought he would be able to develop better elsewhere. They asked why, he answered. He hasn't developed the political skill of answering a different question than the one that was asked and then leaving. He didn't write a press release criticizing the Illini.
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You're (I believe, just willfully) assuming he is really dumb... he doesn't need to be a professional politician to be aware he's being asked a very straightforward question and also giving an equally straightforward response. There's no crazy wordsmithing here.

Grandpa said:
If a big can't shoot from distance when he gets here and is good under the basket, Underwood doesn't exactly encourage them to develop those skills. They need the skills to go to the NBA. If I thought that I could shoot and Underwood took me out of the game when I did, I would leave. Morez did and it was the smart move.
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Pretty sure you just made this up. What evidence do we have that Brad doesn't encourage players to develop skills (I mean, seriously now... :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:)
 
#552      
Fly Illini Fly!
I actually think Morez's minutes were fine for the last stretch of games before he got hurt:

34 - Northwestern
25 - Nebraska
31 - Ohio State
22 - Rutgers
15 - Minnesota
20 - UCLA
25 - Michigan State (game he got hurt)

That's 6/7 games at or above 20mins. All but 2 of those games Tomi played too.

However, before that stretch, he only hit or surpassed 20mins 4 times in the first 19 games.

Obviously the lone difference is how much he was used at the 4. It was biggest factor behind his minutes -- how much he was used alongside Tomi. The backup 5 minutes were always his.
 
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#553      
the juiceman cometh
Grandpa said:
May be the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen on here. Think about what those guys did.
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Yes Eric Gordon screwed us. But he screwed us once and then he was done. Morez Johnson seems to have made it his mission to try and screw us in the public eye whenever he gets the chance.

Grandpa said:
If a big can't shoot from distance when he gets here and is good under the basket, Underwood doesn't exactly encourage them to develop those skills.
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College Basketball Sport GIF by Fighting Illini Athletics
 
#554      
the juiceman cometh
BretMyBeachHouse said:
Morez Johnson's comments won't have 0.1% of the negative impact that Pearl had on our program and won't have 0.01% of a negative impact on any individual as compared to what Pearl did to Deon.

As I understand you, some BU detractors take Morez's side so now in a twisted way Morez is worse than the man who did more to set back our program than anyone in history.

Get help.
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The way you understand me is "not well." Re-read my posts and then ask a friend to help if you're still struggling. What Pearl did to the program was terrible but it's way in the past. What Gordon did was also bad but also in the past and really ho-hum compared to what goes on in the transfer portal era. And these things have zero impact on current Illini basketball.

Morez is on TV, as an NBA player, telling the world, right now, that Illinois was messing up his development and he wasn't going to make it to the league unless he left. He doesn't have to do that. 99% of players who transfer out of a program aren't doing that. Glazing a guy that actively hates and wants to damage the program you root for is wild.
 
#556      
OB positive
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Bingo.

It's not hard to look at the individual boxscores of games and realize this was the case. Especially from December to Early January (before Tomi's issues). If Tomi never got hurt and sick, Morez's minutes would've never broken through because Hummer was always ahead of him àt the 4 (which should've been Morez's role).

About the foul argument - sure he had some struggles. However, he did not have 5 fouls every game. We'd see him fouled out in each one of our games if it was that brutal.

Bottom line is his minutes were lower because the other guys were thought to be better basketball options on the court. I personally fully respect his decision.

Glad we figured it out with Mirk though.
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It wasn't just about the fouls though. Right when it appeared that he was really coming into his own and getting a little better on his fouling issue he got hurt basically killing his momentum.
 
#557      
Fly Illini Fly!
OB positive said:
It wasn't just about the fouls though. Right when it appeared that he was really coming into his own and getting a little better on his fouling issue he got hurt basically killing his momentum.
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This. His minutes were up from earlier in the season, and had a few tremendous games (I’ll never forget the OSU game; he was a MONSTER).

That injury was a very crushing momentum killer.
 
#558      
EmeraldCityIllini
the juiceman cometh said:
The way you understand me is "not well." Re-read my posts and then ask a friend to help if you're still struggling. What Pearl did to the program was terrible but it's way in the past. What Gordon did was also bad but also in the past and really ho-hum compared to what goes on in the transfer portal era. And these things have zero impact on current Illini basketball.

Morez is on TV, as an NBA player, telling the world, right now, that Illinois was messing up his development and he wasn't going to make it to the league unless he left. He doesn't have to do that. 99% of players who transfer out of a program aren't doing that. Glazing a guy that actively hates and wants to damage the program you root for is wild.
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Indiana Fever Basketball GIF
 
#559      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
the juiceman cometh said:
I'm not aware of Gordon ever negative recruiting against us, and not aware of Pearl doing so publicly in many years. Morez is an NBA player using his platform to publicly trash our coaching and program to prospective recruits.

I feel like the anti-BU crowd loves Morez because they can't criticize him for not making the second weekend anymore so they need Morez leaving to be his fault. It's all that's left.
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I’ve never been an anti-BU extremist, and have actually spoken against those who’ve wanted him fired.

But it’s also fine to acknowledge no coach or coaching staff is mistake free and perfect. It’s fair to point out Morez should’ve played more his freshman year. The staff adored Hummer, and even on his worst nights, Morez didn’t get minutes over him. He’d play 10-15min while Ben would be at 30+. Would getting more minutes mean he stays? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s a fair point regardless of its impact on his decision to go elsewhere.

