Everyone knows Leron is a good rebounder. We knew that before the Europe trip. The question is can he stay out of foul trouble and hit that mid range jumper consistently. If he can then we are in business next season.
Illinois Basketball 2016-2017
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Everyone knows Leron is a good rebounder. We knew that before the Europe trip. The question is can he stay out of foul trouble and hit that mid range jumper consistently. If he can then we are in business next season.
Sure, but his rebounding rates improved in what was seen on that short trip, not just his overall rebounding which is a product of his increased playing time. I don't have the exact number on the top of my head but it was a decent improvement in rebounds per minute. Some people were giving Black crap for the games he played this year, and making it seem like his quality of play was due to a plateau of skill, and not due his injury. I don't blame people being cautiously optimistic though, I just think that there are safe assumptions to make based on that trip, and based on feedback that I heard from people that actually were there (including that his defense improved significantly but I'm taking that with a grain of salt as well).
Even if he doesn't improve with fouling, 15-20 minutes per game may be all he needs to make a big impact due to our projected depth at the position. Having him improve in those areas definitely helps our ceiling though.
blackdog
- Champaign
Yea it was pretty clear he was nowhere close to being the same player physically this year. No lateral movement and no lift. Hard to play defense or rebound without those at his size. Once he gets back healthy we will start to see his improvements.
One thing I’m excited about for next year is the prospect of having a really strong 3pt shooting team. JCL is probably the best pure shooter we’ve had since Jamar or Meacham; Finke is a solid shooter at the 4 in the mold of Griffey, Cole, and Carter, but is way above their production level as a freshman; Nunn and Hill are already moderate-to-good 3pt shooters that should get a senior bump; and Abrams/Lucas should be a big improvement over Lewis/Tate from beyond the Arc.
So we’ll almost certainly have at least 5 solid contributors shooting over 35% and could have three shooting over 40%. Rough Career averages as follows:
JCL – 40%
Nunn – 38%
Finke – 38%
Hill – 35%
Jordan – 35%
Also, I think it is a big deal that JCL is leading the team in 3pt % and 3pt shots as a freshman. Historically that is somewhat rare and will hopefully bode well for the future. The attached table shows the Illinois team average, leading 3pt % (over 100 attempts), and most 3pt shots over the last 15 years.
So we’ll almost certainly have at least 5 solid contributors shooting over 35% and could have three shooting over 40%. Rough Career averages as follows:
JCL – 40%
Nunn – 38%
Finke – 38%
Hill – 35%
Jordan – 35%
Also, I think it is a big deal that JCL is leading the team in 3pt % and 3pt shots as a freshman. Historically that is somewhat rare and will hopefully bode well for the future. The attached table shows the Illinois team average, leading 3pt % (over 100 attempts), and most 3pt shots over the last 15 years.
Attachments
I'm not looking forward to having the other team in the bonus for a majority of the first half.
Foggy Notion
- San Francisco
Maybe you should look forward to seeing what kind of progress he makes rather than assuming he will always be the same player he was as a freshman.
Bring back the Bomb Squad.:thumb:
I like Aaron Jordan's size and he seems to be pretty strong, but I've never really seen much film on him and haven't seen enough of him this year to determine how much of an impact he can make. Can someone just sort of give me an idea of what kind of player he could develop into? Thanks in advance
Based on film of AJ that's made it on to this site, I personally think that AJ can turn into a heavy minutes guy by his junior year and be a 15-20 mpg guy next year. There is footage of him making shot after shot after shot in the gym while doing exercises. We've yet to see that pan out on the big stage yet, but I think it's a matter of "slowing the game down" for a true freshman. I'm eagerly awaiting for his breakout game. :thumb:
Expecting Black to be a foul machine is not unreasonable. Based on his few games this year, he was no better whatsoever at adjusting to what the stripes are calling (hacking being particularly tempting for him).Foggy Notion said:
Yeah it was almost sad watching him out there the second time he came back from injury. He looked like an old man compared to everyone else. Clearly wasn't 100%.
