Morez / Underwood

[marlu]

As someone who likes post play - I don't understand how you lose Morez, and Dain for that matter, and you trot out Ben H (who is probably a really nice guy) game after game hoping that this will be one of the handful where he hits enough shots to justify a 5 out offence.

Morez was committed forever.

I don't think I'll follow next year's mercenary class.

Don't see why Illinois can't be like the dinosaurs - MI St & Purdue and have a program instead of a flow of migrants.

[12xu]

Terrible that Morez is going to leave Illinois. His freshman season just scratched the surface of what he can achieve in the future. One has to wonder why so many players are entering the transfer portal after just one year with the Illini. Could it be dissatisfaction with the coaching staff? There are many times when I question Underwood's strategies during games, not so much with what he does, but what he does NOT do.

Illinois played a very tough schedule. Five of their losses came vs four teams who have made it to the Elite Eight (Duke, Alabama, Tennessee, and Michigan State). I suppose I should be pleased that they did as well as they did with almost an entirely new team from last year, but I cannot help thinking that this much turnover from year to year is not conducive to team camaradarie.

[Rickster]

I'd love to see a breakdown of the rosters of the Final 4 teams. There's 20 starters right?....

-- how many are first year/frosh?
-- how many are multi-year (soph +) and with the same "school"?
-- how many came from a different "school" to play for their current "school" this year?

[ChiefSTL]

Morez wants a role similar to Ivisic, where he shoots the 3 and plays out top. Tough to do that when Tomi is already in that role. Morez also agreed to an amount of NIL money, after his Dad came back to the staff multiple times with higher requests. His Dad has been back-channeling with other teams to get bigger offers after agreeing to a higher amount with Illinois.

It really sucks, Morez seemed like a kid that would be hanging from the banners in time. But in this case, he was demanding roles that the staff wouldn't promise him. It's similar to why Tre White is transferring. White wanted to take over more of KJ's role as a guy with the ball in his hands, facilitating the offense and operating the pick and roll. The staff told him that they didn't see him in that role, so he's transferring.

This current system of basketball sucks. Tough to get too interested in players when they may leave every year. Underwood has won 20 games for 6 years in a row. I'll trust him as long as he keeps winning. I would expect that we get older next year after going with so many young players this year. Duke is the exception this year, but the other 3 F4 teams are very old.

[12xu]

I read today that Morez has committed to Michigan. That sux.

[ChiefSTL]

I read today that Morez has committed to Michigan. That sux.

Yeah, sure seems like a big FU to Illinois. But whatever, I hope he goes there and bricks hundreds of 3's. In reality, I'll bet he ends up with a role very similar to what he has at Illinois, he's just taking home a bigger bag of money which is all his Dad seems to care about.

[Vinegar Ben]

This move really burns my a-------a. There is something in the wood pile in Champaign that Brad's recruits are jumping ship after 1 year. I think the loss of REZ physical play inside will haunt this team next year. What about Tre White, Dra-Gibbs? The AD needs to set down with Brad and have a heart to heart chat about the mass exodus and personality conflicts between coach and player. Also AD might ask Brad if he ever heard or thought about coaching DEFENSE.

[ChiefSTL]

This move really burns my a-------a. There is something in the wood pile in Champaign that Brad's recruits are jumping ship after 1 year. I think the loss of REZ physical play inside will haunt this team next year. What about Tre White, Dra-Gibbs? The AD needs to set down with Brad and have a heart to heart chat about the mass exodus and personality conflicts between coach and player. Also AD might ask Brad if he ever heard or thought about coaching DEFENSE.

Transfers are happening everywhere, it's not an Illinois thing. Morez is probably the only one that has been a big shocker this round. But from all accounts for him, it came down to money and more importantly, he wanted the roll that Tomi has right now. Do you think the AD should tell Brad that he should just do whatever the players want him to so that they stay? You aren't going to keep a roster happy doing that, and you're going to scare away the more deserving players.

DGL just wasn't good enough. You can't be 6'1", not be a PG, and shoot 25% from 3. He provided a nice spark sometimes, but overall there's no way you're going to be a contending team if he's in your top 7.

Carey Booth had to go down a level to try and find playing time.

Tre White is one I wanted to keep, but he told the coaches he wanted KJ's role as a facilitator. I don't know what you saw this year, but no way do I want Tre White making the decisions with the ball in his hand. We'll see if Kansas lets him do that. I wanted Tre back in the role he had this year.

