One and Done or 4 Year Stud?

[Herman Cain]

Will just say this for now ---

If QG goes to MU I will be delighted. However, I'm at least equally as pleased that Joey is coming. And I mean that from an evaluation / objective perspective.

I believe many people are forgetting we have  Brendan Bailey on the way. The kid is going to be more mature and thicker when he gets here. He will have the whole summer to get back in basketball shape and get his muscle memory back.

[tower912]

My contention is that MU's 18-19 roster is currently 3-4-5 heavy and light at guard.  The caveat to that being.... unless Elliot, Cain, and Anim are all able to play guard at a Big East level.

That is why I want Grimes.

[Herman Cain]

My contention is that MU's 18-19 roster is currently 3-4-5 heavy and light at guard.  The caveat to that being.... unless Elliot, Cain, and Anim are all able to play guard at a Big East level.

That is why I want Grimes.

Elliot is a budding star. All he needs to do is get stronger. He has the mental toughness and physical skills to be a major factor in the Big East.

[Jay Bee]

My contention is that MU's 18-19 roster is currently 3-4-5 heavy and light at guard.  The caveat to that being.... unless Elliot, Cain, and Anim are all able to play guard at a Big East level.

That is why I want Grimes.

I find your thoughts above to be reasonable, although with Haani as a Sr + Sam I think we have options at the 2 if needed (not to mention Anim, Greg, perhaps Cain, BB even)

[tower912]

I find your thoughts above to be reasonable,

Phew.  I am honored.  I can sleep better tonight.

[MU82]

I remember thinking that the Illinois team that went to the championship game in 2005 was almost perfectly constructed.

For 02-03, they brought in 3 outstanding freshmen (Deron Williams, Dee Brown, James Augustine) to go with a senior who was ready to finally live up to expectations (Brian Cook) and two talented sophs (Luther Head, Roger Powell). That team won 25 games.

In 03-04, the freshmen were now sophs; Williams, who played second fiddle to Brown when they both were frosh, was emerging as a star-quality player. Head looked like he could really play. Powell was a solid player. And Jack Ingram, who transferred to Illinois to stay with Bill Self (who then left him to take the Kansas job), was a now-eligible big man. That's 6 solid to excellent players, all with experience. The Illini won 26 games under Bruce Weber, who needed time to get Self's players to buy into his system.

In 04-05, they had it all. Williams was an All-American, Head was a star, Brown and Augustine were very good, Powell was super solid and Ingram was tough. They all were juniors or seniors. Their offense was beautiful and they got after teams on D. They went 37-2, were ranked No. 1 most of the season and came within an eyelash of beating a star-filled UNC team in the title game.

Williams went pro, but after testing the waters Brown came back. He and fellow senior Augustine teamed with a couple of juniors and a few freshmen to lead Illinois to a 26-win season.

I always viewed that as an almost-ideal situation. Of course, that was before the 1-and-done craze had started because kids were going right from preps to pros. Had Self stayed or had Weber been a better recruiter, Illinois could have really built off of that.

I still like the "idea" of a team like that. Nevertheless, if I get a chance at a stud or studs who might leave after one year, I absolutely take them.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I find your thoughts above to be reasonable, although with Haani as a Sr + Sam I think we have options at the 2 if needed (not to mention Anim, Greg, perhaps Cain, BB even)

yah, Bailey is a 2G that just happens to be 6-8. Plenty of options at the 2/3 IMO.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Also similar to this Marquette team, that Illini team could shoot the heck out of the basketball. They were pretty undersized (Powell was a 6'6" PF) as well but they made it work. Not a bad comp, actually.

[GoldenDieners32]

At a worst scenario what if we don't land either QG or ramey?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

At a worst scenario what if we don't land either QG or ramey?

We go into 18-19 with a top 25 caliber team with only two role players that are seniors. Though we are one injury away from having zero PGs unless Elliott develops into that role.

[Herman Cain]

At a worst scenario what if we don't land either QG or ramey?

We have a budding star named Greg Elliot. I am not worried.

[We R Final Four]

You should have said so.