#1 priority going into the offseason was to fix the PG position. We have two "depth" players on scholarship, but you can't count on either of them (for health, eligibility, or development reasons) to contribute meaningful minutes next season. RayJ Dennis was a huge miss and we passed on other options waiting for him to decide.
This is the same issue that doomed Bruce Weber and John Groce.
Ultimately, we have a similar roster to last year and can expect similar results. Maybe the veteranosity will help with maturity but when you have guys playing out of position they underperform and get unhappy.
It's hard to get excited about a 7/8 seed with no chance to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament or contend for anything meaningful along the way.
Are things better than in 2017/18? Absolutely. That's something. However, you can't have the basketball program at Illinois be eclipsed by football and expect fans to just tolerate that. I foresee a long slog of a season unless something is done to further upgrade at the PG spot. I'm not seeing a lot of options now that we're in mid-June and I'm not going to buy into the "Ty Rodgers will be our PG" cope this preseason. A lot of talent is going to be wasted, just like we've seen for most of the last 15 years here.
This is the same issue that doomed Bruce Weber and John Groce.
Ultimately, we have a similar roster to last year and can expect similar results. Maybe the veteranosity will help with maturity but when you have guys playing out of position they underperform and get unhappy.
It's hard to get excited about a 7/8 seed with no chance to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament or contend for anything meaningful along the way.
Are things better than in 2017/18? Absolutely. That's something. However, you can't have the basketball program at Illinois be eclipsed by football and expect fans to just tolerate that. I foresee a long slog of a season unless something is done to further upgrade at the PG spot. I'm not seeing a lot of options now that we're in mid-June and I'm not going to buy into the "Ty Rodgers will be our PG" cope this preseason. A lot of talent is going to be wasted, just like we've seen for most of the last 15 years here.