It’s funny because during that time, the board was filled with posts hollering for more Morez minutes (which at the time was totally justified). But now since he’s left, the move is to make sure we prove how he shouldn’t have gotten that PT. It’s just like when people become obsessed with a recruit who’s uncommitted, chooses to go elsewhere, and then fans say we didn’t need/want him anyway.

In the end, Morez made the decision for what’s best for his development. He chose the perfect landing spot, where he was utilized perfectly, and trusted to play a lot more (in all honesty, it’s no guarantee that he would’ve started here if he stayed because he didn’t his first year, which is different from the other freshman we’ve been successful with - Dusty undoubtedly gave him a longer leash).

He flourished, and became a lotto pick. Good for him, and about time that we accept that.
 
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#560      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
OB positive said:
It wasn't just about the fouls though. Right when it appeared that he was really coming into his own and getting a little better on his fouling issue he got hurt basically killing his momentum.
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This was also a big factor. He was just starting to play his best ball, along with his increased PT. Seemed like he and Tomi were starting a nice tandem.

Then the injury happened, and things just weren’t the same again
 
#562      
HensonHall71
Grandpa said:
If a big can't shoot from distance when he gets here and is good under the basket, Underwood doesn't exactly encourage them to develop those skills. They need the skills to go to the NBA. If I thought that I could shoot and Underwood took me out of the game when I did, I would leave. Morez did and it was the smart move.
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Not to interject stats into a compelling argument, but Illinois’s big men (defined as C and PF, just counting the twins, Mirk, Ben) last year attempted 570 threes on the year- that led the country by a wide margin. We allow our big men to handle the ball on the perimeter more than just about any team.

If you are a big man that wants to show your shooting, passing and playmaking skills - there isn’t a better program in the country to do that. That’s what makes Morez’s comments so laughable to most of us- it was a talking point his Dad/agent started as to why he backed out of his commitment and went to a big ten rival, and he just continues to repeat that line. He literally would have had the Mirk role, who was a freshman and allowed to bring the ball up, shoot all the threes he wanted, initiate the offense, etc if he showed those skills.
 
#567      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
NarrowJ said:
Then why sign another contract with us? This keeps being ignored.
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Signing the contract doesn’t automatically make him happy with his previous year’s role.

He wanted to stay prior to Dusty doing what he developed a reputation for. But it’s possible that the built up resentment about his playing time could’ve factored into his decision (along with getting Dusty’s call).
 
#569      
EmeraldCityIllini
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
Signing the contract doesn’t automatically make him happy with his previous year’s role.

He wanted to stay prior to Dusty doing what he developed a reputation for. But it’s possible that the built up resentment about his playing time could’ve factored into his decision (along with getting Dusty’s call).
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What did Dusty develop a reputation for going into last year?

Are we just talking about Danny Wolf?
 
#570      
NarrowJ
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
The way I look at Morez and our last two years is that we’ve had two very talented freshman bigs/power forwards.

2025: Ben was the starter; Morez was the backup

2026: Mirkovic was the starter (from legitimately game 1); Ben was the backup.

There’s absolutely a philosophy shift there and much better role identification.
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Not sure about that. What actually happened was that Mirkovic was a far better player as a freshman, averaged 13, 8 and 3 while shooting 38% from 3... Morez could hardly stay on the floor in a ton of games (fouls).
 
#571      
Fly Illini Fly!
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
The way I look at Morez and our last two years is that we’ve had two very talented freshman bigs/power forwards.

2025: Ben was the starter; Morez was the backup

2026: Mirkovic was the starter (from legitimately game 1); Ben was the backup.

There’s absolutely a philosophy shift there and much better role identification.
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NarrowJ said:
Not sure about that. What actually happened was that Mirkovic was a far better player as a freshman, averaged 13, 8 and 3 while shooting 38% from 3... Morez could hardly stay on the floor in a ton of games (fouls).
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Morez played less because there were others playing over him. But we can scale production for minutes, by looking at per 40 stats.

…..

Ben played 25.9 minutes/game in 24-25. His numbers were: 7.6pts, 3.8rebs, 0.9ast.

If Morez played 25.9 minutes/game, his numbers would be: 10.2pts, 9.8rebs, 0.4ast.

…..

Mirkovic played 29.5 minutes/game. His numbers were: 13.3pts, 8.0rebs, 2.5ast.

If Morez played 29.5 minutes/game, his numbers would be: 11.7pts, 11.2rebs, 0.4ast.
 
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#572      
EmeraldCityIllini
The way Dusty May is talked about I’d think he coached Kevin Durant, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Chris Bosh.

Michigan was awesome because of defense, and sitting here parsing through Morez shooting 34% from 3 on 1 attempt per game as this some huge gotcha on play style is dumb - we were literally better than them offensively, and Mirk was a better offensive player as a true freshman than Morez as a sophomore.

Ironically, if you wanna talk about play style benefits compared to Illinois, the defensive fit is far more compelling than this bizarre “he wanted to be Danny wolf!” Bs.
 
#574      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
NarrowJ said:
Morez could hardly stay on the floor in a ton of games (fouls).
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He only fouled out in one game at Illinois. There were games where he didn’t have fouls, and didn’t play much.

Truth is, he was the 7th man on that team, when he probably should’ve been 4th or 5th.

Hence, if he wasn’t elated about his role, I think that’s fairly reasonable. If it was more $$$, that's reasonable too because Michigan was a better fit for him to develop.
 
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