Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
#152      
Rap47
Jake not a guard. I don’t think Andrej is either; but either way, he won’t be coming off the bench THIS year. Point remains that - for this year, we won’t have anyone (real minutes off the bench - guard).

unless we add somebody.

I don’t see exactly see Brown being We only had one guard last Bozwell at this time last year and that season turned out okay.
Click to expand...
 
#153      
illinibbcz
Would there be any mutual interest in Cox from Colgate to be a 15-20 minute player on this team?
 
#155      
Emerson Bigguns
ChiefGritty said:
Yeah, it's not so much about individual roles as the traits and skills you can put in a five man lineup.

Last year's team had trouble with compact floor general true PG types. Fears, Braeden Smith, Nick Boyd, Donovan Dent, etc. At both ends, those guys could get where they wanted on offense and could get underneath our ballhandlers and gum us up at the other end.

That's going to get worse next year, not better. We got creative to work around that disadvantage last year, more creativity will be needed.

There are so many players who have this missing skillset, that's what's weird and a bit frustrating. We've got all these size/skill unicorns that are impossible to find, but there are tons of pugnacious little ballhandlers out there.

Let's go get one!
Click to expand...
I thought our big guys did a LOT better with help on guards and challenging shots at the rim without fouling in the tournament. Hopefully, we see that effort continue. The biggest advantage of the retention, is that gaining buy-in shouldn't take so long. David was awful on defense when he showed up late last summer, by all accounts. He embraced the coaching and got a lot better. Andrej as well.

The new guys this year will need to do the same, but I think the raw materials are there. Vaaks and Coleman both have enough length and./or athleticism to be more than fine on that end. It's matter of developing strength, understanding the scheme, and effort.
 
#156      
logjam
I think our fanbase is awesome and find demands for it to be lobotomized quite strange and unnecessary.


Not to toot my own horn but I think I more or less nailed it calling Vaaks a cross between KJ and Evansville Humrichous. He's just a much bigger and wider human than Wagler despite comparable height/length, he doesn't move in the same way.


I'm struggling to understand why Brandon Lee would leave at the moment he's all of a sudden needed in this way.

There's a missing piece here. Pretty lame to be relentlessly shamed and propagandized for stating the obvious.
Click to expand...
I agree but over and over and over is tedious...
 
#157      
FightinIllini30
5% of loyalty: people who think we’re going to be bad and who clearly don’t know anything about basketball

90% of loyalty: people complaining about those people as if there is way more of it than there actually is

The other 5%: insiders trying to find out if they should give us any more info
 
#158      
pruman91
hooraybeer said:
does the portal ever really close...?

thoughts @pruman91
Click to expand...
psyc127.gif


Portal always open...............it really really is..................
 
#161      
LvilleILL1
wncillini said:
With no more additions this team reminds me more and I will have expectations closer to the 05-06 Illini then the 04-05 Illini. A good team with a good record who brought back starters but not THE starter and great Illini team, but not great all of basketball standards like 88-89 and 04-05 who still get brought up as best teams to not win it all.

Its definitely strange how two camps looks at the same team and 1 camp perceives a gaping guard hole and the other camp says this is the championship team as is and nobody even pretends the other is close to accurate.
Click to expand...
This team has a lot better overall talent than 05-06 and it's not close.
 
#162      
Guest
Seems like maybe we need another Ben H. Either as a backup at the 4 or a guard. Someone who is fine with that type of role. Coming from a lower-level program and happy to be on a final four contender and content to be that role guy. And be able to hit 3s. But maybe Ben was also a unicorn in that way?
 
#163      
Combo
jrichisamazing said:
Agreed, but I'm even more confused by Ty leaving. With his ability to guard 1-4, plus all of our bigs being able to play on the perimeter, you would think he would find a good amount of minutes.
Click to expand...
Right now, I'd be very happy with Ty being our next "addition." Absent injury, he's not going to start (which may be a no-go for him). But I think he would play a lot because he can do the things we need given our roster make-up. Can defend 1-4, handle the ball fairly well, and is a beast of a rebounder. And he's certainly not "ball-dominant."
 