From the guys that transferred last year, Dain and Hansberry were fine, but neither was going to play over Tomi so I'm not really seeing what you lost there. There's no doubt that retention and roster familiarity are important. I hate what's going on in college sports right now, but it's not solely an Illinois thing. If a coach isn't going to play the transfer game, you probably aren't going to win.

[Vinegar Ben]

I am not saying BRAD should just cave to players wants but I just don't see Brad as a PEOPLE PERSON who is able to set down with his players and share his thoughts on their play and role on the team. I have seen his foul mouth spouting (bleep) on the sidelines. He is supposed to be the leader not Hitler! I really believe he pushed Morez into leaving. Rez is one of the best prospects to come along in years. If any of you remember all the frustrations about Illinois kids going somewhere else to play, guess we know why now.

[ChiefSTL]

I am not saying BRAD should just cave to players wants but I just don't see Brad as a PEOPLE PERSON who is able to set down with his players and share his thoughts on their play and role on the team. I have seen his foul mouth spouting (bleep) on the sidelines. He is supposed to be the leader not Hitler! I really believe he pushed Morez into leaving. Rez is one of the best prospects to come along in years. If any of you remember all the frustrations about Illinois kids going somewhere else to play, guess we know why now.

You're welcome to believe whatever you want about Morez, but insiders that talk to people in and around the program have reported the opposite. They absolutely wanted Morez to stay. Morez agreed to an NIL deal, only to have his dad backchannel and come back with higher demands. It got to a point where they wouldn't match it. You're not going to foster any team chemistry by promising them a role that you know you aren't going to play them in. Orlando Antigua is considered one of the better big men coaches in the country. Morez and his Dad had other plans in mind. Maybe they're right and Morez can have more of an outside game, we'll see.

[12xu]

This move really burns my a-------a. There is something in the wood pile in Champaign that Brad's recruits are jumping ship after 1 year. I think the loss of REZ physical play inside will haunt this team next year. What about Tre White, Dra-Gibbs? The AD needs to set down with Brad and have a heart to heart chat about the mass exodus and personality conflicts between coach and player. Also AD might ask Brad if he ever heard or thought about coaching DEFENSE.

Agree. Watching Florida, Houston, and even Auburn play defense in the tourney you see how poor the Illinois defense was. IMO lack of defensive adjustments has always been Underwood's weakness. Yes, it seemed that during the tourney there was a great deal of hacking allowed, and this trend has been going on for a while now. Physical defensive play needs to be stressed in Illinois' future.

[ChiefSTL]

This move really burns my a-------a. There is something in the wood pile in Champaign that Brad's recruits are jumping ship after 1 year. I think the loss of REZ physical play inside will haunt this team next year. What about Tre White, Dra-Gibbs? The AD needs to set down with Brad and have a heart to heart chat about the mass exodus and personality conflicts between coach and player. Also AD might ask Brad if he ever heard or thought about coaching DEFENSE.

Agree. Watching Florida, Houston, and even Auburn play defense in the tourney you see how poor the Illinois defense was. IMO lack of defensive adjustments has always been Underwood's weakness. Yes, it seemed that during the tourney there was a great deal of hacking allowed, and this trend has been going on for a while now. Physical defensive play needs to be stressed in Illinois' future.

There's no way we have the personnel to do what those teams did. We couldn't make in-game adjustments to have Tomi or Humrichous switch a screen to an athletic wing, they'd get roasted. So either we have to get the personnel that can do that, or we have to figure out something different. I hate the drop coverage, but we've obviously gotta do something different. I like blitzing screens and then recovering, but that has limitations also if everybody isn't rotating good enough to cover shooters. Definitely have to do something different than what we saw against Kentucky.

[marlu]

Is there a go fund me page anywhere where I can contribute to help Brad & family move to the Balkans so he can reach his seemingly ultimate professional goal and coach a Balkan professional team?

or do we have to wait for him to assemble more pieces of one in Champaign-Urbana?

[12xu]

Is there a go fund me page anywhere where I can contribute to help Brad & family move to the Balkans so he can reach his seemingly ultimate professional goal and coach a Balkan professional team?

or do we have to wait for him to assemble more pieces of one in Champaign-Urbana?

Looking like a possible starting Illini five in the next season could be the Ivisic twins, Petrovic, Mirkovic, and Stojakovic.