Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#1,052      
HouTexIllini
Sorry, I've seen too much good basketball to say a quick, bouncy athlete can't play defense or rebound against mauler 4's. Listed 6'7" Dennis Rodman comes to mind as the ultimate example among many. The luxury of having Mirk and Z is...you still have those guys as primary options.
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Wait a minute, we’re using height and ability to jump as transitive properties to compare Ty and anybody else to All-Pro players and the best rebounder in the history of the NBA?
 
#1,053      
IlliniwekKDR
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Besides, I want Mizzou to be good. Braggin’ Rights being a nationally relevant event is great exposure for this program, given the cool and unique nature of that game’s setup. Not worried about them getting to our level at all, so I’m more concerned with them not being a borderline Quad 3 win!
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As much as I hate Mizzou, I also want them to be good for that reason. But not so good that they can beat us. #1 vs #9 when we play them would be great
 
#1,059      
HailtotheChief
Not benching anybody. Brad likes dogs and Ty is a dog. He can carve out 10-12 minutes subbing for guys.
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Actually.. thst is not possoble. For Ty to come in someone has to go tp the bench thats ahead of him to get in the tTop 9 guys in the rotation. I dont see Ty in that group. To do so somwone out of T, Z, Mirk, Andre, Vaaks, Blackwell or another, Jake, Coleman, or Morillo has to come out of the group! BU wont have 10 guys in the group playing 10 plus minutes. Talk is cheap, someone will need to sit for Ty to play. The onltvway 10 play is if we add another big man and even thats not likely. It seems we may be in bettee shape with 1 less wing and 1 more versitile true post guy . Ty is buried on this group for next season.
 
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#1,061      
madillini4
BWA said:
We probably shouldn’t talk in absolutes here.

1. Let’s all stop assuming Ty hasn’t learned to shoot at all in the last two years. We haven’t seen him play in a while.

2. We also don’t know how his athleticism will be after the injury.

3. We also have no idea how the rotation will shake out. You think this time last year anyone had Wagler penciled in as the starting PG?

4. Nobody has seen Morillo or Coleman play yet either. Or Ethan Brown for that matter.
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Everything you said is correct, aside from still holding out hope he can shoot. Love Ty, but it will never be part of his game. We need to stop holding out hope for that.
 
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#1,062      
dwpittman
I still wish we had more than 15 fouls at those 2 spots. Especially if two of the three get 2 or 3 fouls fairly early.
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Not wishing anything into existence, but illness and injuries happen, too.
 
#1,063      
HailtotheChief
Everything you said is correct, aside from still holding out hope he can shoot. Love Ty, but it will never be part of his game. We need to stop holding out hope for that.
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This roster isnt built for booty ball. It is built on spacing the floor with pick n pop from 3 and gettimg driving lay ups for Andre. For that reason its highly unlikely we see non shooters play whenevee Andre is on the floor because it kills floor spacing. People may not want to admit that the only time Ty plays is likely when Andre sits and even then he likely wont be in because thats not how this roster is designed anymore. The guys coming in can all shoot for a reason.
 
#1,064      
TheDukeUIUC
Everything you said is correct, aside from still holding out hope he can shoot. Love Ty, but it will never be part of his game. We need to stop holding out hope for that.
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You're right, its impossible to improve shooting percentages through practice. he just shouldn't even try to work on that part of his game and be a more complete player. /s
 
#1,066      
AirTran
Everything you said is correct, aside from still holding out hope he can shoot. Love Ty, but it will never be part of his game. We need to stop holding out hope for that.
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Well, if there is one thing we can say with certainty - his coaches and teammates have seen him play... everyday. If they didn't think he could help the team next year he would already be in the transfer portal. I can't speak to his shooting improvement or if his injury hurts his ability to get the rim, his defense or his rebounding.

However, if physically he is up to it and his skills are only slightly better than what they were 2 years ago, the 3 biggest beneficiaries of Ty being on the floor at the same time are (1) Andrej, (2) Mirk, (3) Jake.

