Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Sunday, December 20th, 12:00pm CT, ESPN2
- Status
Illinois with 4 top 50 recruits and Rutgers has 1 top 50 (Omoruyi).
Should be no contest then.
Rutgers actually recruited Hawkins heavily and was "the one that got away" for me in that class. A real tall long stretch 4 type with ball handling skills.Seems like it. I should admit I wasn't completely sold on Hawkins when he committed, but he's shown a lot more than I expected.
It's a good thing I'm not the one making the decisions
I really enjoyed reading your thread on Rutgers. A lot of respect being shown to our program under Pikiell and knowledgeable fan base that knows this isn't the same ole Rutgers. Illinois is my favorite out of the rest of the B1G programs and like your coach and style of play. I was really high on you guys last season and again this year. It should be a real tough battle this weekend.
Rutgers has 2 legit big men to guard Kofi. Cliff Omoruyi the stud freshman who is very athletic long and raw and Myles Johnson the seasoned vet with more weight long arms and solid defender. He has been much better this season so far but he has a history of foul trouble which could be a big factor in the game as he is the better and more experienced player than Cliff right now.
The major mismatch Rutgers has in this game is clearly Ron Harper Jr. who is playing 1st All B1G basketball this season shooting the lights out from 3 but scores inside and has a mid-range and post game too. Looks like Williams is 6'3 215 vs 6'6 245 and Ron knows how to throw that weight around near the rim. The lack of a 4 seems like the biggest hole on the Illinois team and curious if there is a reason for the roster construction not having anyone to play that roll?
Montez Mathis is a strong defensive minded perimeter defender who will take Ayo and hopefully slow him down.
Jacob Young has been absolutely electric so far this season scoring and dishing. He is probably the quickest player in the B1G and really gets Rutgers going if he can get out in transition. He brings a different dimension to Rutgers offense and will be a major key to our success. Young is also an elite pesky on ball defender and creates a few steals for breakaways a game.
Geo Baker is hobbled but hit some big shots as always. Likely familiar with his game at this point
Paul Mulcahy is a 6'7 pass first second third point forward with great handle and elite vision but doesn't look for his own offense and the weakest defender in the Rutgers rotation.
The rest are freshman who were cut from the rotation in our first B1G game beating Maryland besides Doucoure who is a backup big who may bang for a few minutes against Kofi bc he has muscle but lacks awareness and skill.
Rutgers has 2 legit big men to guard Kofi. Cliff Omoruyi the stud freshman who is very athletic long and raw and Myles Johnson the seasoned vet with more weight long arms and solid defender. He has been much better this season so far but he has a history of foul trouble which could be a big factor in the game as he is the better and more experienced player than Cliff right now.
The major mismatch Rutgers has in this game is clearly Ron Harper Jr. who is playing 1st All B1G basketball this season shooting the lights out from 3 but scores inside and has a mid-range and post game too. Looks like Williams is 6'3 215 vs 6'6 245 and Ron knows how to throw that weight around near the rim. The lack of a 4 seems like the biggest hole on the Illinois team and curious if there is a reason for the roster construction not having anyone to play that roll?
Montez Mathis is a strong defensive minded perimeter defender who will take Ayo and hopefully slow him down.
Jacob Young has been absolutely electric so far this season scoring and dishing. He is probably the quickest player in the B1G and really gets Rutgers going if he can get out in transition. He brings a different dimension to Rutgers offense and will be a major key to our success. Young is also an elite pesky on ball defender and creates a few steals for breakaways a game.
Geo Baker is hobbled but hit some big shots as always. Likely familiar with his game at this point
Paul Mulcahy is a 6'7 pass first second third point forward with great handle and elite vision but doesn't look for his own offense and the weakest defender in the Rutgers rotation.
The rest are freshman who were cut from the rotation in our first B1G game beating Maryland besides Doucoure who is a backup big who may bang for a few minutes against Kofi bc he has muscle but lacks awareness and skill.
Player development is the difference. It doesn't matter how many stars a player has next to his name. It's what the player does to get better.
Rutgers Previews Illinois
Thank you Pikiell for pronouncing our players' names correctly @Cuonzo smh.
Overall, this should be a good game. There's a lot of mutual respect, and I know a bunch of our players have friends at Rutgers.
Thank you Pikiell for pronouncing our players' names correctly @Cuonzo smh.
Overall, this should be a good game. There's a lot of mutual respect, and I know a bunch of our players have friends at Rutgers.
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
The 4 is our obvious weak spot. We have an embarrassment of riches at guard, so we naturally play 4 guards + Kofi at times. We try to make it work by having Williams match up with 4s as our best defender. Williams does a lot of other things well, and he's good for a couple of threes a game. He's a glue guy we just need on the court as much as possible. We try to play Giorgi B. at the 4 spot for stretches, but to mixed results. Giorgi and Kofi both like to play near the basket, so it can be awkward when they're on the court at the same time. Coming into the season, we were hoping to use a combination of transfers and freshman to help plug our hole at the 4, but Grandison has struggled, Hutcherson has been injured, and the freshman just haven't been ready. Hawkins has shown the most promise thus far (and is obviously being groomed to lock down the spot in the future), but he's still raw.
