Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

[ChiefGritty]

Can someone explain why we think he'll be so much better than his brother? Not trying to be a jerk, just truly curious why his floor is so much higher.

Well for one thing, Zvonimir would be a big get for next year himself, he didn't get to play until later in the year on a very deep team, but Calipari fought to bring him along for a reason. I'd be excited if he were on our team next year with pretty big expectations.

Tomislav played more basketball at a higher level this year, and is a bit more physically developed.

The REAL question though is why Tomislav, who has now played another basically full season as a professional and is going to Illinois rather than Kentucky, is going to get an easier shake than Zvonimir from the NCAA on the eligibility review still to come. I understand there is some quasi-academic aspect to the pro team the brothers were playing for in Montenegro, but that's far from a complete answer to the question. I would not be surprised if there are problems on the horizon there, the classic Eeyore Gritty part of my brain would honestly be a little surprised if there aren't any.

I mean, Arizona fans might have wanted more, but that's not the discussion. You set the bar at contribute and he, inarguably has done that. He started 35 out of 36 games and averaged 27 minutes. He's totally and completely a known quantity at this level. It's verging on absurd to argue otherwise.

And yeah, Ty will likely find a way to be on the floor at least 25 a game this season, but he's also never done it before, unlike Kylan.

Both Ty and Kylan were full time starters on excellent teams last year. I cannot allow you the bolded over a 4.3 minutes per game difference between the two.

 

[The Galloping Ghost]

Can someone explain why we think he'll be so much better than his brother? Not trying to be a jerk, just truly curious why his floor is so much higher.

Kentucky cycled through three centers. Their rotation was kind of a mess. Even still, there's a reason Cal took him to Arkansas. Meanwhile, Tomi was doing it against former college athletes. Guys that, if they still had eligibility, we'd all take in a heartbeat. As Gritty said, it basically makes no sense why he's even allowed to be a freshman, but hey, good for us. Yeah, we'll see on the language and everything else, but from what's already done against grown men, from a purely basketball standpoint, he should be able to do the job against college kids.

 

[The Galloping Ghost]

Both Ty and Kylan were full time starters on excellent teams last year. I cannot allow you the bolded over a 4.3 minutes per game difference between the two.

Exactly. Kylan and Ty were full-time starters on an excellent teams. So what the heck are you talking about they possibly won't contribute?!? That's the whole point. That's why your statement that we have no one on the roster who's a known contributor toward winning basketball makes zero sense. You, yourself, admitted we have 2.

 

[PepeSilvia]

Can someone explain why we think he'll be so much better than his brother? Not trying to be a jerk, just truly curious why his floor is so much higher.

I think his brother will likely be pretty good this year. Last year was a weird season where his eligibility was in question and he couldn't play until halfway through the season. He also just got very inconsistent at Kentucky among their trio of 7 footers, but he was still producing decently when he got minutes.

Now Tomislav will be a 21 year old freshman, won't have the eligibility concerns, and is more solidly built than his brother. He will also likely get a consistent 20ish minutes a night that his brother wasn't getting.

 

[ChiefGritty]

Exactly. Kylan and Ty were full-time starters on an excellent teams. So what the heck are you talking about they possibly won't contribute?!? That's the whole point. That's why your statement that we have no one on the roster that's a known contributor makes zero sense.

Boswell looked like a shadow of himself at times last year, timid and a bit overwhelmed. Ty sometimes just tries to do way too much and turns himself into a harmful offensive player, and his lack of shooting makes getting him into lineups tricky. I do think those are our two most certain assets (Humdinger is in there too), but those are still both guys who a good team *might* find itself needing to downsize the role of.

Coleman Hawkins was in that category going into last season. If Ty and Boswell gain the ability to keep their time on the court oriented toward their strengths the way CoHawk did this year, we're golden.

 

[The Galloping Ghost]

Coleman Hawkins was in that category going into last season. If Ty and Boswell gain the ability to keep their time on the court oriented toward their strengths the way CoHawk did this year, we're golden.

I don't know. If you are classifying Hawk in that category after his junior year, then, yeah, we have very different viewpoints on what contributors are. He averaged 32 minutes his junior year. Brad basically never wanted to take him off the court. Yeah, he wasn't perfect, but these are kids. None of them are. Even Marcus after fours years at Southern. I guess we can nitpick them to death, but you don't have to be perfect to contribute to winning basketball. And if you're already getting the minutes and putting up the stats, you've proven you can do it.

