You're a huge supporter of our team and I think it's awesome. We all drink the O & B Kool aid....to an extent.
I have seen you toss things out there like this could be the best Illinois team ever.
What have you seen with this team with your own eyes, to date, that has you putting this group amongst those with banners and earned accolades?
I(maybe many) am trying to find one area that isn't a question mark. Quite frankly, outside of Boswell and Rodgers, I haven't seen one guy on our roster that has played significant minutes, at the college level, on a competitive team. I think that White is going to be a solid player, but the team he was on....good God were they bad.
I want to be as fired up as you are, but I can't find one area, outside of Underwood, that I feel 100% confident about.
What have I seen?
Well, we haven’t had a true point guard of Darren Williams/Dee Brown caliber until this year. I’ll address that later.
The biggest issue for my optimism? We haven’t had a true center since Kofi, yes, and kofi was and is limited to inside the paint offensively. That is why Kofi is not in the NBA but Tomislav is on the NBA radar. Tom can shoot.
A very important piece of our puzzle and my optimism is our 7’1” 250 pound behemoth center. He barely has to jump to slam a basketball. What everyone doesn’t or may not see or realize is his defensive abilities. Watch his videos. He is very quick laterally for his huge size, very quick. He is a true rim protector on defense, which will help us tremendously. But he has an uncannily high shooting percentage including from the three. He can shoot like all euro players seem to do. His five defender will have to come out of the paint to defend him giving us a huge advantage and offensive space for our team. This important piece of the puzzle we have missed and frankly I’ll add, that we have never had a center with his size and his high percentage of his three point shooting ability. He is one of the biggest sources of my optimism.
Last year in the NCAA finals then had a 7’2”and a 7’4” center. We needed this piece to win the natty.
But, not only do we have one great point guard in Kylan who has started and won a lot of NCAA games but we have a second one in Kasparas. Kylan’s passing and shooting will be a difference maker. He is great. Kasparas looks like he will be all-world and has played for elite teams since he was 12-years old. He is no freshman. His shooting form is unbelievable, watch his hand placement (bilateral) and his release point. It’s textbook. His offensive creativity is amazing also, his basketball IQ is high. He is also 6’6” so he will be able to shoot over a defender a lot of the time. This is like Dee Brown and Darren Williams playing together. Remember that team?
We have a 6‘9“ combo in Will Riley who I have watched his videos with amazement as he reminds me of the original iceman, I know many are too young to know about the original but they are similar in skills, including the finger roll. He is the real deal. I have never seen anyone shoot in different positions and angles with accuracy like him. He also has a high IQ on the basketball court so he creates serious problems for the defense with his playmaking but he can score anywhere on the court.
And we have a slew of great shooters on the team. We have two 6‘9“ players who bring different dimensions but are great players as one is a senior and one is a freshman. The senior averaged 41 percent on his three-point shooting last year and the freshman was the Gatorade player of the year in Illinois and is a rebounding machine. Rez is 242 pounds now. His frame is still growing, he will be an important factor for this season. Ben is great. Coach said this past weeks video that he has more game than the coaches thought. His form is great with his shot also. There are no flaws in his shooting mechanics. He could work his self up to an NBA draft or a two-way contract with a great season so he has some skin in the game. And also he happens to be one of my favorites because he is a strong Christian. I know God will bless him.
Trey White started as a freshman at USC and already has piqued the coaches enthusiasm with his early practice games. At 6’7” and very quick, he will be a handful.
We have two returning starters who know the system and are great players. Both are hard working and driven. I know Ty is shooting 1,500 shots a day so you know it will be automatic after this summer. The whole team is getting help from Noah, but this will help Ty the most because of his shooting mechanics were tweaked and changed by the coaches and he is increasing the elevation and rotation of his shot. The angle and form will help him tremendously. DGL is a spark plug who always did have a great shot. now he needs experience.
We have a past starter from Notre Dame last year who happens to be 6‘10“ and the coach said in this past weeks video that they are all amazed at his athletic prowess as well as a 6‘6“ guard from Mercer who had close to 10 points a game as a true freshman and coach said he has shown them better basketball skills than anyone thought.
That is why this team will be the best team ever.