Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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?
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?
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.