The good news is that he is not the Keaton replacement, Vaaks is.
He (hopefully) will be feasting on open 3s and recovering Ds that Boswell sometimes struggled to.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
He (hopefully) will be feasting on open 3s and recovering Ds that Boswell sometimes struggled to.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
We’re talkin’ about……..an All-Star game!
(Sorry-given it was AI’s event that was a layup!)
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Yeah, was expecting Andrej gone and Keaton back, so just flipped there.
It wouldn’t be Loyalty without someone pointing out the glass is 3% empty….
Last years Iverson had the top players, MCAA/Lottery picks. Only player not there was Keaton, but he was below the radar. This year's event I didn't recognize many of the players. Ton of talent, probably alot of 25-50 ranked players.
Yes, Quintin has all the tools to be a pesky defender and reliable rebounder. We know our coaching staff’s #1 priority is BOARDS. As Kawhi once famously put it “Board man gets paid.”
He will be a third option ball handler behind Vaaks and Mirk. Our offense doesn’t require him to shoot off the dribble middys or unnecessarily drive into traffic. The asks of him will be:
- Defense ala Kylan (this is a big ask if we make him our POA defender)
- Rebounds (our big guys will be boxing out vs. some really good frontcourts in Florida, Michigan, Duke, etc so a dynamic gaurd rebounder is key. We had that with Keaton getting 12 boards vs. Houston.)
- Open 3s (he’ll need to move up his starting shooting pocket at the risk of getting his !!!! packed. Maybe Jake can help him. But he does have a nice pump fake, side dribble that’ll free up some space to get shot off).
- Pick 6s (we didn’t have many but I hope we get a few easy points off TOs via Quentin).
We don’t need him to be a Darius Acuff or Kingston Flemings. We need him to be a lite version of Braden Burries. I think that’s honestly very achievable when we have 4 starters around him that can go for 15-20 points a game.
November can not come sooner.
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I would think that Andrej would be the second option point within our starting lineup.
His shooting style is very close to Wagler's and he did okay.
He’s a chucker iirc.
Agree on everything except Andrej got a bigger bag based on the POA D he played down the stretch.
Hoping the pre draft work really drills that in because I think he needs to be that dude and this team's success is predicated on him and Ivisic playing like their healthy tournament versions all season..
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
Kelly's been killing it this weekend:
We need this guy in O&B. Absolute stud. Has the frame to get bigger. B1G Freshman of the Year potential as our starting SF in 2028-29.
I don’t think so. Andrej averaged criminally low assists. And is not a plus passer. When he drove into the paint he was committed to a getting a shot up. Compare that to some of the assists Keaton and Mirk achieved as a SG and PF, respectively, when penetrating the paint.
I remember watching Keaton's high school videos and thinking his low release could be problematic!
DReq
Always Illini
- Central Illinois
You can shoot that low when you have a great shot fake or step back and your defender is struggling to stay within 6 feet of you. He made room so easily.
That is exactly how most of us feel.
rmlsr
- El Paso,IL
Not surprising since they just took a trip to visit Vaak and I am sure they also did some recruiting while over there
CrazedUIFan
UI Fan in QC Land
And you have exceptional range
Whatever the environment - HS or All Star games - Quintin is consistently looking like the best 3pt shooter on the floor.
I’m SO excited to see him utilize that within an offense designed to find him those looks. Hitting 2-3 threes per game will unlock so many other aspects of his offensive game too when defenses have to crowd him and respect pump fakes.
I’m SO excited to see him utilize that within an offense designed to find him those looks. Hitting 2-3 threes per game will unlock so many other aspects of his offensive game too when defenses have to crowd him and respect pump fakes.
1m4tr
Cliffmas
I saw a willing rebounder. A kid who will fight for boards.
Coleman already looks ready as catch and shoot guy. Major upgrade at the 2 in that regard. Don't think you're gonna have to worry about playing him and AS together at same time like you did AS/Boswell
He's got major upside but hoping Vaaks reigns it in a bit with his 30 footers and becomes a better distributor as he's got a enormous upgrade in supporting cast. His usage % wasn't far off Keaton's last season but wasn't the level of distributor
He's got major upside but hoping Vaaks reigns it in a bit with his 30 footers and becomes a better distributor as he's got a enormous upgrade in supporting cast. His usage % wasn't far off Keaton's last season but wasn't the level of distributor
I find it odd Ty and Brandon Lee haven’t committed anywhere and we’ve heard pretty much nothing about any potential landing spots
My god this kid is smooth. If he can continue to bulk up, you’re looking at a premier SF in the mould of Yaxel in the making.
He’s a more important get than Brady Pettigrew given we’ve never struggled getting pro-ceiling guards. But we haven’t had a kid this ready and polished as a rising JUNIOR. He has two more years in high school and frankly looks ready for college ball now. I hope he doesn’t re-classify so he can enjoy dominating HS and AAU for an extra year.
Getting him and Pettigrew, locking down the state and, specifically and more importantly, Chicago, for the 2028 recruiting year would be a massive shot in the arm of this program. Would elevate us into a perennial Top 10 type program that consistently reloads like we’re used to seeing with the Dukes and UConns of the world.
Nothing too specific in this article, but an earlier one said Ty's best destinations would be St Johns, Tennessee, or Miami.
Illinois Basketball Transfers Still Searching for New Teams in 2026
The Illini's outgoing transfers remain without new destinations as of early May. What level will each departure choose?
www.si.com
I tend to agree, though it’s probably going to be close. Andrej had nearly as high of a usage rate as Wagler last year. (25.2-25.0) Mirk was not far behind.(22.6)
To your point, they will run the offense through Mirk a lot more often, because he does a better job of making his teammates better.