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Bill Cole

tornado

tornado

New member
FWIW here's the rumor, direct from a "very dependable" source.
http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=7449

some comparison to Kyle Wilson, who left Illinois and went elsewhere for a pretty successful career (at Wichita State).


Bruce Weber did little to suppress such rumors...
"Here's what Bruce Weber told Klee, who asked him about Bill Cole earlier this week:
"Some other guys have stepped up," Weber said. "I have nothing against Billy.
I like Billy. He's kind of an in-betweener. He's a 3, he's a 4. He has trouble
guarding a 4 physical inside, he has trouble guarding a 3 quickness outside.

"And yet he's still smart, he knows how to play. He has some skills out on the court.
He has to keep working at it. You never know. A lot of things can happen:
flu, injuries. I hope it doesn't happen, but we've learned that it can happen.
Hopefully he can get himself in the mix."
http://www.illinihq.com/chats/2008/12/19/ask_the_editor__am_friday
 
I heard a similar rumor this week from some somewhat 'inside' Illini folks. They have speculated that BU is his destination. They made some good points in that it might benefit Cole to stick it out this whole season at Illinois and then transfer, as he would then have 2 full seasons to play as opposed to only 1.5 if he left at break. I'd like to have another solid local kid on the roster, but he would be going from one crowded frontcourt to another if he came to BU. He's another 'tweener' that we seem to have too many of already, so I am not sure where he fits either.
 
He is really only a tweener in the physical Big Ten, he could literally be our Gordon Hayward....a bigger wing player who can hit the three. (and please..I am not predicting anything).
Despite his limited playing time, he is a 40% 3-pt shooter.
He would be way more developed than our freshman big man, and would immediately have a great chemistry with our guys.
BU simply isn't likely to use it's final '09 scholarship on another big man, but if a ride opens up at the end of the school year and if that's the timing for Cole, I could see it and would appreciate it.
 
Last night

Last night

I watched the Illini last night. It's the first time I have seen Bill play this year. He has talent. The thing I was surprised about was how weak he looked. If he stays in the big ten, he is going to have to gain more strength. I thought he looked good in the past, but was surprised he didn't look as ready to play last night as I thought.
 
bu fan 9 said:
Most likely one ride will open up next year.
Click to expand...

Chances are hight that a spot could open up but in reality there's not one that I'd like to see open up for a tweener. We need guys that stick around if JL's system is going to work. This is the reason I am for the 4 year players and not to charged up with JUCOs. If we continue to have players coming and going then JL will have to change his system or we just will not have a prayer to be successful. I also would like our last ride to be a 4 year shooter. I do not care if the person is local. This is not the U of Peoria nor does loyalty go both ways. JL and the University needs to treat this aspect as a business and get the best talent possible.
 
Just another in a long line of local kids who HAD to go to the Big Ten. Most of them have ended up sitting a large part of their career.
 
georgethedog said:
Just another in a long line of local kids who HAD to go to the Big Ten. Most of them have ended up sitting a large part of their career.
Click to expand...

There's another one at Indiana. If we were healthy I don't think he'd see much time, but the way we shoot 3's this year, I think he probably would see a lot of time. Unathletic or not, there's no chance his defense would be any worse than what we put out there right now.
 
I wonder if there is any chance he will look at UNI. We've had former Richwoods student-athlete in John Little. Jamar Smith's only other scholy was to UNI prior to getting the Illini offer. And, I believe Richwood's coach is a UNI grad (or has some connection to Iowa). UNI has at least one open scholy right now. He could come in right away if he wants to. Would be nice having another big to play along side Eglseder, Koch, Rody, and O'Rear.
 
PTTB said:
I wonder if there is any chance he will look at UNI. We've had former Richwoods student-athlete in John Little. Jamar Smith's only other scholy was to UNI prior to getting the Illini offer. And, I believe Richwood's coach is a UNI grad (or has some connection to Iowa). UNI has at least one open scholy right now. He could come in right away if he wants to. Would be nice having another big to play along side Eglseder, Koch, Rody, and O'Rear.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought. I can't see Cedar Falls and a program on the decline being a top choice. However, he would likely see major PT from the beginning and does have a connection there. It should be interesting to see.
 
PTTB said:
I wonder if there is any chance he will look at UNI. We've had former Richwoods student-athlete in John Little. ........
Click to expand...

By the way PTTB....you probably already know this, but in our keeping up with a few of the BU players overseas, I ran across this...

Both John Little and Ben Jacobson are playing on the same team, BG 74 Goettingen .
Here are their stats...........

# Name Game min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a off def tot ast pf st bs pts
12 Jacobson, Ben 9 22.4 50.0% 28.6% 75.0% 0.3 2.0 2.3 0.9 3.1 1.1 0.0 7.1
11 Little, John 11 9.7 38.5% 25.0% 100.0% 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.5 1.6 0.1 0.0 2.8

simply put,
Jake is averaging 7.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.9 apg in 22.4 mpg and hitting 50% of shots overall and 28.6% of 3-pointers.
Little is averaging 2.8 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, hitting 38.5% of shots and 25% on 3-pointers.
Their team, Goettingen is in 2nd place (10-3) of the 18 team Bundesliga, the top pro league in Germany, and the Phantoms (the team that has ex-BU players Will Franklin and Jeremy Crouch) are in 12th place at 6-8.
http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=GER&Team=214
 
This rumor has been around for a long time. This thread was started well over a month ago.

And though Bill Cole himself doesn't say he's unhappy, and never says he intends to transfer, does anyone expect that he would say that publically?

He had a chance to quash this rumor and make a strong denial, but when asked if he intended to transfer, Cole answers--
“We’re winning games and I’m happy,” Cole said. “That’s all I have to say about that.”

He did, however, directly address the persistent rumor that has him Bradley-bound.
“That’s all speculation. Just because I’m from Peoria, that’s been said since I’ve been here.”

Not exactly a strong denial.

Cole is battling a number of other players for playing time-
Mike Tisdale (soph), Mike Davis (soph), Richard Semrau (soph), and Dominique Keller(jr.), and seldom used C.J. Jackson (jr.).
But the prospect of playing doesn't get any better the next 2 years. All the players listed return next year, and Tisdale, Davis, and Semrau will be there for 2 more. Plus Stan Simpson (freshman), who apparently is redshirting this season, will be a freshman next year. Also, highly touted big man Tyler Griffey (a similar player to Cole) will be a freshman next year, and yet another highly rated similar big man Meyers Leonard, will be a freshman in 2010, Cole's senior year, along with 5-star Jereme Richmond.
 
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