If Tomi is healthy you will see a player far more impactive than ever before IMHO....for a variety of reasons. There is no reason for him to not see significant improvement in shooting, defense, inside offense, and rebounding...maybe even more quickness and athleticism. All he needs to do is put in the work and care....and I can't imagine that he won't as this period in his life will only come around once.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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magnificent stroker:
McLovin's cuz, who will flippin' destroy you
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
It's not really so much about who's the better player, it's that Vaaks has a lot of similarities with Wagler and will bring a lot of the same traits and maintain continuity with how we played last year, whereas Morillo is nothing like Ben at all.
If we're asking Morillo to impersonate Ben Humrichous then yeah, he's going to be a downgrade on the real thing. But then if we have Morillo be himself, how does that impact other players and the overall way in which we play?
Ben was constantly able to guard opposing true bigs and then get cross-matched at the other end against guys who he would just shoot straight over as if they weren't there. Morillo can't do that, he's going to have to use his skills to impact the game in a different way.
In fairness to Drej, he knows his 3 pointer isn’t all that great. He only really took open shots from the corner. He needs to improve his form and the little hitch in his long ball to be improved shooting from range.
FIFY....
Illini Basketball
Sharing this infographic that I update at the conclusion of each year. We are fully back. By my objective-ish methodology, the BU era is now equal to the Before and During Dee era (1980 - 2006) of Illini basketball. And BU is quickly becoming the most decorated coach in Illini basketball...
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Where exactly should Tomi return from? I hate to be pedantic here, but his usage decreased and his role changed in part because we had a substantially better/deeper front court, so I'll continue to disagree with this notion that there was some meaningful regression YOY if you look at a side by side comparison of his seasons. He was highly efficient down the stretch at doing exactly what we needed him to do.
If he stays healthy through the offseason, I would assume that would allow him to add a bit of strength, quickness and conditioning, which would make him a materially better player than he was last year and his first year.
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Exactly, thank you Emerson! Not only did we have no idea what we had in Wagler, we had no idea what we had in Petro. They were both 180 from what we thought we had, yet tons of people already know what these freshmen are going to do. Ridiculous!
However don't bet your Arizona beach house on what anyone will be before they leave. He may leave after the season, or possibly even before. Make it by the time he graduates from whatever school he is attending, or goes to the NBA early. Just to be safe.
A possible Ben replacement in Europe Nikola Kusturica who plays for the same team as Kasparas Jackucionis did FC Barcelona
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
Similar minutesFIFY....
Illini Basketball
Sharing this infographic that I update at the conclusion of each year. We are fully back. By my objective-ish methodology, the BU era is now equal to the Before and During Dee era (1980 - 2006) of Illini basketball. And BU is quickly becoming the most decorated coach in Illini basketball...
Where exactly should Tomi return from?
- His rebounding decreased from 8 rbg to 6 rbg
- His 3 pt % dropped from 36% to 31%
- He looked slow on defense - did not jump to contest shots
He started pounding it in the lane late in the season. Going inside out with Tomas on some possessions stops the opponent from going small ball on us.
I think our returnees could take a big jump from working all summer
Tomas - give inside threat. Get stronger quicker to play better post defense and rebound better
Big Z - less 3 pointers. Learn baby hook from Tomas so you can post smaller defenders occasionally. Get stronger so you can hold onto rebounds.
Andrej - tighten handle, learn to pass of double team to open man, get stronger to become better rebounder, cut to hoop without ball. Go to the hoop anytime you get the ball in fast break
David - improve jumping ability, work on agility
Jake - get stronger
Im not sure it was quick. It just took awhile for everyone to catch on.
Mike Shaw-like career trajectory.
Maybe a downgrade in rebounding and defense but not in scoring. Team will look different with Z backing up Tomi and Mirk and guards will have a different rotation with combinations of Dre, Jake, QC, Vaaks and Morillo. Not sure it will be inferior but will be different.
That’s all valid, but we still want them taking threes (Especially Z). Shot selection should be a focus for those guys. Volume plays into that. It’s worth digging into the analytics to see where they were most effective and, if need be, adjusting their volume. I’d rather see Z take 1–2 threes per game from spots where he was efficient last season instead of 2-3. The same applies to Andrej, I don't think it's in anyone's best interest for him to be taking 2+ a game.
Morrillo will NOT be a surprise. I have watched him play extensively and this kid is ready to plug in. I view him as Vaak's backup and he could potentially back up both guard positions and maybe the 3. He's got handles and passes really well.
Question for insiders, we all know that Andrej is going to get feedback on his jump shot and that it needs to improve. Does that mean he is going to come back and just jack 3's next year? That would be the worst-case scenario, in my opinion.
Analytics FTW
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.
FightinIllini30
Future insider
Could Andrej be the first player to get two “Booms” in one offseason? Or does pulling out of the draft not necessitate a boom?
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