My question for the “Andrej is probably gone” folks is that Michigan, Michigan State, Florida, etc all have star players in the exact same situation. Why isn’t there anybody claiming Jeremy Fears, for example, is gonna be leaving?
NBA Draft
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Their fans are doing the same thing. It's just typical fan angst.
Isn't Fears in the portal too?
Hessel Blvd
stop listening to sleepers
- the desert
good to see Rez blowing up. Him leaving to Mich was the absolute biggest blow last year in the portal season.
But i've got to say, turns out the kid made the best decision for himself.
But i've got to say, turns out the kid made the best decision for himself.
“Illinois' Andrej Stojakovic
Illinois wing Andrej Stojakovic is currently laser-focused on the NBA Draft, but there isn't much panic in the Illinois camp concerning his stay-or-go decision.”Wagler joining Devon Witherspoon, both top five picks, would be very big time.
I think the reason he didn’t have more fast break points is because that isn’t the Illini’s game. Not sure what their rank was for the entire year, but think the team only had 6 fast break points in their last 3 NCAAT games.
Yes, let’s get Keaton on the new Sonics franchise in a year or two!
You do realize we've had others, right?
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
We were spoiled by TSJ
Andrej is not as fast or strong. He is a very good mid range shooter but often forces it to the rim and gets blocked with no call.
I assume he has had the best private trainers / coaches his entire life.
If he cant improve his athleticism - speed agility strength, then he should focus o improving his basketball skills and IQ
1. tighter handle. Gets picked too often when driving the lane.
2. better decision making. If double teamed pass it out quick to the open shooter
3. Improve the catch and shoot 3 pointer. TSJ went to gym at 445 am and took 1000 shots per day.
4. box out better on defense to get more rebounds
So there “isn’t much” but still some level of panic. Oh boy.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I hope you're being sarcastic? If not, your paranoia is next level unhealthy.
If that's the case, there isn't much of a chance that you have a vial disease just starting its growth right now, but oh boy.....better have the doctor on speed dial this weekend and just to be safe, wrap yourself in bubble wrap, bleach the bathroom and stay in there, door closed, until further notice.
Why the offense dies in his hands, he will get his... But the rest of the team won't be involved!!And that’s what worries me.
No team in that one... all hero ball
Have you watched the games? We simply liked to walk across the court to avoid fast break for the most part. We used our energy on offense rebounding instead. Kind of a wild strategy to me but it worked.
You're spot on with everything that he needs to improve. The problem, for him, is that it's a lot.
1)Working on decision making, by itself, is a lot.
2)Focusing on being more ball secure when he's going to have the ball a lot more....is a lot to focus on.
3)Improving his form in one year is borderline impossible. He's shot the ball that way for 20+ years. That will be a multi-year adjustment. I can't understand why this wasn't adjusted in HS...heck, 7th grade. Drej's current form doesn't allow for consistency, it doesn't allow for him to get the shot off quickly, the release is too low and it looks mechanical. Great shooters have the exact same stroke every, single, time they let it go. It's a seem less, smooth motion. At this point, you don't want to really regress by completely altering and screwing with it, but they do need to find a movement that they can remove to make it cleaner. Ayo went through a similar situation. The knock on him was shooting the ball and the same type of issues. He overcame it, but it's a tall, tall task and a lot of work.
4)Moving without the ball is another headspace fix. It's another part of the game to be conscious of. He definitely stood around and watched the action a LOT of last year. He started turning that page in the tournament. He was a lot more active with his movement and decision making those last three weeks.
5)Speed, quickness and agility......that's on Fletch and on Drej's desire. He has to live up to his reputation here. Adrej is a really good athlete, but I think he's only really shown it coming down the lane trying for a huge stuff. Some of his most athletic plays were missed dunks.
Bottom line is that the list seems like it's fairly straightforward and easy to refine. It's not. Each and every one of those things takes a lot of work and in aggregate, it's too much to overcome in one year.
Drej was not having a great or even really good year for the majority of last year. I think that in February, many thought that the marriage here was poor and he'd be transferring again. Then, the NCAA Tournament happened and our roster ended up in the national spotlight. We all fell in love, the recency bias ensued and the NBA freakout went into full effect.
NBA scouts can't afford to have recency bias. They need consistency.
Drej needs to focus on improving and being a 1st or 2nd Team All Conference player. That will require high level play, against a great schedule, on a team with sky high expectations, from November to April....not Mid March to early April. If the NBA execs can get a full 4 months of high level play.... he'll be fine.
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"Not many people in this Combine have the option to go back to a Final Four team with most of the guys returning. … I'm very thankful for the situation I'm in because going back to school is also a really, really good option for me."
Come back to a certified elite college team or play for the Grand Rapids Possum Hunters in the G-League... hmmm
It's a special kind of weird to think that the staff (that was fine with the TSJ fast break machine for 2 years and whose O is efficiency obsessed) wouldn't want our best finisher to take an at the basket shot against an unset D, because...it wanted more bodies in the lane?
Its a lot more likely his straight line speed is an opportunity (also applies to Wagler and Boz, all of whom finished ~35+ ranked at the 3/4 sprint in the combine) and the D regularly caught up. It happened to be inconsequential because the set O was so effective, but there's no guarantee that it will be the case next year or be what he can rely on as a pro.
Illini in OC
In. The. Alley.
"Not many people in this Combine have the option to go back to a Final Four team with most of the guys returning. … I'm very thankful for the situation I'm in because going back to school is also a really, really good option for me."
Come back to a certified elite college team or play for the Grand Rapids Possum Hunters in the G-League... hmmm
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