Alternatively, some on this board will respond to any questions on roster construction with the phrase "positionless basketball." So opinions vary.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
Everything stated above, and we also have a perpetually injured (foot) medical redshirt freshman in Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk that showed promise last season. He hasn’t been cleared to play yet this year.
I love everyone’s optimism regarding BBV, but I’m just not quite sure from where it comes. I mean physically he looks the part, but outside of two blowout games against Citadel and Hampton he didn’t do much last year. I know BU has praised him, but he’s had great things to say about Grandison, who hasn’t shown much yet either. And I don’t think it is just lack of minutes as I can see the potential in Hawkins, and I think he has played about the same minutes this year as BBV played last year.
I’m not saying BBV is a bust and couldn’t eventually develop into something. But I’m not holding my breath. I think it was last week I posted that I didn’t think he’d play more than 100 minutes this season, and it’s more likely he doesn’t exceed last year’s total minutes. If he does Illini are likely in trouble because it means DMW has gotten hurt. I hope BBV gets healthy and back on the floor, but just not expecting much out of him this year. Definitely hope I’m wrong as he would help fill a big need and seems like a good kid.
sacraig
- The desert
Well shoot, might as well not even play this game, then, right? It really was a shame how we lost to Duke.
I guess I don't understand this post. Hasn't BBV been dealing with a stress fracture in his foot that worsened this fall? Why would you judge an injured player's progression when they're still injured? IIRC, Underwood said they were being cautious with him, and hoped he would be available for games mid-late Dec., but were limiting his minutes in practice. Previously, they thought he was over the hump. Correct me if I've got that wrong. 100 minutes seems like a low bar, assuming he does recover in December.
Hawkins has surprised me, and I'm glad he's been able to play a part and get some minutes. May not be a plus player yet, but he seems to have enough understanding to play within himself as a true freshman.
I’m not judging his progression while he’s hurt. I’m questioning a lot of posters’ optimism on what he’ll be this year. I didn’t really get the optimism in the off season (before it was known he was hurt), based upon last year’s limited play. He just didn’t show me much. And there still seems to be this feeling that he’ll get healthy and be a solid contributor this year, and again I don’t see it. I stand by my feeling he won’t play more than 100 minutes this year. I hope I’m wrong because if I am that means he’s healthy and contributing. But there are what, 19 games left in regular season? That is a shade over 5 mpg. Just don’t see it. Yes, there is postseason but still don’t see it.
Maybe I sounded to negative as to his future beyond this year. I’m not as bullish on that as some posters, but certainly may be too early to tell that. But I hope he finally gets healthy and becomes a contributor. Again, just not seeing it for this year. For that matter I have my doubts whether we’ll see any/much of Hutch this season. Have a feeling the team we have now is the team we have the whole year. Good news is that is a pretty good team.
It would be interesting to see Giorgi at the 4 this game if Damonte gets in foul trouble or is struggling against Harper.
If Rutgers keeps Harper at the 4, then Giorgi could go to town in the post. If Rutgers plays with 2 bigs, then Harper has to defend one of our guards who are quicker than him.
Personally wouldn't mind to see us play the twin towers early on. Possibly get Harper in foul trouble, or at least see how Rutgers handles it.
AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
I would not be surprised by a Mike Davis-type of leap from Coleman Hawkins next year.
Hoping it comes by the 2nd half of this year in a steady improvement.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
@EyeoftheIllini I'm pretty much a total Illini homer on any recruit. With BBV though, it was his first exhibition game vs. Lewis U. last year that really got my hopes up. Most fans probably didn't see it, as it didn't officially count and was one of the damned BTN+ games. All were psyched to see Kofi's first go as an Illini, but BBV ended up played 8 minutes in the 2nd half, scored 11 points without missing a shot, had 3 rebounds, and no fouls. I just hope it doesn't end up being his equivalent to Tevian Jones's breakout Maryland game. I'll still hold on to a homer's dream that the medical redshirt will help BBV fully heal become a beast down the road.
Illini_1979
- Oregon
Wait, I thought we were "positionless." Color me confused.
I’d love to see BBV develop, and you’re right I didn’t see the Lewis game. He did have a pretty good game in one of the blowouts too, but just looked very stiff to me and it was mostly in mop up roll I think. I will be more than happy to be wrong and I’m not hating on the guy.
sacraig
- The desert
Mike Davis averaged just shy of a double-double, but man I always thought his ceiling was so much higher.
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
Just watched Pikiell's preview of Illinois. First time watching him address the media. I like him. He seems like the kind of coach who connects well with his players, and I imagine his personality and communication style creates excellent buy-in from players.
It looks like Rutgers found a good one.
Fair enough. Nothing wrong with some healthy skepticism.
Don't know how far you go back, but Pikiell coached the Stony Brook team we played in the first round of the NIT about 10 years ago. We were the 1 seed versus their 8, but the game was played in their high-school type gym because Cirque du Soleil was at Assembly Hall. To that date, it was the biggest game in that program's history and the first time they were on an ESPN channel. They scored the first few baskets and their fans were going crazy. We eventually wore them down with McCamey and Tisdale, and won by 8-10, but you could tell this was a well-coached team that played hard and I always wondered if Pikiell would end up back at UConn as head coach, but it seems like he's got something good going at Rutgers.
I expect we would play Myles and Cliff at the same time, with Myles on Kofi, Cliff on Georgi, and Harper playing the 3.
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