 

[FrankNitty30]

Oh….,, here we go with this BS AGAIN!!!! B

Ignore

/s

 

[SkyysNotFalling]

Big Ten Voice Predicts Illinois Basketball Will Miss NCAA Tournament

In a recent episode, Greg Waddell and Carter Elliott made their bold predictions regarding each team in the Big Ten.

armchairillini.com

idk if this been posted yet.but I hope daddy Brad uses this for some postboard material to light a under our guys

Tell me you didn’t listen to the podcast without telling me you didn’t listen

Torvik has us 16th. Carter & Greg both made it VERY clear that they expect Illinois to finish higher than 16th….

 

[grue2]

Hurley could run plays for the whole team because you had to respect each one as a scorer. Brad Tyler can and will adjust to having multiple scoring weapons. Having great playmakers like Boswell and Kasparas on the floor will help stir the drink as well. The other players on the court have also shown they can pass. Opponents will have to respect all 5 players Brad puts out there.

FIFY

 

[pruman91]

I don't know. If you are classifying Hawk in that category after his junior year, then, yeah, we have very different viewpoints on what contributors are. He averaged 32 minutes his junior year. Brad basically never wanted to take him off the court. Yeah, he wasn't perfect, but these are kids. None of them are. Even Marcus after fours years at Southern. I guess we can nitpick them to death, but you don't have to be perfect to contribute to winning basketball. And if you're already getting the minutes and putting up the stats, you've proven you can do it.

Bro , you are on a roll.....in da zone....en fuego.......

Train keepa rollin all night long.....

 

[ever]

I don't know. If you are classifying Hawk in that category after his junior year, then, yeah, we have very different viewpoints on what contributors are. He averaged 32 minutes his junior year. Brad basically never wanted to take him off the court. Yeah, he wasn't perfect, but these are kids. None of them are. Even Marcus after fours years at Southern. I guess we can nitpick them to death, but you don't have to be perfect to contribute to winning basketball. And if you're already getting the minutes and putting up the stats, you've proven you can do it.

To chime in here, I probably agree with Gritty in general, but would say it differently. Phrases like "solid contributor toward winning basketball" mean different things to different people.

Boswell and Ty might be our most "known" players given their minutes on good teams last year, but their measurable results don't jump off the page. Neither were efficient shooters or got lots of assists, steals, blocks, or were credited with playing big roles on good defenses. Rodgers excelled at offensive rebounding, and Boswell was good at 3pt shooting, but that's about it. They weren't holding their teams back, but they weren't stars either.

If those are our most "known" players, and our others have their own blemishes and/or uncertainties, then we're going to need some substantial improvement/surprises from several guys to be close to as good as last year. That's certainly possible, but I think a more likely outcome is several guys take incremental steps and we're decent, but not close to last year.

 

[Wrightandjohnstreet]

Is Brad cooking?

 

[PNWIllini]

The Egor and Kasparas situation is extremly similar to when they went and watched a prep recruit and then found Giorgi during that game.

My goodness. Let’s all give Brad and co the benefit of the doubt. They’ve earned it.

 

[illini0440]

My goodness. Let’s all give Brad and co the benefit of the doubt. They’ve earned it.

Did you take my comment as a dig at Brad? Cause lol if you did

 

[AZILL]

Not even willing to give whomever the heck they are the click to even find out.....

 

[MarvinShee]

The Egor and Kasparas situation is extremly similar to when they went and watched a prep recruit and then found Giorgi during that game.

Ahhh yes Valdir Manuel! He was intriguing but every time I watched Patrick school highlights I found myself saying “Ok but who is THAT kid?!?”

 

[Brosky]

DGL, Davis, and Booth are candidates for substantial improvement. It may well happen, and if it does, we will have a strong team. Our size is going to give other teams problems.

 

[blackdog]

The REAL question though is why Tomislav, who has now played another basically full season as a professional and is going to Illinois rather than Kentucky, is going to get an easier shake than Zvonimir from the NCAA on the eligibility review still to come. I understand there is some quasi-academic aspect to the pro team the brothers were playing for in Montenegro, but that's far from a complete answer to the question. I would not be surprised if there are problems on the horizon there, the classic Eeyore Gritty part of my brain would honestly be a little surprised if there aren't any.

Well if the eligibility questions are the same as his brother the NCAA obviously got a satisfactory answer eventually. Seems like they could reach the same conclusion faster the second time if the basic information is the same.