Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#626      

WyattEarp

WyattEarp
WyattEarp
HailtotheChief said:
Don't you think that if Hawk was able to match up defensively at the 5 last year that he would have been ahead of BBV and Omar in the rotation at the 5. In the limited time he did try to play the 5 on defense he was decided over matched and gave up easy buckets getting backed down. I feel people are drinking Kool Aid thinking that's changed. I listen to WDWS and Tate and Kelly agree as well. I don't see Hawkins as a string defender at the 5 like he can be at the 4. Hopefully he is much bigger and stronger just a few. Months later otherwise we need some beef vs some of the elite teams with guys like NC, Purdue, ScuM, and others.
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Well, you’re not wrong. He did get his butt handed to him in the post quite a bit. He has deficiencies. I think indeed, for the more traditional way we tried to play last year…he definitely did not have the strength or footwork to defend conventional BIGs (solo) in the paint for extended periods of time…that’s why BBV and Omar undoubtedly played ahead. Also, offensively he does not
have the greatest offensive vocabulary with his back to the basket. All true.

But there are going to be drawbacks to however you decide to play. And your personnel dictates how you play.
I feel like the trade- off is more than likely worth it. The scheme is everything. It’s a different philosophy to wrap your head around for sure…but you gotta play to your strengths.

I dunno what the defensive scheme is gonna be next year. I have no idea. But it sure seems like the staff has assembled the personnel to play an aggressive switching man-man Defense. Hell, we’ve acquired 3 dudes that came from schools that play that way. I’d be shocked if we didn’t incorporate elements of that with this group. I’m thinking it’s gonna be more of a turn people over type- thing on each possession…rather than play straight up and directly behind more like last year.

I feel like in switching type D…a 6’11 a wild man like Coleman would excel. It’d be likecontinuous, aggressive half-court press. Each hard switch is a turn over opportunity.

Last year we were sending guys in to be Kofi 2.O…BBV and even Omar were better at that…BBV had better footwork and was better at the game of angles…Omar couldn’t stay on his feet; but he might block ya…those were not Coleman’s strong suits admittedly
 
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#628      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
WyattEarp said:
In those situations there will be times we
need an old fashioned back to the basket
post-up. I think in those must-haves I would look to Dain. I hope Coleman surprises me…but for my $$ it’s Dainja. I see glimmers of Mark Aguirre in Dain in the post. I know we’ve only seen push him around and drop-step 1st year Engineering majors at Ubben thusfar…BUT he looks to have a better repertoire of traditional post moves…and he’s stronger. IMO
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I agree with a lot of your post, but I'm not convinced this part about needing a back to the basket big when the game slows down holds up anymore. Even when a game slows down, it's more about whether you can beat guys off the dribble and get to the rim and/or your spots. Having a back to the basket big didn't help us last year. What we were missing was our Ayo that could beat a guy 1-on-1 and get to his midrange. Take the '21 Baylor team as another example: they didn't have a traditional big but they had two great guards that could generate 1-on-1 offense. Davion seemed like he could get to the hoop whenever he wanted to on their NC run. Even UNC and Kansas this year, playing with traditional bigs in the NC game, relied on those guys less for post-generated offense and more for offensive rebounding and put backs. It was Remy Martin/Agbaji and Love/RJ generating looks for both teams when the game got tight. That's why not having an old-fashioned big but having a guy that can hit 3s (and offensive rebound) is probably better for the late game offense, eg, your Jaylin Williams-type bigs popping to the perimeter leaves your JD Notae's with a much clearer path to the basket.
 
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#629      

the juiceman cometh

T
the juiceman cometh
Illini92and96 said:
There is an obvious solution. Instead of a 4 and a 5, we should play two 4.5s. No one has to be a 5.
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Calculate Figure It Out GIF by Rooster Teeth
 
#630      

Ga65

G
Ga65
ElGran said:
Kofi played 31 mpg last year. So the remaining 9 min/game is a pretty small sample size to draw from. And if I recall, when BBV and Payne came in for Kofi, we usually had Hawk at the 4 to compensate for the size we lost without Kofi on the floor.

Hawk at 6;10 225 matches up fine with most Centers in college ball. For guys like Ekey, even Kofi had a hard time with him. So the key may not be trying to get even bigger (impossible), but try to make them play our style (which likely will be fast). If we need someone bulkier at Center, Dain will play more.
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Ekey only played 20 mins with Williams playing the other 20. If we play as fast as expected Ekey won’t be so tall bent over trying to get a breath. Our defensive system will be much different geared to stop him from getting the ball and double teaming when he does.
 
#631      

GallopingGhost

GallopingGhost
Denver, CO
GallopingGhost
john1952 said:

Northwestern Wildcat Pete Nance withdraws from NBA Draft, remains in transfer portal​


any tea leaves on Nance intentions ???
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Art Lesen GIF by SWR Kindernetz


I invite you to read about the last 20 pages from this thread.
To sum it up: Some insiders are confident he's coming to Illinois. Some are not. Everyone has different sources, so we still don't know. We likely won't know until he announces one way of the other.
 
#647      

Shabasco

S
Shabasco
Ga65 said:
Ekey only played 20 mins with Williams playing the other 20. If we play as fast as expected Ekey won’t be so tall bent over trying to get a breath. Our defensive system will be much different geared to stop him from getting the ball and double teaming when he does.
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Who dat?
 
#648      

BretMyBeachHouse

B
BretMyBeachHouse
Ga65 said:
Ekey only played 20 mins with Williams playing the other 20. If we play as fast as expected Ekey won’t be so tall bent over trying to get a breath. Our defensive system will be much different geared to stop him from getting the ball and double teaming when he does.
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Love Ekey. Although I think we've upped our transfer game.

Ekey v. Iowa
 
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