Some recruiting news 3-6....

[Dubl R 1]

Matt Roth had a long range shot that had to have been at least 27-28 feet.

He fired another one from the same spot a little later and missed. He glanced at a teammate after the shot and looked as if he was shrugging it off in a manner like 'yea... no big deal, I coulda made that'.

Les was there.

An Asst for SIU was there.

And Bruce Weber was there.

Was Bruce practicing for his next job as the Carver timeout court sweeper??

No, he was Bill Cole's driver for the night, ya know, just playing it safe. :wink:

 

[Dubl R 1]

Oh, and by the way... it was the 2nd time I have seen Cole play this year (and I doubt I am a good measure of talent)... but I wasn't overly impressed.

Cole was much larger than anyone on the floor. Yea - he blocked some shots, scored some at times... but I guess I get the impression that an Illini recruit with his size would just DOMINATE in a game like that.

Pekin really had a nice game plan. They scored a lot off of back cuts. They tried to keep Cole out of the paint defensively. They boxed out on him on his offensive end really hard most of the 1st half.

I guess Cole just needs to beef up a little for B10 play and get some of that Illini-conditioning under his belt and he will be fine.

Yeah, Cole was very unimpressive. He was very, very slow out on the perimeter on defense, allowing his man to drive right past him 3-4 times for a lay-up. He obviously needs to bulk up, but his biggest problem at the D-1 level will be perimeter defense, as he does not shuffle his feet well at all on defense, often even crossing his feet. Actually, I don't remember that many "back cuts" from Pekin as I do straight dribble penetration for layups. Pekin repeatedly beat Richwoods defenders with no picks or anything, just a simple ball fake or crossover and it was a layup.
Pekin also shot very well from 3 in the first half. Had it not been for Robertson, Richwoods would be done, as he was huge.

 

[BradleyBrave]

This year we lose Franklin, Adams, and Tauai, then next year we lose Crouch and Ruffin.
When Roth gets here (you like my confidence?) the guards we'll have will be Maniscalco and freshman West - both point guards, and Fears, DeAaron, Warren, and Buycks.

If we remain a 3-point shooting team, who among that group will be our outside threat?
Maybe only Warren and Sam, so there will be competition for those guard spots.
I'm not saying I expect any freshman to start, but OE competed and won a starting spot when he showed he can shoot and score, so Matt will have that chance.
Don't count him out, yet, the kid's got talent.

I'm not counting him 'out' as far as contributing, but I think him starting would mean that guys like Fears, Williams, Warren, and Buycks were big-time busts, which would spell some major disappointment in the next few years.

 

[tornado]

Injuries could force some younger guy to be a starter.
DA started when JC went out...so I think Matt could be a 6th man/emergency starter as a frosh.

 

[Majik45]

Let's get Roth committed to Bradley before we pencil him into the starting line-up or playing rotation.

 

[ER3]

Let's get Roth committed to Bradley before we pencil him into the starting line-up or playing rotation.

Let's get Iman Shumpert signed instead.

 

[Dubl R 1]

Injuries could force some younger guy to be a starter.
DA started when JC went out...so I think Matt could be a 6th man/emergency starter as a frosh.

Lavin could have a growth spurt too, but I doubt it.

 

[mrcoachdude]

Injuries could force some younger guy to be a starter.
DA started when JC went out...so I think Matt could be a 6th man/emergency starter as a frosh.

Lavin could have a growth spurt too, but I doubt it.

Brian is a great kid and a pretty good player as well......had the pleasure of coaching him on one of my camp teams.....that was a blast as he tore it up!