Illini Basketball 2024-2025

Combo · Thursday at 10:51 PM

Saturdaze said:
Check his stats against P5 tho. I certainly hope your right, but I’m more subdued in my optimism.

Ben Humrichous 2023-24 Splits | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2023-24 Splits for Ben Humrichous

www.sports-reference.com

7 points, 0 rebound against Indiana State (not P5 but ranked)
8 points, 6 rebound against BYU

Small sample size of P5 opponents, which could be good or bad.

Very hard to predict a starting lineup at this point, but I think you know the 8-man rotation will be Kylan, KJ, Riley, White, Rogers, Hum, Ivisic, and Morez (assuming they're all healthy).

AZILL · Thursday at 11:51 PM

Saturdaze said:
Check his stats against P5 tho. I certainly hope your right, but I’m more subdued in my optimism.

Ben Humrichous 2023-24 Splits | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2023-24 Splits for Ben Humrichous

www.sports-reference.com

7 points, 0 rebound against Indiana State (not P5 but ranked)
8 points, 6 rebound against BYU

I have not watched 1 second of Aces basketball, but I strongly suspect he was the #1 scout by opponents. He won't be that here. he'll have space, be surrounded by other shooters, and generally have an easier path to points, imo.

Sedino · Friday at 1:26 AM

Save this post, this WILL be the starting lineup in November.

Kylan
Tre White
Riley
Ty
Ivisic

As positionless as it gets, all ability to be monsters and playmakers in fast moving offense, size.

PepeSilvia · Friday at 2:15 AM

SEIDSHOW said:
If we face two good, smaller, quick guards, who is going to guard them? We only have two guys on the roster smaller than 6'6".
DGL is one of those two.
As much as people like height, who do we have that is explosive and can get around people with the ball and a quick first step?
DGL and Boswell.
I thing DGL is being undersold and is going to be needed, and will produce more than what is being talked about.
I am excited about the ceiling of this freshmen class as much as anybody, but I believe there are players who are being overlooked that are going to be ready THIS SEASON to come much closer to their "ceiling". They might not ultimately have as high a ceiling as the freshmen class but they will be ready to produce NOW. DGL leads the way in that category. I think the sophomore class will be interesting to watch.

Lol how did UConn manage with their lineup being 6'4+ and Spencer not being that quick?

6'6 guards and wings can absolutely guard smaller and quicker guards. You simply play pressure defense on the perimeter and you force the small guard to score on a contested shot at the rim which isn't super efficient for guys that are 6'2 and under.

So to answer your question those guys are guarded by Ty, Tre, and Kasparis as well as Boswell and DGL.

chudaman · Friday at 5:12 AM

PepeSilvia said:
Lol how did UConn manage with their lineup being 6'4+ and Spencer not being that quick?

6'6 guards and wings can absolutely guard smaller and quicker guards. You simply play pressure defense on the perimeter and you force the small guard to score on a contested shot at the rim which isn't super efficient for guys that are 6'2 and under.

So to answer your question those guys are guarded by Ty, Tre, and Kasparis as well as Boswell and DGL.

Lol luckily Boo Buie has no more eligibility.

BigDance · Friday at 6:14 AM

Combo said:
Where?

There was an NBA combine for non-USA prospects. Combes stated it correctly

Kenny67 · Friday at 8:34 AM

NarrowJ said:

Bro narrowj

Say what? Per Ken Pomeroy AdjEM is: the difference between the total points a team is expected to score minus the points a team is expected to allow.

NarrowJ · Friday at 9:04 AM

Kenny67 said:
Bro narrowj

Say what? Per Ken Pomeroy AdjEM is: the difference between the total points a team is expected to score minus the points a team is expected to allow.

I have no idea how what you're saying has anything to do with my post about how many ppg specific players are going to score.

The content of your post was interesting (win/loss record based on EM) but had nothing to do with what I was talking about, hence my confusion lol.

EyeoftheIllini · Friday at 10:27 AM

SEIDSHOW said:
If we face two good, smaller, quick guards, who is going to guard them? We only have two guys on the roster smaller than 6'6".
DGL is one of those two.
As much as people like height, who do we have that is explosive and can get around people with the ball and a quick first step?
DGL and Boswell.
I thing DGL is being undersold and is going to be needed, and will produce more than what is being talked about.
I am excited about the ceiling of this freshmen class as much as anybody, but I believe there are players who are being overlooked that are going to be ready THIS SEASON to come much closer to their "ceiling". They might not ultimately have as high a ceiling as the freshmen class but they will be ready to produce NOW. DGL leads the way in that category. I think the sophomore class will be interesting to watch.

