If we're cheating we need to up the ante.
Now I have lost all faith, we can't even cheat very well?
If we're cheating we need to up the ante.
Which would benefit Groce more, Hill leaving to go pro or staying for his final year and maybe make it to the NCAA tournament?
I don't see Hill as much of a NBA player. Good college player, so I'll go with staying and a tournament. But I still think we are a bubble team next year, even if all our guys are healthy. Hope Lucas can step in and contribute some minutes, but still holes/depth issues at the 1&5. The more things change the more they stay the same.
I agree that he isn't ready but I do think he could have a shot at being drafted. His numbers are where they should be to be looked at. He plays against BIG competition and has proved he can play with the best.
For Groce, Hill leaving early might allow him to convince players he can get you to the league. It seems this is one thing that Groce lacks when recruiting. I'm curious if by doing so if that some but not all gates could be opened in recruiting. Let's be honest, these kids care more about that than a title and it would be one card groce could use. Just think if he had found away for Paul to be drafted. These last couple of years might have been a little different.
Honestly at this point the best Hill could hope for is to be a second round selection. He lacks the athletic ability that the NBA looks for. The best chance Hill has for the NBA is to come back next year and led Illinois not only to the tournament but also win a couple of games. Hill coming back would be the best for him and coach Groce.
+1. MH gets just about every ounce of production out of his available talent. Has a great BB acumen. He just doesn't have a high ceiling athletically. He'll also have to play the 3 in the NBA, where he's not nearly quick or explosive enough to defend other 3s, and he's not a dead-eye 3-point shooter who could be a 3-point specialist, so he'd have no niche role to get him in the league. I do think he'll be a very good pro overseas, though. Wouldn't be surprised if he plays 10-plus years in Europe/M.E. and makes a very good living at it.
P5 is a football term, in college basketball there are 6 power conferences. The Big East is every bit as strong and relevant as the 5 football conferences in basketball.So I guess you probably aren't limiting your expectation of donor influence to P 5 only (thinking Villanova and St John's)?
P5 is a football term, in college basketball there are 6 power conferences.
Can't we just use one term for simplicity's sake?
Isn't P6 just as easy to type as P5? Maybe we should do P5F and P6B???
P5 is a football term, in college basketball there are 6 power conferences. The Big East is every bit as strong and relevant as the 5 football conferences in basketball.
I know HOC is the one that dropped the P5 phrase, this is just a side tangent. It bugs me to hear people claim a school like Xavier isn't on the level of Illinois. They absolutely are in college basketball. Which is why we will not lure a coach like Chris Mack away from his current gig. Only way he leaves Xavier is for a blue blood or something very close to a blue blood.
+1. MH gets just about every ounce of production out of his available talent. Has a great BB acumen. He just doesn't have a high ceiling athletically. He'll also have to play the 3 in the NBA, where he's not nearly quick or explosive enough to defend other 3s, and he's not a dead-eye 3-point shooter who could be a 3-point specialist, so he'd have no niche role to get him in the league. I do think he'll be a very good pro overseas, though. Wouldn't be surprised if he plays 10-plus years in Europe/M.E. and makes a very good living at it.
I agree. Classic tweener. Not quick/athletic enough to play the 2, not big/strong enough to play the 3, not pure scorer enough to play either.
Classic Euro League candidate. But I still love him.:thumb:
I don't disagree with the sentiment at all, but I'm not aboard the Maverick hype train until he learns to rebound and/or stops his chronic sleepwalking on the floor. Wouldn't hurt him to add 10-15 pounds, too. I definitely appreciate the expansion of his offensive role, though. It's one of the more notable positives of the season.First time poster, long time lurker. One of the criteria used to determine whether a coach is doing his job is the development of his players. For several years, many have questioned Groce's ability to do this. This year, it seems that there is evidence that several players have made a gain in development despite playing on a team that has glaring weaknesses. Maverick was labeled as useless by many but he has turned the corner. DJW was viewed as a project that some wondered whether he would ever start to scratch his potential and now he has shown some promise. JCL and Finke look like they are settling into the college game. I feel that sometimes this gets lost in the discussion because we all want to be a winner again.
but that he hasn't shown much that he can develop a new skill in a player's arsenal that they never had before (e.g. Rayvonte Rice becoming a reliable 3-pt shooter).
Ray was my example of successfully adding a new skill to a player's set.
I don't disagree with the sentiment at all, but I'm not aboard the Maverick hype train until he learns to rebound and/or stops his chronic sleepwalking on the floor. Wouldn't hurt him to add 10-15 pounds, too. I definitely appreciate the expansion of his offensive role, though. It's one of the more notable positives of the season.
I think the argument put forth here by some people is that Groce can notably improve what is already a part of a player's game (e.g. Nnanna being a shot-blocker, Malcolm being able to create his own shot) but that he hasn't shown much that he can develop a new skill in a player's arsenal that they never had before (e.g. Rayvonte Rice becoming a reliable 3-pt shooter).
Ray deserves as much credit for that as the coaching staff does for facilitating his improvement. People talk about coaches like they can wave a wand and teach post moves, or teach court vision. There is no amount of teaching that can replace time spent in the gym (or weight room).good to clarify....going from 24% in his last season at Drake to top 75 3 ball shooters at 43% supports that nicely... BTW considering in conference games only, 3pt % in 2015 he was 4th in the country at a gaudy 45% compared to 23-78 (.295) the year before.
Ray deserves as much credit for that as the coaching staff does for facilitating his improvement. People talk about coaches like they can wave a wand and teach post moves, or teach court vision. There is no amount of teaching that can replace time spent in the gym (or weight room).
Ray deserves as much credit for that as the coaching staff does for facilitating his improvement. People talk about coaches like they can wave a wand and teach post moves, or teach court vision. There is no amount of teaching that can replace time spent in the gym (or weight room).
I find them on this board more than anywhere else. Mostly in the JG thread, oddly. You think there might be an insight into that observation?I am not of sure your intention here saying people think they can wave a wand..I don't come across those folks.
As a coach, I can definitely say that desire is not the only ingredient needed for a player to improve his skill set. I have had players with incredible desires to get better at a certain phase of the game but unfortunately it is just not in their DNA for it to happen for them. A player can work at a skill day after day and for some reason their body just can't feel the flaw that you are trying to get them to see.