Illini in the Pros (Basketball)

#301      
Illinirog1970
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Morez was way better than Wilson last year defensively. Way too many times Wilson got beat on off ball actions / back cuts.

The measurements for both are 6"9 barefoot, but Morez has a 7"3 wingspan compared to 7"0 for Wilson.

Wilson is more enticing because of his offensive game. Much better passer, shooter, ball handler. He could round into being a #1 option.
Click to expand...
Wilson was uncoached. Remember, he played for Hubert Davis at UNC, and was completely undeveloped. He's a blank slate for the Bulls and has shown it in the summer league.... All raw talent, little technical basketball skills. Now, if he had gone to the Beloved.... ;-)

He needs A LOT of "rounding."
 
#302      
Fly Illini Fly!
https://twitter.com/x/status/2077032647100878864

“Will Riley, G, Washington Wizards​

Riley measured above 6’8 barefoot at the combine ahead of the 2025 draft, and he’s reportedly gotten even taller since then. Now standing around 6’10, the 20-year-old wing showed off his deep bag of scoring moves with fearless takes to the rim, spot-up threes, and solid rebounding for his position in Las Vegas. Riley is really slippery off the bounce to beat the first line of the defense, and his long strides and extension finishes help him finish at the basket even with his thin frame. His shooting tends to run hot-and-cold, but he has real utility in his three-point shot both off the dribble and on spot-ups, and there’s no doubt he has NBA range on his jumper. Riley is just a really fluid athlete for his size with real shooting upside, and he has the awareness to relocate off the ball to put himself in a better position to score. There are suddenly a lot of mouths to feed in Washington, but Riley seems like a walking bucket who is just starting to scratch his long-term upside.”
 
#303      
Joel Goodson
Illinirog1970 said:
Wilson was uncoached. Remember, he played for Hubert Davis at UNC, and was completely undeveloped. He's a blank slate for the Bulls and has shown it in the summer league.... All raw talent, little technical basketball skills. Now, if he had gone to the Beloved.... ;-)

He needs A LOT of "rounding."
Click to expand...

"little technical basketball skills?" c'mon, Wilson looks like the full package. Bulls got extremely lucky that he didn't shoot 3s for Carolina. manna level
 
#304      
Fly Illini Fly!
Joel Goodson said:
"little technical basketball skills?" c'mon, Wilson looks like the full package. Bulls got extremely lucky that he didn't shoot 3s for Carolina. manna level
Click to expand...
Just shooting them isn’t that much of a difference if it’s not great efficiency.

Maybe he was a demigod shooter all along. Or maybe he drastically improved during the draft process. Or maybe it’s just the low-pressure summer league environment. Genuinely could be any of the 3.

I’m personally still not sure he’d be taken over Boozer. He had a historic college season. As polished as any one and done we’ve ever seen.

…..

The “what if” scenario no one talks about is what if Mullins shot didn’t go in? Duke would’ve absolutely had a shot at the title (they were the #1 overall).

If they won the natty, Boozer might have pushed AJ or DP.
 
Last edited:
#305      
chiefini
Last edited:
#307      
Joel Goodson
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Just shooting them isn’t that much of a difference if it’s not great efficiency.

Maybe he was a demigod shooter all along. Or maybe he drastically improved during the draft process. Or maybe it’s just the low-pressure summer league environment. Genuinely could be any of the 3.

I’m personally still not sure he’d be taken over Boozer. He had a historic college season. As polished as any one and done we’ve ever seen.

…..

The “what if” scenario no one talks about is what if Mullins shot didn’t go in? Duke would’ve absolutely had a shot at the title (they were the #1 overall).

If they won the natty, Boozer might have pushed AJ or DP.
Click to expand...

