Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#601      
And I hate using Donovan Dent as an example, because he honestly had a subpar season, but he dropped 23/6/12 on Michigan St and Jeremy Fears himself, so maybe these guys are just really good basketball players and hard for any team to stop.
His Purdue game was outstanding: 23pts and 13ast.

Was one of those guys that when's he's cooking, is as good as any PG in the country.

Unfortunate injuries for UCLA last year. I remember they stuck with Purdue until the very end without Dent and Bilodeau.
 
#603      
I don't believe anyone questioned our point guard play or the quality of it.

The uncertainty is regarding how we GUARD OPPOSING TEAM's PG with superb quickness (like a Jeremy Fears), since we lack that quickness at our PG spot.

It's not a point guard question; it's a defense question.

To that the answer would be Stojakovic, and then two freshman in whichever order (Coleman and Williams).

Williams will play because, besides Andrej, we have zero other SLAP prototype players (size, length, athleticism, physicality) on the roster. His role is super simple: be a great athlete and be great on defense. If he does it, he'll see the court.

Brown likely isn't ready. I think Zens might be ready, but he doesn't provide us what we lack.

And if JJ plays a significant role, something's gone horribly wrong.
Lincoln Williams can guard him.
 
#605      
To be #1, you need to be top 10 in both offense and defense. Heck maybe even top 5 in both.

However, I'd question how realistic those views are about being #1. We don't have the defensive profile of a Michigan / AZ from last year. Yes you can claim our size will bother teams, but fact is those top 5 defenses just look... different. Athletically and physically.

If you're the top offense (which Torvik projects for Illinois) and a top 20 defense...it very likely implies you're a top 5 team, in the elite 8 or the F4. I really don't see anything wrong with that. It's NEVER championship or bust.
I definitely agree with everything you said except I'm conflicted about the bolded part.

I think "natty or bust" is too extreme since it's a single elimination tournament. Being in the top tier in final Torvik/KenPom is the more "controllable" goal, and if our defense holds us back from that, it will personally be a letdown after all the excitement going into next season.
 
#606      
I am not certain about Slovania but I can confirm none of our staff was in Montenegro yesterday as I did not see them. On an another note let me tell you Montenegro is beautiful, unlike central Illinois, Mirc must have only been interested in playing for Brad.
Having been to Montenegro, Croatia and other countries in that area of the world I will confirm that this area is very beautiful and the people are very nice. Also great restuarants.
 
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