The thing that worries me with AJ is his shot doesn't look as pretty as I thought it would. It's kind of a line drive at the hoop. But if it works, it works. We just haven't seen enough of him to know if he's the same level of shooter as JCL. And I think we will start to see that because you can tell he has confidence in his shot. Whenever he has an inch of daylight he launches it. And the best part about both AJ and JCL is they can put the ball on the floor. We've seen both take it all the way to the rim, pull up for a mid range jumper, or float it over a bigger defender. Adding strength and confidence will allow them to finish more consistently.
Really, all 4 of our freshmen are smart, well rounded players with a variety of skills. A good coach should have them playing at a high level next year. Which is why I'm so excited for next year. One way or another, we're going to answer a lot of questions about a Groce. I just hope we have better PG play so the talent at other positions can succeed.
Foggy Notion
- San Francisco
It is unreasonable to expect Black to be a foul machine in the future. In the few games he played this year, he was so hampered by injury that he did not at all resemble the player he was last year. It is common for big men to struggle with foul trouble early in their careers. It's not hard to find examples, even in the recent history of our own program: Leonard and Egwu.
I think we can expect him to continue to struggle with foul trouble in games next year until the light bulb goes off over his head that says "if you raise your hands and swing them down, you will hear a whistle." The refs will always, always, always, always call it (unless the fouler is playing against the University of Illinois Fighting Illini).
I don't expect him to always be a foul machine. But he's not going to magically go down to 2-3 fouls per game first thing next year. Guy needs reps.
I don't expect him to always be a foul machine. But he's not going to magically go down to 2-3 fouls per game first thing next year. Guy needs reps.
Foggy Notion
- San Francisco
I'm just tired of people fixating on one weakness in Black's game at the expense of recognizing his overall contributions. Every player has weaknesses, even in the NBA, but especially younger players. Black is a talented player who will get better. Even with his foul trouble last year, he helped the team substantially.
I will be looking forward to his progress (thank you for the advice) while also acknowledging his flaws.
The man doesn't just foul, he fouls hard. I think he will overcome it, but I'm not going to assume he will figure it all out before braggin rights. We will find that out next year. When he does figure it out, he will be very fun to watch, and very effective. As is, he isn't there yet. During his freshman campaign, he was the most frustrating non transfer for me to watch solely because he was (and is) untapped potential that this team needed sitting on the bench with three early fouls.
I will admit, my previous post did sound pretty cynical.
He was averaging 2.7 a game his freshmen year. Did you mean per 40 minutes?
I did, thank you for correcting me.
Foggy, I do understand that LB brings a lot to the court. If he could harness some of that energy, that would fill a huge void on this team. I want so badly for him to infect the team with his enthusiasm. Even from the bench, he shows a lot of 'tude that we could use on the court. I'm cynical about the fouling because it's easy to be a cynical Illinois fan these days. All of his swag and length is useless if he's swinging those long limbs around and connecting with the arms of other players. As an Illinois fan, I'm particularly sensitive to how it harms the team if your bigs are out with foul trouble (hello, Sean May).
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Interesting ...
Jeremy Werner @JWernerScout 20m20 minutes ago
#illini Jalen Coleman-Lands said he feels comfortable as lead guard. Trying to be more multi dimensional, attack off dribble, in mid range.
Jeremy Werner @JWernerScout 20m20 minutes ago
#illini Jalen Coleman-Lands said he feels comfortable as lead guard. Trying to be more multi dimensional, attack off dribble, in mid range.
What does lead guard mean?
Scoring PG, i.e. Isiah Thomas.
That would give us the lineup we all want next year.
JCL, Nunn, Hill, Black, and 5th year senior
I believe he can be the lead scoring guard, but I still have not seen the PG ability.
Which begs the question that if JCL is going to play PG next year, why is he not playing the position this year?
I have seen improvement over the season, but yes he has a long way to go.
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