Boozer was a great college player, no doubt. and he's gonna be a VG pro. but how a kid fares in college means squat in the NBA. the list of college Gods who didn't come close that that level at the next level is pretty long
 
#308      
Fly Illini Fly!
EmpoweredIllini said:
he still cant guard well, had 7 personal fouls in 28 minutes the other night while his counterpart (who is a no-name undrafted guy) put up a monster game with 36 points
Click to expand...
EmpoweredIllini said:
going back to original comment of 'best defensive player in the draft' (which everyone knows is silly) --> just because you can kinda sorta guard a college sg/sf on switches doesnt mean youre going to be able to keep up with nba caliber initiators
Click to expand...
Sports Illustrated NBA draft article:

www.si.com

Which Defenders Have the Highest Upside in the 2026 NBA Draft Class?

There are multiple 2026 draft prospects who have the potential to be solid defenders in the NBA.
www.si.com www.si.com

“Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan​

Johnson helped Michigan win the national championship with an impressive performance on defense and as a rebounder.

The sophomore averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 62.3% from the field.

At the NBA Combine, Johnson measured 6-foot-9 without shoes and recorded a 7-foot-3-and-a-half wingspan while weighing 250 pounds. The former four-star recruit's blend of strength and mobility for a player of his size and stature make him an impressive precsence on defense.”

Others mentioned:

Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky​

Dailyn Swain, Texas​

Honorable mentions:

Allen Graves, Santa Clara

Aday Mara, Michigan

Kashie Natt, Sam Houston State

Ugonna Onyenso, Virginia

…..

Jay Bilas NBA draft superlatives article:


Best defender Jayden Quaintance, but very clearly mentions Morez:

“With a nod to defensive versatility and rim protection, there might not be a clear-cut choice in this category. Based solely on ceiling and measurables, I like Quaintance, but he did not play many games or minutes this season because of injury. Still, no prospect has more potential to be a game-changing defender than Quaintance.

Michigan's Morez Johnson Jr. isn't far off with his athleticism and ability to switch and pile up steals and blocks. Santa Clara's Allen Graves is attractive as a defensive option as well, although he does not have the athletic ability of Johnson. One player who will surprise is Peterson -- with his 6-10 wingspan and athleticism, Peterson can be an outstanding defender in the NBA.

The top rim protector in this draft is Michigan's Aday Mara. At 7-3 with ridiculously long arms that provide him a 9-9 standing reach, Mara set a Michigan record with 103 blocks last season, and opponents shot just 35% at the rim with Mara on the court”

…..

Bottom line — if he isn’t the best defender, he’s definitely not that far off, as almost all evaluators consider him amongst the best.

Making claims like “he still can’t guard well” are just random takes that hold little to no merit.
 
#309      
EllderIlliniFan
Just thinking about what an amazing year it must be for Keaton. Last year at this time he was scrimmaging with the Illini trying to establish himself on a team that might even be considering him for a red shirt. Just out of high school. A year later he is on the doorstep of the NBA with a multimillion dollar contract. Quite a bit to handle for an 18-19 year old. But he seems to be well up to the task both bball wise and with all the other aspects of the NBA spot light.
 
#311      
EmpoweredIllini
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Making claims like “he still can’t guard well” are just random takes that hold little to no merit.
Click to expand...

making claims that he's the best defensive player in the draft have even less merit when he goes out and commits 7 personal fouls en route to some guy who didn't even get drafted dropping 36 on him

did you read the article at all? dont think you even read the title/headline... theyre saying he has defensive upside, not that he currently is a great nba-level defender (because he definitely isnt)
 
#313      
NarrowJ
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Making claims like “he still can’t guard well” are just random takes that hold little to no merit.
Click to expand...

How do we reconcile what happened the other night? He clearly got roasted at a pretty crazy level vs some absolute nobody.

There's a lot of upside there, nobody denies that, and is what the article (the headline, actually) states.
 
Last edited:
#314      
BretMyBeachHouse
NarrowJ said:
How do we reconcile what happened the other night? He clearly got roasted at a pretty crazy level vs some absolute nobody.

There's a lot of potential there, nobody denies that, and is what the article (the headline, actually) states.
Click to expand...
You reconcile it the same way you reconcile Keaton's first three halves.

