Well, first, I don not think the writer was talking about facilitation skills and experience he gained at Illinois. You do know that he was a very well-respected PG in whatever Euro League he was in, yes? He was even considered for the MVP award for that league. Averaged 12 points a game. And do you think that the Illinois staff evaluation did not also see those skills last year? Of course, they did. You even admit Brad has an eye for talent. Was his evaluation of MP wrong last year? It is why they recruited him, and if not for KW, he would have been Illinois’ PG last year. As we have witnessed before, it can take some time to adjust to Big Ten play. But I do not doubt he would have. Did you see the post of the schools that are interested in him? And I quote the Twitter post, "Sources indicate MASSIVE high-major interest in the former Illinois playmaker since entering the transfer portal.” Do you not think that they, too, see his potential in regard to the skills that he has acquired over his time in the Euro League? And those schools are high-major schools. So, some people, who know better than you or me, seem to think he has what it takes to play at a high major school.
As to the Wisconsin game, why is it that you don’t single out Lee as well? He only played 1 minute. You asked if anyone could explain why he did not play, and I think Emerson Bigguns posted a good analysis of why MP didn’t play (about two or three posts above this one). Could be right, could be wrong, but it is a very plausible explanation.
I don’t understand what no playing time whatsoever and his being pretty ticked and saying something during a timeout have to do with his potential, his skills, and what the writer wrote, that he was a great teammate. Which was the whole point of my original rebuttal. You moved the argument. But who knows what set that off? You don’t; I don’t. He may have had some personal problems that manifested themselves during the game. And it certainly has not been unheard of for an Illinois player to have words with a coach. And how many posts have there been over the years that someone writes that so-and-so doesn’t look happy? And it turned out to be nothing. I think it happened to Ty once, but I don’t know that for sure. And as far as where the writer got his or her information about being a great teammate, first, journalists generally have sources to back up their assertions. And why would he/she write it if it was a bald-faced lie? You know these guys, like Jeremy Werner, keep in touch with the people who have similar positions at other schools. Werner has even had writers or podcasters or whatever from other Big Ten schools on his podcasts. It’s how they can write things as this writer did. I would not doubt that the Gonzaga writer contacted someone like Werner or maybe even someone with the team to get a feel for what kind of teammate MP was. I also don’t think the Gonzaga writer would risk his reputation by writing something that was not true. I would put more credence into that than some perception about MP’s alleged being ticked off, which I did not see anyone verify when it was talked about back during the season. I mean, yes, he was ticked, but no one could explain or verify the reason.
In fact, I just don’t understand your (and PasadenaIllini) antipathy toward Petrovic, especially since I and others have provided thoughtful rebuttals to your assertions. Should I do it again? I think I have posted several times a rebuttal that you did not respond to. It seems that you just ignore anything that doesn’t jibe with your opinions. Others have pointed out, in regard to not getting much playing time, that it had more to do with just not getting enough practice time with the team and not getting enough minutes on the court in actual games, that he was injured, and probably some other things. He just had some bad luck. And here is my own rebuttal for the umpteenth time.
After the UTRGV game (I think. It’s been a while):
Dariush Takhtehchian, M.D
@takhtehchianmd
22-year-old Mihailo Petrovic. As advertised. Already has 12 pts, 3 dimes, 2 boards in 12 minutes
Someone here posted, "I need more Mihailo."
And another: I'll go out on a limb here and say we got a good one in Petrovic.
Really good, really quick.
And there were a few other similar posts.
And if I remember correctly, he played well against Southern U. It wasn’t just at garbage time. I think it was in the first half. MP took over the PG duties, and KW played wing. Worked pretty well, but then, Southern was not much competition. The point is, he has played well when he gets significant minutes.
And one other thing: MP is/was 22; he played PG in a Euro League that, I believe, is pretty on par with the Big Ten. At least, it was a pro league. Do you think the Illini staff did not have confidence that he could handle PG duties in the Big Ten?
He definitely did not play like a chicken with its head cut off.]
By the way, you don’t need to double-space between sentences. That was only if one was using a typewriter. Think of the time you will save.
