+1. And it's most likely a bad idea.
Media Day
+1. And it's most likely a bad idea.
Well, it's McColley....
I like most of his stuff but he has a high rate of cringe worthy material, too.
You've got to feel sorry for the guy. Really sad.
RichBradIllini
- Peoria
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I normally like his videos but that was terrible. He almost seems too comfortable talking to the players and comes off as pretty arrogant in this one.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Rob's stuff is pretty much always centered around Rob.
That's right. It is one thing to try to interject humor and wit into an interview, but a totally different thing to treat the interview as your own (failed) stand-up comedy show.
Man I had to stop watching that. That is unfair to Lucas and all the other players involved. Putting them on the spot to answer questions like that about a teammate. And then trying to include his medical history. I can get past the character he's trying to play and comedy routine he's trying to pull off. The line of questioning is completely unprofessional IMO.
Mike
C-U Townie
Yes, Rob's interview was an embarrassing joke. 
OT Rant:
I didn't say MH is the strongest in D1 basketball. Wish he was though.
Yes, weight room numbers do not transfer 100% perfectly as far as basketball goes. Having said that, a guy who is noticeably stronger will be able to move the noticeably weaker guy around, grab basketballs, etc. BTW against taller bigs MH will have better leverage while on the ground due to lower center of gravity and thus more friction.
People will probably not agree, but I bet MH has one of the fastest if not The Fastest 3/4 court sprint time. FYI olympic caliber weightlifters are surprisingly faster than olympic caliber sprinters in a 10-20 meter (or the length of 3/4 of a basketball court) race even without training to run because running that short a distance turns out to be largely about pure strength to weight ratio which Hill has in spades.
Finally, a big vert has high correlation with high speed. Just look at football combine numbers. There are not really any guys that are great at just one of those tests. A big vertical comes from long springy Achilles Tendons (all genetic), muscles that turn on and off at a high rate of speed (fairly genetic but somewhat trainable), and pure strength to weight ratio (somewhat genetic but very highly trainable). Thing is, if you can can jump really high, then you can also probably run with a high top end speed as well, and vice versa.
Peace. Now back to trashing Rob's interview...
OT Rant:
I didn't say MH is the strongest in D1 basketball. Wish he was though.
Yes, weight room numbers do not transfer 100% perfectly as far as basketball goes. Having said that, a guy who is noticeably stronger will be able to move the noticeably weaker guy around, grab basketballs, etc. BTW against taller bigs MH will have better leverage while on the ground due to lower center of gravity and thus more friction.
People will probably not agree, but I bet MH has one of the fastest if not The Fastest 3/4 court sprint time. FYI olympic caliber weightlifters are surprisingly faster than olympic caliber sprinters in a 10-20 meter (or the length of 3/4 of a basketball court) race even without training to run because running that short a distance turns out to be largely about pure strength to weight ratio which Hill has in spades.
Finally, a big vert has high correlation with high speed. Just look at football combine numbers. There are not really any guys that are great at just one of those tests. A big vertical comes from long springy Achilles Tendons (all genetic), muscles that turn on and off at a high rate of speed (fairly genetic but somewhat trainable), and pure strength to weight ratio (somewhat genetic but very highly trainable). Thing is, if you can can jump really high, then you can also probably run with a high top end speed as well, and vice versa.
Peace. Now back to trashing Rob's interview...
That Coach P is never thirsty...let alone "too thirsty"
This was the worst interview I have ever seen. I was begging for that video because last year was funny. I stopped watching because it was so annoying and awkward to even listen to. You don't discuss redshirt options or playing time even of a freshman coming off an injury to that extent. Terrible interview and lost a lot of respect for that guy, as I really liked his previous ones.
That has no effect on the decision to red-shirt. Groce isn't worried about next year, he needs to win now. If Lucas can help him do that then he will play. Simple as that, IMO.
There is tremendous upside to any player red-shirting. Imagine if Malcolm Hill had the opportunity to red-shirt. Instead of him being a bench player most of his freshman year, we would get 2 years of him playing at a B1G POY level. Who wouldn't take that trade off?
IlliniRunIn07
- Tampa, FL
Warren Carter is my go-to example when it comes to wishing players would have red shirted.
Next season we will have precisely zero minutes of college ball experience at the PG spot if we redshirt him.
And what about the players that don't end up like Malcolm Hill? Most players that plan on graduating from college would benefit from a redshirt but that doesn't necessarily mean that the team benefits that much. We'll have Trent Frazier, Willams, and we'll be recruiting a few high ranked point guards during Lucas' time at Illinois so there will be competition. It seems silly to have them potentially graduate all in the same year. That likely increases the chances of one of them transferring out, which is another incentive he would have as a 5th year.
Besides, like other people have posted, he has more value now then later due to Illinois' situation. Tracy may stay healthy the entire season but it'd be like playing Russian Roulette to have Lucas redshirt and just have Tate as the backup. We could redshirt Lucas and burn it if there's an injury, but then we would be throwing him in with no game time experience and that might not go so well. The few minutes he can get as a freshman will go a long way. If Lucas can gradually gain minutes as he matures this season, that will help him and the team tremendously for 2017-18.
+1
I don't see any way TJL redshirts. We need the competition for minutes now, and we'll need someone who's been through a BIG season next year.