Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#576      

ElGran

E
ElGran
BretMyBeachHouse said:
There's a lot of confidence from insiders, but yeah, this question has me wondering as well. I think it's also interesting how cavalierly people slot CoHawk into center minutes. I have no idea what any of these players are thinking, but it seems like conventionally players want to play down a spot thinking it will help them get into the league. So every natural 2 is looking to get PG minutes. All the PFs want to play and shoot from the outside because it will help their draft status. And so on.

This is why Underwood makes the big bucks. Finding the right roles for the guys on the roster and keeping people happy when life isn't quite meeting their expectations.
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Hawkins can absolutely play C. Most college 5s these days look more like Hawkins than like Kofi.

Yes, most players want to play "down a spot." The thing is most college coaches want players to play UP a spot. In today's game, the premium is on quickness, shooting, and handles.

I would absolutely sell Nance on playing the 4. Not saying he would never get time at C, but Hawk and Dain will get most of the minutes there.
 
#578      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
ElGran said:
Hawkins can absolutely play C. Most college 5s these days look more like Hawkins than like Kofi.

Yes, most players want to play "down a spot." The thing is most college coaches want players to play UP a spot. In today's game, the premium is on quickness, shooting, and handles.

I would absolutely sell Nance on playing the 4. Not saying he would never get time at C, but Hawk and Dain will get most of the minutes there.
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Agreed. Nance is a good 3 point shooter. Hawkins is not, and I don't believe that is Dain's game either. Moving forward, I don't expect the 5 to be on the low block near as much as with Kofi, so those guys will still have opportunities to show off their skills away from the basket.
 
#581      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
warhog6g said:
Sure but do the players see it that way? Also there isn’t positionless basketball on defense. Someone has to guard the opposing center
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True, but the other teams Center would also have to guard someone on our team... Pull (Zach Edey, Hunter Dickinson, etc.) out to the 3pt line and make them guard our more athletic center on the perimeter...this goes both ways!
 
#582      

Ga65

G
Ga65
ElGran said:
Hawkins can absolutely play C. Most college 5s these days look more like Hawkins than like Kofi.

Yes, most players want to play "down a spot." The thing is most college coaches want players to play UP a spot. In today's game, the premium is on quickness, shooting, and handles.

I would absolutely sell Nance on playing the 4. Not saying he would never get time at C, but Hawk and Dain will get most of the minutes there.
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Noticed they did raise Hawk’s weight on the roster from 215 to 225. Dainja still at 270. Comparing to Indiana’s Jackson at 245 and Thompson at 235, defense must be different than with Kofi but we already knew that. Actually think we will play three guards and two PF’s. OSU seemed to do pretty well without a Center.
 
#583      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
warhog6g said:
Sure but do the players see it that way? Also there isn’t positionless basketball on defense. Someone has to guard the opposing center
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Wasn't there some scuttlebutt a few months back that Coleman actually likes playing center? Think maybe his dad said something to that extent on twitter (also possible this is just a story I made up in my head to make me feel good about Kofi leaving)
 
#585      

ElGran

E
ElGran
Ga65 said:
Noticed they did raise Hawk’s weight on the roster from 215 to 225. Dainja still at 270. Comparing to Indiana’s Jackson at 245 and Thompson at 235, defense must be different than with Kofi but we already knew that. Actually think we will play three guards and two PF’s. OSU seemed to do pretty well without a Center.
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Hawkins at 6'10 225 and Dain at 6'9 270 are both plenty big to play C at the College level.
 
