I wouldn't discount Kofi. He is a great player and I welcome him back next year 100% if that is what he wants. One of the easiest ways to feed your center is to penetrate, attract defenders, and then pass it to the big guy for easy buckets. We don't have a person who can do that consistently in the tourney. There were a few reasons why we lost but I wouldn't blame Kofi.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Kofi was “clogging” the lane, BUT a big reason for that is nobody else moved through the lane. Nobody could drive much. So why move Kofi away from the basket when he’s your only real threat at the rim?
Think the offensive style was more out of necessity than what BU wants to run. Hopefully see that develop as his guys continue to take over the system.
Interesting point. We'll never know for sure but could see that with RJ. BU isn't the first and won't be the last coach to possibly over-rely on his upperclassmen at expense of playing freshmen. With the Illini, I think the most glaring recent example of Groce not playing freshmen Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn when it seemed obvious early in the season they were two of the best players on the team and by the time Groce gave them more minutes, we had blown our shot at an NCAA bid. That drove me nuts that year.
If Brad and Josh are serious about having a connection to Chicago, they need to shell out for Anderson. Chin was ok and had connections to MIF, but Anderson seems to have many more and be well respected across most of Chicago. My guess is that the potential transfers are tied to TA also.
BU is catching a lot of grief about not playing freshman, but he has a history of playing freshman with us.
What we had this year was a special situation with 5th year seniors. We don’t have that next year, and probably never again. I’d be surprised if young guys don’t get more tick again.
What we had this year was a special situation with 5th year seniors. We don’t have that next year, and probably never again. I’d be surprised if young guys don’t get more tick again.
Also If you move Kofi away from the lane he won't be able to help rebound. Very seldom saw him go to the glass when he was out of the lane and we didn't have anyone else out there who was able to get the rebound and put it back in over defenders with any regularity. Hawkins was good for tip ins but not so much at the other.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
This is a fair comparison and is the function of Illinois having the better/deeper team than MSU. Christie really struggled down the stretch (~26% 3PT FG for the final two months) but MSU needed him for 20+ minutes/game. Melendez didn't need to do much when he played, allow him to flourish in a low usage rate environment and focus on specific things (defense, tempo) that Underwood wanted. Christie didn't have the luxury. He had to provide scoring/shooting that Michigan State sorely needed all year. Those lumps experienced by Christie hurt them this year but we'll pay off next year. Melendez will also progress but he'll face new challenges next year with greater responsibilities and Big Ten teams able to identify his weaknesses as he plays more. The fun begins if/when he makes adjustments.
You dance with the ones that brought you. This has been a unique year with the super seniors and open transfer portal. If it hadn't been for that the freshman would have gotten a lot of time and probably might have been starting. Brad had two guys come back who were a big part of the success of the program the last two years he was going to go with them over the incoming freshman. I do think the freshman should have gotten more tick as the year went on.
I think BW played the best players period. Should he have considered future development? Maybe, but not at the expense of winning. There’s no guarantee that his current players come back - even if they had gotten more playing time(Adam Miller). We also recruit better with banners and tournament appearances. It’s certainly possible that playing the Frosh more could have resulted in us not winning the BT. BU is incentivized to win as much as possible. Let’s not forget that BU was starting to ramp up playing time for RJ toward the end of the season. Had he not needed emergency surgery, he might have played 20 minutes by the Indiana game.
Its funny that until last year i had never heard of Tim Anderson. He seems to be well connected.. i have seen him get kudos from a few NBA players & compliments about his training for the next level. If he is as good as he seems, im wondering why he didn't have a bigger job earlier. Also correct me if im wrong but didnt Whitman pay top dollar for the current staff, Anderson included? Is it time for raises already? With Rodgers, Morez & possibly Skyy i guess it is time.
Things are moving faster than ever on this front. The time is whenever other teams with the money to compete come sniffing around.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Things move quickly when you're the lead for multiple 4-star commits and the possible key to getting a 5-star commitment for this year's class.
preferred walk on status would be great
Bigtex
- DFW
Super seniors is a tiring narrative. What we saw today from freshman could have been seen in b1g games given some minutes to contribute.
Hey Rob, how old is your daughter now? She should be driving by now.?
BTW, TA is not going anywhere.You can’t guarantee being competitive if you’re relying on multiple non 5 star freshman early.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Bless you.
We wonder why our law enforcement and education gap have become such a tipping point in our society.
It's because we decided to make two of the most important professions in our society some of the lowest starting salaries in the market.
Why on Earth would we not want the most educated, motivated, and intelligent people striving to do these two critical public services? Why would we not want to make them some of the most attractive jobs available to young men and women? It's a travesty of the highest order.
We turned education into a for profit business...and law enforcement into militarized storm troopers.
We are reaping what we sowed.
/rant
/thread drift
/sorrynotsorry
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IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Seconded
Depth with Skyy:
1 Curbelo/Epps
2 Skyy/Podz/Harris
3 Melendez/Goode
4 Hawkins/Rodgers
5 Dainja/Payne/BBV/Lieb
Thoughts?
1 Curbelo/Epps
2 Skyy/Podz/Harris
3 Melendez/Goode
4 Hawkins/Rodgers
5 Dainja/Payne/BBV/Lieb
Thoughts?
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Kofi Come Back!
(didn't someone make a video of this nature? Baby Come Back cover?)
Edit: found
It is the Chicago way lol, bizness as usual
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Whitmans Sampler
- Eastern Iowa
That’s a top 20 team IMO.
ILLINIShox24
Orange Krush '04 & '05
Both of these jobs are funded by taxes. Many people don't like to pay taxes. Especially raising taxes to pay people more than they get at their own job.
I generally agree with you, but unfortunately many people don't want to make that investment.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
If this actually happens, I'm already tired of the thousands of upcoming posts asking why Underwood isn't getting 12 guys serious minutes every game.
Realistically? Some names on that list will leave and Underwood will likely bring in a couple transfers with more experience to provide stability.
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