Keep in mind Ty moved from wing in 2023 to PG in 2024 and Illinois went to the elite 8. He is very effective at the rim and we all know what he can do on the glass and defensively.

However I will add one other piece. In 60 years of watching Illinois basketball (46 years on cable and satellite) Ty Rodgers is in the top 3 Illinois basketball players I have seen in terms of Intelligence. Up there Bruce Douglas, Derek Harper and obviously Kendall Gill, Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Roger Powell. Specifically Ty's movement off the ball. He clearly comes into games very prepared because both offensively and defensively he knows where the ball is going.
 
#1,067      
Brosky
There is so much speculation. Is there any REAL information about Blackwell? I'd love to get him. Probably depends on what we've got left in the checkbook.
 
#1,070      
Ga65
I would imagine part of the sell to get Z to come back would have to be that he will get more minutes in general, so yeah that'd mean more minutes with both twins on the floor.

The weird thing with Z on defense is he seems to move very well for his size, and thus is more capable than Tomi at guarding in space, and can make up for getting beat by being super long with good timing and explosion to contest a shot... But he's such a good shot blocker that you'd rather Z be the one protecting the rim instead of Tomi and not be guarding a 4 in space. Kind of a weird dynamic.
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Without injury the 4 isn’t a problem but if you assume a season ending injury where is the weakness? Without doubt to me it is Mirk. Too much depends on him.
 
#1,071      
PepeSilvia
Yes, to use an old skool term, we need a ‘banger’.
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Mirks a banger and will play 30+ minutes a game and if both Z and Tomi return you have the option of playing twin 7 footers that even if they aren't overly physical they can defend the rim against physical 4s.

I'd argue Ty gives you more value because you get a more mobile 4 that can switch 1-4 and and chase shooters around screens which is just a different type of player to Mirk. Whereas your more old school 4 would have a more redundant skillset to Mirk.

I don't think you're going to get a super talented forward to want to come here knowing they will see limited minutes behind Mirk.
 
#1,072      
PepeSilvia
2. We also don’t know how his athleticism will be after the injury.
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I think all your points have some merit but point 2 really stands out.

Ty's injury was reported as a partial tear so I don't know if thats a major difference(maybe there is a doctor here that can explain) but patellar tendon injuries are often times career enders or at least guys never really return to form.

Oladipo just had his career basically ended by one. Antonio Mcdyess was never the same player after his though he still had a solid career. Jeremy Lin only managed to play another season or two after his. Caron Butler managed to hand around for a few years but he's one of the few.

Now he will have had basically 18 months to recover by the start of the season and Illinois obviously has a better idea of the injury and his recovery but there is a chance he's just not the same run/jump athlete that we saw his first two years.
 
#1,073      
jmw
Everything you said is correct, aside from still holding out hope he can shoot. Love Ty, but it will never be part of his game. We need to stop holding out hope for that.
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Maybe we can get Damonte to teach Ty how to double your three point percentage in an offseason.
 
#1,074      
Goillinikobd
Who are you benching for him out of the top that starts or even the top.8 or 9 players? We are deep at the 3 and he is behind Andre, Jake and likely even 6'7" Morrillo at the 3. Ty doesnt have to be guarded outside a few feet! If we get Blackwell or someoe like him with the depth at the 1 and 2 it would not suprise me at all if Morrilio is ahead of Ty in playing time and to do that he may play the 3 at tines ahead of Ty. Who ya benching to ger Ty meaningful minutes?

One thing ive heard is Norrillo like Riley appears to still be growing too and wont be 19 until late October. He has grown to 6'7" since we signed him.
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It’s pretty hard to make decisions about Ty when no one has seen him in competition since when, 2 seasons ago. Is it reasonable to expect he hasn’t improved in any area. Look what can happen, even in a shorter time- Will Riley, Wagler.
Hate to see him go someplace else because Loyalty says he is a bench warmer and then he goes to Iowa and does a Podz.
 
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