I’m not as high on DGL as many on here, but how is this different than this year. Who did we have — Harmon, Nico and DGL? Nico didn’t play much and for a fair amount of season at least, I wouldn’t say Harmon was better than adequate on D.

sdiver68 · Friday at 10:47 AM

Seeing multiple 1 and done predictions for Riley, maybe JK, etc.. but I believe the odds are against that happening.

College players are now choosing NIL $ over 2nd round draft status.

Unless the 1 and done is in reference to the highest college bidder which seems more likely.

NarrowJ · Friday at 10:49 AM

PepeSilvia said:
Lol how did UConn manage with their lineup being 6'4+ and Spencer not being that quick?

6'6 guards and wings can absolutely guard smaller and quicker guards. You simply play pressure defense on the perimeter and you force the small guard to score on a contested shot at the rim which isn't super efficient for guys that are 6'2 and under.

So to answer your question those guys are guarded by Ty, Tre, and Kasparis as well as Boswell and DGL.

Absolutely. Hawkins was just absolutely shutting down little quick guards last year, zero way to get around him because at 6'9" his stance is so wide and he can move his feet. We have some fairly athletic guys at the 3/4 positions that can absolutely guard small, quick players.

Length on defense is an advantage, not a hindrance.

FreshlySqueezed · Friday at 10:54 AM

NarrowJ said:
Absolutely. Hawkins was just absolutely shutting down little quick guards last year, zero way to get around him because at 6'9" his stance is so wide and he can move his feet. We have some fairly athletic guys at the 3/4 positions that can absolutely guard small, quick players.

Length on defense is an advantage, not a hindrance.

This should be obvious, shouldn't it?

The problem is some speedy little 6'2" guy goes on a heater (because that happens) and goes off on Illinois for 24 and that's all people remember and forget the 9 games before that where guards of that size struggled mightily against our length.

HensonHall71 · Friday at 10:56 AM

Guest said:
I just watched Mike LaTulip on the Illinois Inquirer podcast with Werner and ML was, um, I can't find the right word, but he really likes White to the extent that, although he may not have actually said it, he implied that White would start over BH. And since I am easily influenced I am going with that. I'm a LaTulip fan. And tulips in general.
Boswell, Riley, Rodgers/KJ, White, Ivisic
I think Rodgers may start at the beginning of the season but KJ will start mid-season. I am on the fence as to which of those two will start. Also, Johnson might replace Ivisic also later, like mid-season. Though I think they will get approximately equal minutes all season.
At least until I am easily influenced by someone else.

We have so much flexibility this year- White, Ty and Riley can all play the PF spot depending on matchups - so if Tre White is forcing himself into the lineup because he’s that good and BH is the one that sits, playing some small ball will be an option

I like the pairing of Ivisic and Ty on the court together in the frontcourt and Morez and Humdiggity paired together- they balance eachother well in defense/rebounding with offensive skill

ChiTown · Friday at 11:02 AM

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1806704612763713619

Birdus · Friday at 11:11 AM

GOLDEN ERA IS RIGHT! We have a lot of nice new shiny toys to play with. I am not at all concerned with either the offense or defense. To put it mildly, our defense sucked last year. That's no reflection on TJ or Coleman. Both of them are good defenders. I like what we have and I for one feel that if this comes together at the end of the year we have another BIG tournament win and at the very minimum sweet sixteen run. I think K.J. will be a beast. I watched some of his footage and the kid is strong and can defend. Ivisich is a double double waiting to happen. A lot of depth and the luxury in case of injury or foul trouble to go very deep with this team. This WILL pay off for UNDERWOOD and the ILLINI. Next year could be even better for the fans. GOOD times!

BWA · Friday at 11:58 AM

Birdus said:
GOLDEN ERA IS RIGHT! We have a lot of nice new shiny toys to play with. I am not at all concerned with either the offense or defense. To put it mildly, our defense sucked last year. That's no reflection on TJ or Coleman. Both of them are good defenders. I like what we have and I for one feel that if this comes together at the end of the year we have another BIG tournament win and at the very minimum sweet sixteen run. I think K.J. will be a beast. I watched some of his footage and the kid is strong and can defend. Ivisich is a double double waiting to happen. A lot of depth and the luxury in case of injury or foul trouble to go very deep with this team. This WILL pay off for UNDERWOOD and the ILLINI. Next year could be even better for the fans. GOOD times!

