There's no established lead guard in that lineup with a good enough assist to turnover ratio to trust with running our offense, bringing the ball up the court, snd making the key pass that gets us shots we need. Good, athletic teams would press that lineup to death.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Then that better be a deal breaker for the staff. He isn’t a good enough ball handler and definitely not a good enough / willing enough passer for that role.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Um no. His path to anywhere is excelling in the exact role he had with Illinois last year. He’s never going to run an offense. He needs to excel at getting to the rim, getting better at passing once he gets inside the arc, and being a respectable shooter.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Hearing we are strong in the Samba Kane market for a back up big... possibly a great add out of the Detroit area by the name of Greg Eboigbodin
FightinIllini30
Future insider
No.
Robert Wright III - BYU Cougars Guard - ESPN
View the profile of BYU Cougars Guard Robert Wright III on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.www.espn.com
Not thinking pressing a team with Mirk’s size and passing ability and Tomi’s size and passing ability would be a great strategy. But I’d love to see how that lineup would work. 
Sources telling me don’t rule out Adonis De La Rosa as well …
I think it could work but i think the point is that Blackwell and Coleman are not as able to play Pg as the other guys are and that is likely true.
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
Part of the coach’s response will be for Andrej to learn how to drive and dish when he’s trying to manipulate 2 or 3 trees in the paint.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
well well well
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Good god that's Mark Alstork's music!
Uncanny resemblance
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yeah, last year we had two point guards, Bam & Keaton. Both with decent assist rates (Keaton’s, of course, better) and very low turnover rates
Here’s Blackwell:
He has a lower assist rate than Mirk on higher usage (much lower turnover rate though).
Here’s Terrance Hill Jr:
Basically Keaton in assist and turnover rate. Granted, against weaker competition.
Here’s Robert Wright III:
Would’ve had the highest assist rate on our team last year. Slightly higher turnover rate.
Can a team that doesn’t have a true point / high assist rate guard still have efficient offense? Yes. Here’s the 2024 Illini:
Mirk would likely develop into the Domask here, but Terrence Hill and Robert Wright very well could be better fits for this team. Offensively at least.
Does his dad know Duke is not in the B1G?
8pts per 100 possessions better? I'm seeing raw 1.070ppp given up with Boswell on court vs. 1.056ppp average for the team. Adjusted per competition, Kylan is -1.9ppp, team is -1.5ppp. What did you use to find the 8pts per 100 possessions better? Individual defensive metrics are tricky as they tend to be team base parameters that for all intents and purposes is glorified plus/minus. And from that standpoint, really Big Z was the standout there. Illinois was 10.0ppp raw when he was on the court. Everyone else pretty much plus or minus 4 (Petro and Jake slightly worse)
Overall I think Boswell was a fine defender and had very good games and some stinkers as well. I personally also wouldn't have voted him on the all-defense team this year, but I do think he was very good for us most nights and our best on-ball defender for most of this season.
This just makes me want him even more
You lost me with the first line. Our 4 and 5 in that lineup are both known to be great passers. I assume you’re referencing the backcourt as being non-passers. Without a doubt, they all look to be score first players (referencing mainly Blackwell and Coleman here, as we know the book on Drej), but I wouldn’t classify them as non-passers. The scout report on Coleman says he was efficient and capable when put in a lead guard role (2:1 assist:to ratio) while Blackwell has a solid assist % (13-14) for someone that’s always been off the ball. Both of those guys seem capable of bringing the ball up the floor and initiating offense, though perhaps with less control than a Keaton or KJ had.
I generally agree with your thesis that we would be better served finding someone that can function as a high-level true PG but I disagree with the statement that the above lineup couldn’t work. It could. We’ve seen a different flavor of this in 2024. It would just mean instilling a different type of scheme that leans into our big men more and uses our guards to get the ball up the floor and kick off more high-low sets.
Edit: while I would love a high-level PG, those players are always in high demand. If we can’t get one we feel good about but can get Blackwell, I feel comfortable with that outcome, knowing it would mean some adjustments to the offense.
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