Analytics FTW
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
know we are in a good spot when people are starting complaining our 8th guy.
You don't see a <30% 3p shooting wing in the NBA. There are some wildly athletic defender/rebounder type exceptions, hopefully the next few weeks help him understand that and we see tournament Andrej for an entire season.
This seems like a good fit for Cal and AR. I dont know how the culture of that team will be with a ton of highly rated 18-20 year olds and only 1 ball, but they probably have the most talented roster in the country.
I know several of our insiders said we backed off due to perceived work ethic/teammate issues, but it seems like that will fit in nicely with what they are building.
I think a lot of people are also under-estimating the amount of impact players who are out of the conference. Of the Top 20 B1G leaders in Win Shares last season, only 3 of them will be back in the B1G. (Fears (#5) , Sandfort (#6), Mirkovich (#16)
The vast majority of the guys leaving were 4th year seniors. Blackwell is the only other guy on the list (#18), who is even eligible to keep playing. This underscores, how valuable upper-classmen in general are, how players tend to get better and better (so retention really matters), and most importantly,
David Mirkovich is a flipping stud.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Crafting functioning strong teams out of selfish, immature individuals has long been Cal's superpower as a coach.
Orangetool
Give me back my Afta, heh heh
Are you serious? A year ago everyone put Ben to the whipping post. A year later he filled a very nice role. We have not a clue what the freshman Morillo will look like until we see it…. yet you know??? Sit the f**k back and see! If your are going to be a back seat driver, at least wait until the fuc$ing car is on the road
Easy my friend
I think they're behind Duke, Mich, and maybe Florida. In fact, we might have more talent than Ark.
And he is by no means a power forward like some are trying to insist.
This is true. I had a longer post typed but edited it down for brevity. However, in part, I had - if anyone can do it, it's Cal.
I think we have the better team and will end the year with better results. We've got better cohesiveness, culture, work ethic and a list of other attributes. I absolutely love the makeup of our roster for next year, but we dont have 5 top 20 recruits.
Cole Kelly would be a tremendous get for 2028.
I really hope we have a great season and Duke stutters to entice Kelly and Pettigrew to stay in-state.
I hope these guys are educated on how Illini players are celebrated decades after they leave the program. That has to count for something. Versus being another forgotten burger boy at Duke/Kansas.
The number 1 thing I want to see next year is significantly more post-ups for Tomislav. It isn’t always pretty or fluid looking, but he gets the ball in the basket. What did he shoot, like a ridiculous 72% from 2? And it’s not like he’s inflating that percentage with a slew of dunks.
You can still do the pick and pop stuff, but I want him around the bucket much more frequently.
You can still do the pick and pop stuff, but I want him around the bucket much more frequently.
He committed to Arkansas today.
And knows how to rock a 'stache. Can always use style points.
Yeah, we should try that newfangled booty ball, but with a tall player...
