Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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The amount of off-season discourse focused on things that those in the know have made clear that the kids themselves have no interest in is exhausting.
In the 78 seasons of the AP poll, IL has been ranked in the top 4 preseason twice. Once every 34 years. We're about to have another top 4 team... Is there any chance you all can give this staff the benefit of the doubt?!?!
Andrej could come back next year, yes, but I would expect him to make the jump to the NBA. Never say never though.
Sounds EXACTLY like the talk with Tomislav last year.
I do think Andrej has a better year, but considering he's a poor shooter, he's likely not gonna get first round grades.
If he were to leave, then it's probably going to end up a Henry Vessar type decision. Nothing wrong with it, just comes down to is that what he prefers.
Let's see what his season looks like if he can stay healthy. He missed time right in the belly of the season and it was a struggle. His NCAA Tournament was phenomenal. He jumped right back on everyone's radar after falling off. His ability to get to the rim and finish was outstanding. I don't think that his form is ever going to allow him to be a consistent shooter, but given his athleticism and ability to finish in traffic.....if his shooting rises to average, he'll be a first round pick. Has to stay healthy though.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Whoa whoa whoa… I was pleasantly surprised with how andrej finished the year, but he is nowhere near momcilovic money. Not even close. Milan is a three level scorer and the best shooter in the nation who can create his own shot from anywhere. Stoj was damn near a DFA candidate at one point last year. Glad he’s back, and excited to see if he can be consistent, but $6 million for his services is ludicrous at this juncture.
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I know he wants to make the jump to the NBA but $3-4M for another year of college vs $90k guaranteed for a 2 way contract… it’s a no brainer imo
"At this juncture," yes. But we're not talking about this juncture. We're talking about bringing him back NEXT off-season, and how this looks in May of NEXT year.
Milan M. averaged 16.9 points / 3 rebounds. He was also a defensive liability.
Next season, I think Andrej averages similar points (slightly more or less), but is also much more impactful defensively than Milan ever will be.
But regardless, he's going to need a handsome check to pull his name out of the draft.
.....
Also, Milan M. isn't the only one that got 6+.
Tounde from Baylor is said to have gotten just as much or more.
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Outstanding at the college level. But nothing special for an NBA player. The NBA these days is mostly about ball movement, spacing, and shooting.
Fact is Andrej pretty much has to improve his outside shooting to get into the first round. I hope he does just that this coming season.
Though NBA front offices actually have people who understand 82 attempts is an insanely tiny sample size. He's just over 30% career on 315 attempts (also a small sample size). They'll evaluate potential outside shooting by using proxy indicators, tracking mechanics, and contextual data metrics rather than relying solely on raw college three-point percentages or # of attempts.
I read an article a while back (have to see if I can find it) that explained that they care far more about free throw percentage and volume because it stabilizes much faster than three-point percentage with smaller sample sizes and correlates much more strongly with future professional shooting success. Tyrese Maxey shot under 30% in college from 3 but shot 83% from the FT line, and is now a 38% three point shooter in the league, just one example.
They won't care about his college % at all, but they'll definitely have him come in for a workout and get up 100+ threes and let their advanced tracking tools track off-dribble vs stationary, contested vs not, launch angle, shot depth, left-right consistency, repetitive mechanics, and so on.
All that said, as fans, we hope he raises the % this year.
Says a lot about Mick that UCLA is nowhere to be found here
He will have himself a similar decision to what Milan had this year ...
i take the ellipsis as meaning "go pro or transfer". i suppose the staff has a vision for 2027-2028 and beyond that he wouldn't fit into?
Nah I think it’s more about being a boarder line late 1st round pick or make 6 million.
I think it's:
- somebody in the open market will pay him 6-7 million dollars
- we will be willing to pay him a lot, but not that much
- he won't be a 1st round pick, so leaving will net him the least amount of cash
So, does he transfer to the highest bidder, leave for the NBA, or come back?
I think we will have to fill a lot of roster spots next year so I find it difficult to believe we will spend 6-7 M on one guy.
I don't understand why we would lose him over cash. ISU is nowhere near as financially stable as Illinois.
He might be our leading scorer and best defender. If you lose him, you're gonna have to replace him. And bringing him back would be equivalent to landing a top 3 transfer (even more impactful given he's a proven commodity).
Keeping your star players -- All BIG level guys -- is a must. Same thing with football.
If Andrej is back next year it's because he didn't shoot >33% (or so) on 3s so is looking to cash in on one last big paycheck before NBDL or Europe.
IL is going to have a completely new and retooling roster. In that scenario are you paying top of the market $ for a non shooter? I'd bet no. It's likely somewhere willing to pay top of market that won't care like St Johns or back W like UCLA.
Hopefully he shoots his way into the 1st because that means we're likely back in the ff.
That’s exactly what we thought with Coleman Hawkins. Marching whatever a guy can get on the open market is a tough ask.
Andrej is not a non shooter. An example of non shooter is Ty Rodgers.
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