Geez folks. It's summer league. There's plenty to be learned but there are a dozen reasons any guy on any different day doesn't look great.
 
#315      
NarrowJ
BretMyBeachHouse said:
You reconcile it the same way you reconcile Keaton's first three halves.

Geez folks. It's summer league. There's plenty to be learned but there are a dozen reasons any guy on any different day doesn't look great.
Click to expand...

And people voiced concerns over Keaton's start to summer league. I am always the guy on here harping about small sample sizes, so believe me this concept is not lost on me one bit.

But we probably are pretty safe in knowing that if a guy commits 7 fouls in 25 minutes and gives up 36 to some guy most people have never heard of, he's probably not a "great defender".

Seems its fine if we have concerns about Illinois player's game translating to the next level, but when we question Morez Johnson it is a Cardinal sin and there's massive pushback from (usually) the same two people?

If you go up in the search bar and type in "Morez" and hit enter, there are 8+ pages of posts from just within the last week or two. I just wish the obsession with Morez Johnson would die a fiery death.
 
Last edited:
#318      
mysterio2525
pvaughn8 said:
I did that and 50% of those posts are by some guy named NarrowJ
Click to expand...
Well Done Laughing GIF

that was funny
 
#319      
BretMyBeachHouse
NarrowJ said:
And people voiced concerns over Keaton's start to summer league. I am always the guy on here harping about small sample sizes, so believe me this concept is not lost on me one bit.

But we probably are pretty safe in knowing that if a guy commits 7 fouls in 25 minutes and gives up 36 to some guy most people have never heard of, he's probably not a "great defender".

Seems its fine if we have concerns about Illinois player's game translating to the next level, but when we question Morez Johnson it is a Cardinal sin and there's massive pushback from (usually) the same two people?

If you go up in the search bar and type in "Morez" and hit enter, there are 8+ pages of posts from just within the last week or two. I just wish the obsession with Morez Johnson would die a fiery death.
Click to expand...
I was actually saying the same about the ridiculous takes on Keaton.

But no, we're not safe to say anything about a player based on one game. I don't care how bad.
 
#322      
DICKnaggie
NarrowJ said:
And people voiced concerns over Keaton's start to summer league. I am always the guy on here harping about small sample sizes, so believe me this concept is not lost on me one bit.

But we probably are pretty safe in knowing that if a guy commits 7 fouls in 25 minutes and gives up 36 to some guy most people have never heard of, he's probably not a "great defender".

Seems its fine if we have concerns about Illinois player's game translating to the next level, but when we question Morez Johnson it is a Cardinal sin and there's massive pushback from (usually) the same two people?

If you go up in the search bar and type in "Morez" and hit enter, there are 8+ pages of posts from just within the last week or two. I just wish the obsession with Morez Johnson would die a fiery death.
Click to expand...
Different players. Different roles. Different expectations. Different teams. Don't complicate it.
 
#323      
EmeraldCityIllini
I can’t believe how universally praised the Kings got for the acuff pick.

Smaller guards with crazy high usage who are terrible defenders are just a basic history lesson.

I’m not sure Keaton has 1A potential in the league, but I know I want him over the smaller guard like Acuff and Flemings that some preferred. Not even close for me.

Brown will be the one I’m most fascinated to compare with
 
#324      
NarrowJ
Had not even been on this forum in a week or more

Came back to find more Morez Johnson discussions

Sorry for being triggered by this :ROFLMAO:
 
#325      
EmeraldCityIllini
NarrowJ said:
Had not even been on this forum in a week or more

Came back to find more Morez Johnson discussions

Sorry for being triggered by this :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

Nah.

He’s obviously polarizing here and ironically he became probably (?) the most polarizing draft pick nationally.

NBA and college styles and strategy and discussing how it translated is fun. I think the Morez chick or the egg question on “did Mara make a lot of Morez” or vice versa is interesting nba chatter- teams debate all the time the value of defenders relative to their centers.

Perhaps we should have a separate nba summer league thread though
 
Back