Illini Basketball 2024-2025

#301      
Chad Fleck
MDchicago said:
Love to see the love...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1847306394367930512
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Something I like the look of here that I felt we lacked last year.

Ability to get space and shoot a 3 in a 1v1 situation. TSJ could do it, but I didn't think it was his favorite move.

Braden Smith nailed one in Champaign last year that had me realizing that we didn't have a guy that could do that. This clip had what I was looking for out of KJ.
 
#303      
Calvin
Combo said:
This is important. As good as KJ and Kylan are, we're going to need PT from another guard. I know Will and Ty can play a bit in the backcourt (Will is a better ball-handler and distributor than most give him credit for), but DGL is a true guard. He's quick and can matchup well with smaller quicker guards.
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DGL's quickness is very high level. I think between KJ, Kylan, and DGL, you can have very different looks in the back court. I don't really see a weak link there depth-wise.
 
#306      
ChiefGritty
BWA said:
Are we feeling like KJ is better than Demin at this point?
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To just shamelessly toot my own horn and push back against my reputation as Mr. Negativity, when KJ initially came into the picture as a classic "fallback guy" that our insiders were going to puff up after our confusing failure in the Demin recruitment, I was all ready to fight for realism and truth against a snow job.




....and then I started watching film on KJ and realized that was going to be a really bad take.

Demin's length gives him upside for sure, nice player, but KJ looks clearly better to my eyes. Time will tell.
 
#307      
skyIdub
sacraig said:
He was cleared... by the US Government to enter the country legally. The NCAA is another beast.
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ugly-love-me.gif
 
#309      
mysterio2525
PizzaHutParkingLot said:
View attachment 36798View attachment 36799

I’d love nothing more than for Dravyn to carry Trent Frazier’s impact into his generation.
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You give me a lineup of Trent Fraziers and you can move mountains. As much as I think of brad, ayo, and kofi as the key to resurrection of this program... Brad getting Trent to stay/Trent staying loyal to the illini is to the domino that started it all!
 
#310      
JKR
AZILL said:
Why aren't they all wearing orange kicks?
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How much variation is allowed on uniforms during a game? Shoes? Socks? Headbands? I saw an Illinois volleyball match stopped last year when one of our players had a hair ribbon that was a different color than her teammates. Had to take it off. Where is the line?
 
#315      
Chad Fleck
Sleepers had a starters discussion.


It got me thinking about Will Reilly.

From what I have come to understand about the young man, he might have a bit of an ego. It would be hard to blame him, given his progress in this game to this point to his life. I'm wondering how him and KJ will jive? Can they play at the same time?
 
#318      
The Galloping Ghost
Chad Fleck said:
Sleepers had a starters discussion.


It got me thinking about Will Reilly.

From what I have come to understand about the young man, he might have a bit of an ego. It would be hard to blame him, given his progress in this game to this point to his life. I'm wondering how him and KJ will jive? Can they play at the same time?
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Do you mind if I ask what made you come to understand Riley has a bit of an ego?

Admittedly, I'm on record as not a fan of Sleepers, so I haven't caught any of what they've said. I think they are fine from an entertainment standpoint if that's your thing, but I find that they don't really know ball, can't break down a game, and spend more time extrapolating and guessing than actually talking to anyone with knowledge of anything.

From his interviews, Will has always said the right things, and Werner, LaTulip, and Piper have given every indication he's bought in to the process of winning. Maybe there's something I've missed, though.
 
#319      
sacraig
Chad Fleck said:
Sleepers had a starters discussion.


It got me thinking about Will Reilly.

From what I have come to understand about the young man, he might have a bit of an ego. It would be hard to blame him, given his progress in this game to this point to his life. I'm wondering how him and KJ will jive? Can they play at the same time?
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And here I thought Kasparas Jakucionis was the most likely candidate for misspelling this season.
 
#320      
Chad Fleck
The Galloping Ghost said:
Do you mind if I ask what made you come to understand Riley has a bit of an ego?

Admittedly, I'm on record as not a fan of Sleepers, so I haven't caught any of what they've said. I think they are fine from an entertainment standpoint if that's your thing, but I find that they don't really know ball, can't break down a game, and spend more time extrapolating and guessing than actually talking to anyone with knowledge of anything.

From his interviews, Will has always said the right things, and Werner, LaTulip, and Piper have given every indication he's bought in to the process of winning. Maybe there's something I've missed, though.
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1. Re-Class
2. The high difficulty shots he takes.

I might think most teenagers think pretty highly of themselves if they can just skip a year of school and go play D1 ball.

In my experience playing ball. He who takes and makes tough shots, usually has the ego to pair with it.

I'm totally inferring here, as fans might be prone to doing.
 
#322      
LarryGotFouled
Chad Fleck said:
Sleepers had a starters discussion.


It got me thinking about Will Reilly.

From what I have come to understand about the young man, he might have a bit of an ego. It would be hard to blame him, given his progress in this game to this point to his life. I'm wondering how him and KJ will jive? Can they play at the same time?
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An interesting dilemma. First of all - great to hear some optimism Big T being available soon. Nervous about that.

Honestly - if it’s 6 guys playing starter minutes I think you start Riley. You don’t want the headache if you’re Brad to get a guy that highly ranked and have him not start.
 
#324      
Fighting I 95
Chad Fleck said:
1. Re-Class
2. The high difficulty shots he takes.

I might think most teenagers think pretty highly of themselves if they can just skip a year of school and go play D1 ball.

In my experience playing ball. He who takes and makes tough shots, usually has the ego to pair with it.

I'm totally inferring here, as fans might be prone to doing.
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His Reclass was a bit different since he is Canadian and already 18. He's also 6'8 and with very long wingspan to shoot over defenders which will help. You need confindence to take tough shots but that doesnt mean he isnt a team player or will clash with others.

I think we need to tamper down the talk of Will being a cancer or a bad teamate until we hear something concrete or we see it in a game.
 
#325      
IllGuardU
Fighting I 95 said:
His Reclass was a bit different since he is Canadian and already 18. He's also 6'8 and with very long wingspan to shoot over defenders which will help. You need confindence to take tough shots but that doesnt mean he isnt a team player or will clash with others.

I think we need to tamper down the talk of Will being a cancer or a bad teamate until we hear something concrete or we see it in a game.
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Or even better, maybe we shouldn’t discuss it at all unless something happens 😊
 
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