Coleman is a great defender, but really should have been guarding 3s or 4s. He got beat up down low by some of the Bigs.

Kenny67 · Friday at 12:17 PM

BWA said:
Coleman is a great defender, but really should have been guarding 3s or 4s. He got beat up down low by some of the Bigs.

Exactly

Illini4Christ · Friday at 12:53 PM

This next year‘s team very well could be the best team in Illini history.

There is not a weak spot in the first 10 players. All of them are great shooters, except one who is one of the most hardest and most respected teammate, and now we have a 7’1” center to defend the rim. Coleman Hawkins is 6’8 1/2 inches tall and was trying to guard a 7’2”and 7’4” centers just wasn’t fair to him or the Illini.

How many future pro players are on this roster? That is the question. There could be many, many players who will get paid to play after their illustrious college careers are gone.

By the way, we have a special and true point guard, a caliber of PG that we haven’t had since the Dee Brown and Darren Williams days and look how good the 2005 team was. This will be visual by everyone right off the bat.

This team is scary good and the B1G coaches are on notice.

ChiefGritty · Friday at 1:11 PM

Illini4Christ said:
This next year‘s team very well could be the best team in Illini history.

This just kinda feels like an unhelpful expectation to be setting for a bunch of teenagers who are going to be embarking on a brutally difficult non-conference schedule in the first exposure to high-major basketball for virtually the entire team.

There's a decent chance there are some real lumps to be taken here. What this team does have though, and what we need to maintain sight of through any such growing pains, is loads of talent and bright future.

Combo · Friday at 1:27 PM

Illini4Christ said:
This next year‘s team very well could be the best team in Illini history.

There is not a weak spot in the first 10 players. All of them are great shooters, except one who is one of the most hardest and most respected teammate, and now we have a 7’1” center to defend the rim. Coleman Hawkins is 6’8 1/2 inches tall and was trying to guard a 7’2”and 7’4” centers just wasn’t fair to him or the Illini.

How many future pro players are on this roster? That is the question. There could be many, many players who will get paid to play after their illustrious college careers are gone.

By the way, we have a special and true point guard, a caliber of PG that we haven’t had since the Dee Brown and Darren Williams days and look how good the 2005 team was. This will be visual by everyone right off the bat.

This team is scary good and the B1G coaches are on notice.

It could be, but I wouldn't be on it. We have no idea how well this group well "mesh." Our great teams like 1989 or 2005 have had incredible chemistry. As did this past year's team. Best in Illini history is probably expecting too much for 2024-2025.

I like our talent, but we're hardly the only talented team around.

And Coleman rarely had to guard 7'2 and 7'4 centers. Ekey and Clingan were unicorns.

jjv0004 · Friday at 1:50 PM

Reading through the board over the last week + I have determined we should be at least 12 deep, have 10 or more guys in double figures, have at least 2 guys drafted in the 1st round next year, have 6 -7 guys that will play in the NBA and probably win it all. The most talented team in Illinois history. Wow, mama. Slow down fellas.

Bigtex · Friday at 1:54 PM

sdiver68 said:
Seeing multiple 1 and done predictions for Riley, maybe JK, etc.. but I believe the odds are against that happening.

College players are now choosing NIL $ over 2nd round draft status.

Unless the 1 and done is in reference to the highest college bidder which seems more likely.

History agrees with you. Illinois has never had a 1 and done (where done = NBA). Richmond was one and done. There might be others who played as a freshman and then left college.

Hard to see never been done to having 2 young men going from Illinois to NBA after freshman year.

The Ghost · Friday at 1:55 PM

ChiTown said:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1806704612763713619

Damn, Bardo is starting to look like Grady from Sanford and Son

Lee · Friday at 2:23 PM

The Ghost said:
Damn, Bardo is starting to look like Grady from Sanford and Son

Mr. Roberts · Friday at 2:30 PM

ChiefGritty said:
This just kinda feels like an unhelpful expectation to be setting for a bunch of teenagers who are going to be embarking on a brutally difficult non-conference schedule in the first exposure to high-major basketball for virtually the entire team.

There's a decent chance there are some real lumps to be taken here. What this team does have though, and what we need to maintain sight of through any such growing pains, is loads of talent and bright future.

Expectation? No. Stretch goal? Certainly.

Illini Basketball 2024-2025

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