#589      

Indy Illini Fan

Indy Illini Fan
Indy Illini Fan
Joel Goodson said:
this kid's game is has a lot of similarities to Mayer's:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1532731223398879234
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Ncaa Football Sport GIF by ESPN College Football
 
#592      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
I think playing with Hawk as a center would be concerning if the rest of our lineup looked like this past year's 1-4, ie, we were small all over the court. Playing Hawk at center alongside Mayer/RJ/TSJ/Ty/Goode has me far less concerned. I reference this all the time but Arkansas from two years ago played really well with 6'7" Justin Smith at center in part because he was surrounded by a bunch of lengthy wings. Same for Texas Tech last year and now we have one of their lengthy, explosive wings. You might get beat up against some bigs in conference play, but I think the positives outweigh the minuses (ie, what Zac Edey can do to you is less of a mismatch than what you can do to him with a fast, lengthy team. I mean, even not fast/lengthy St. Peters destroyed him from the perimeter). And at the end of the day, I'd rather build a team with an eye towards the NCAA tournament than overly worry about Hunter Dickinson or Zac Edey. The analogy is very similar to what we see with the NBA -- some teams are really effective during the regular season with a true big (Gobert, even Steven Adams) and then that guy becomes a liability throughout much of the playoffs. Of course I'd prefer to get Nance and would definitely feel better having another backup big hop onboard if we don't get him, but I think the hand-wringing over playing traditional lineups is too myopically focused on some Big Ten play over broader trends.

Re: Nance and his desire (or potential lack thereof) to play the center...I can understand it, particularly since he has first-hand knowledge of Big Ten bigs, but I also think he'd be better off for it in terms of the NBA draft than playing mainly the 4. Those stretchy, mobile bigs that can hit a 3 and defend the rim are what every team is looking for -- the Al Horford-type players that can be effective as either the 4 or the 5. Excelling in that role on a good team would, imo, be great for his draft stock.
 
#594      

WyattEarp

WyattEarp
WyattEarp
ElGran said:
Hawkins can absolutely play C. Most college 5s these days look more like Hawkins than like Kofi.

Yes, most players want to play "down a spot." The thing is most college coaches want players to play UP a spot. In today's game, the premium is on quickness, shooting, and handles.

I would absolutely sell Nance on playing the 4. Not saying he would never get time at C, but Hawk and Dain will get most of the minutes there.
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I’m not concerned with Hawkins at the 5…at all if we’re in a wide open, up and down face-up, 5-out, type contest were we’re turning people over and getting a lot of transition buckets…(lots of: drives, oops, backdoor cuts, follows, misc. garbage and easy dunks)

…also I obviously like the idea of pulling opposing BIGS away from the paint

BUT what happens when disciplined team(s) are able to change up the tempo and force us into a half-court grind it out
situation…(like you see certain teams do well…and you see it in March a lot.)

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

On defense we did some no-switch…last year…it will be interesting to see what the governing rules of DaddyBrad’s defense is
with our longer athletic personnel….
this year with Mayer and Shannon and Dainja…(coming from a Baylor and Texas Tech methodology) I really think we’ll see the switch a lot. No baseline?
Coleman and Dainja switching down low could work…you don’t give up much.
 
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#595      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
WyattEarp said:
I’m not concerned with Hawkins at the 5…at all if we’re in a wide open, up and down face-up, 5-out, type contest were we’re turning people over and getting a lot of transition buckets…(lots of: drives, oops, backdoor cuts, follows, misc. garbage and easy dunks)

…also I obviously like the idea of pulling opposing BIGS away from the paint

BUT what happens when disciplined team(s) are able to change up the tempo and force us into a half-court grind it out
situation…(like you see certain teams do well…and you see it in March a lot.)

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

On defense we did some no-switch…last year…it will be interesting to see what the governing rules of DaddyBrad’s defense is
with our longer athletic personnel….
this year with Mayer and Shannon and Dainja…(coming from a Baylor and Texas Tech methodology) I really think we’ll see the switch a lot. No baseline?
Coleman and Dainja switching down low could work…you don’t give up much.
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I agree with pretty much everything you said. More often than not, the shortest guy on the court will be about 6'4". We can switch A LOT, and not run into many significant mismatches. As far as the "grind it out" games, Dain will get more looks in the post, but I also think we will be much better at winning one on one matchups than in the past. We have had to rely on Kofi to attract help defense and open things up on the perimeter.
It looks like Skyy can really get around people, but obviously he has a lot to prove at this level. Shannon and Mayer are proven tough one on one covers. Our ability to win one on one will definitely make it hard for defenses to play straight up. We just need to develop the chemistry to take advantage quickly when help arrives.
 
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