#164      
okrush
LvilleILL1 said:
This team has a lot better overall talent than 05-06 and it's not close.
Click to expand...
Fully agreed. That 05-06 had so little support for Auggie and Dee Brown. There was plenty of hype around some others like Brian Randle but really there were just two reliable scorers in that squad.
 
#165      
Mobi
Cuz we lucked out both time with Domask and Keaton. This year we are already in a good shape. No complaints. Just a backup insurance like Hamon.
 
#166      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
wpr said:
Fair enough.
You tell me who.
What mid major PG is out there who is willing to sit on the bench and play 15 minutes a game?
Click to expand...
Oh, absolutely.

As a baseline, Justin Harmon - who was very glad to come play here - averaged 14pts, 3.8rebs, 2.9ast at UTAH Valley. At Illinois, he played 18.7 minutes per game.

You could literally go on and on, but here's 3 guys with similar profiles at their most recent stops.

www.espn.com

Armoni Zeigler - Ball State Cardinals Guard - ESPN

View the profile of Ball State Cardinals Guard Armoni Zeigler on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

www.espn.com

Makaih Williams Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Grand Canyon Lopes Guard Makaih Williams on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

www.espn.com

Rodney Brown Jr. - Loyola Marymount Lions Guard - ESPN

View the profile of Loyola Marymount Lions Guard Rodney Brown Jr. on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
wpr said:
If he is good enough to do that he's good enough to start for other teams. If he is good enough to start he is good enough to get double the NIL money elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Actually... it's the other way around. You'll make much more playing 15 minutes here than starting for a penurious school like Boston College, Utah, DePaul, etc.
 
Last edited:
#167      
Mobi
Cuz we lucked out both time with Domask and Keaton. This year we are already in a good shape. No complaints. Just a backup insurance like Hamon.
 
#169      
Joel Goodson
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Coleman is not backup PG. He’s going to start at SG.

Morillo is interesting since he can play 1-4. The thing is we’re counting on him to be ready. If he is, he’ll definitely see the court since he can fill 4 of the 5 spots.
Click to expand...

+1

Morillo is going to be our Swiss Army knife. should be a great showcase for his game
 
#170      
ChiefGritty
the juiceman cometh said:
In a few games that is what got us in trouble. This is just anecdotal data in service of a position you've staked out for years now, which is that small guards are good (I remember because of how distraught you were about DGL leaving, which struck me as a bit odd based on what he'd actually contributed in his time here).
Click to expand...
Fair enough I suppose, I have been a skeptic of "positionless basketball" for a long time.

But it's just a fact that quick penetrating guards with fast hands who know how to play with leverage are an asset.

And as the announcers never went five minutes without telling us last year, we were the tallest team in America. That's mostly a plus, but everything in life has tradeoffs, the same abilities which let us shoot over everybody and dominate the boards makes us vulnerable to those ankle-bitey guards.

Anyway, in terms of being a high-energy guard with a swag streak, I loved seeing DGL become the player I knew he could be from afar this year, and I can see some of those same traits in Coleman which is exciting.

LvilleILL1 said:
This team has a lot better overall talent than 05-06 and it's not close.
Click to expand...
Better basketball players, especially in the frontcourt. Rich McBride and Brian Randle just kinda never became the players their talent level could have made possible.

But goodness gracious, imagine adding Dee to our current team. Pitch perfect, as good of an ankle-bitey guard as the Big Ten has ever seen.
 
Last edited:
#171      
Chuck Nuggets
Kernal12 said:
Am I crazy to think Vaaks might be our best player next year?
Click to expand...
Vaaks has lottery pick potential to my eye, especially in what's thought to be a weaker class next year.

I have no idea what's going to happen once he's in orange. He may meet the challenge or he may crumble under the weight of the expectations. Maybe it takes him two or three seasons rather than one. But there's no doubt the legitimate NBA potential jumps off the screen.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back