Illini Zip

My starting lineup followed by position depth: PG) Tavari Johnson - (Young, Scott, Perkins) SG) Shammah Scott - (Head, Hardman, Johnson, Young, Henderson) W) Evan Mahaffey - (Hardman, Eric Mahaffey, Head, Henderson) F) Amani Lyles - (Kamali, Evan Mahaffey, Eric Mahaffey, Hardman, Brisco) C) Halil Barre - (Lyles, Kamali, Brisco) I think we will see lots of variation including fast paced, 4 guard lineups. But this might be our most balance starting 5 since the Covid catastrophe. Also, I am thinking of the Mahaffery brothers as guards and slightly taller versions of Mikal Dawson. And I believe Lyles emerges from the offseason as a stretch 4 since we will have more muscle on the roster to bang down low.

Zips add Halil Barre.

Maybe that’s a new pitch, “Come to Akron. The city of ants.”

He’s huge. He has to be 80 stories tall. Go Zips!!

Zips add Cody Head.

Wait, did I miss something? Hardman is gone?

Don’t bury the lead. I think depth and Shammah Scott’s replacement are good points, but here is a guy who can drive confidently to the hoop on the left side of the court. Actually, he appears to be amber dexterous. I think if Groce could fill half his roster with left-handers, he would. It makes the offense more dynamic and is another wrinkle the opponents have to game plan around. Edit: He is from Cleveland, so there’s that. But watching his highlights more closely he seems to shoot with his left and drive mostly with his right. So we’ll see how that plays out.

Heart condition? That’s scary.

Tavari Johnson returns!!

So if you’re Perkins and Henderson do you both gamble and tell Groce no to a redshirt this year? If the 5 year eligibility rule goes through they’re not likely to be grandfathered in and get a sixth year, so you might as well play even if it’s minimal.

I would have given Tavari an incentive laden deal. He has the potential to be MAC player of the year if he applies himself. I’m hanging a bonus over his head and handing him a list of things to work on. Everything from leadership and the weight room to how he runs the offense.

Or maybe we landed something big? 🤞

I’m really sorry to report this, but I just heard that @clarkwgriswold has entered the portal. They’re even poaching our super-fans. Where does it end?!

I don’t have an opinion on the exact details, but I totally agree that a school needs to be compensated one way or another for a players development.

This really is a good article. I recommend reading it if you haven’t already. Towards the end it talks about players breaking their contracts, etc. I found this excerpt to be interesting: More schools are trying to protect themselves with strict liability in these NIL deals. For example, there's another high-major player who signed a substantial NIL contract near the end of the season but subsequently went into the portal anyway, seeking an even bigger deal. One of his coaches told me they were bracing for this, even though pen was put to paper weeks ago. According to this coach, this player now owes the school "the entirety of a contract he hasn't received a dime of yet." "They think we are bluffing," the coach said. "We are 100% holding them to the contract."

Yes, contracts and transfer fees.

@kreed5120 mentioned before that it’s hard to take any 2025-26 rankings seriously at this point because of all the volatility. I’ll go one step further, how does a team possibly build an OOC schedule until the portal closes?

Great debate guys. I do think their production can be replaced and there are times TJ will come down the court with his mind already made up that he is going to shoot instead of taking what the defense presents. That said, if we do have a significant overhaul I’m concerned it will take all OOC to gel again, relegating us a poor seed in the NCAAT if we are fortunate to get there. Too early to panic though. Have a nice day.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Okonkwo, Johnson & Johnson departs.

If Young hits the portal I will be in the fetal position. No doubt. But Groce and Wentz could have been working the phones themselves behind the scenes for weeks. We are all completely in the dark here as to their agenda going into the off-season.

I don’t think these 2 were the most pressing concerns after the season ended. Replacing Gray’s size on the perimeter and improving the play at the center spot were. But maybe the staff is on a roll and they were presented with opportunities that are too good to pass up. Or maybe I’m all wet. Just floating a balloon here.

I think you speak truth, but this seems way more orderly to me. I’m now leaning towards an intentional roster rebuild taking place. The verdict will be in the end result. If we end up with an improved roster fairly soon, then it’s orchestrated. If not, we got poached and teamism fell apart. Either way, it’s hard seeing guys you have rooted for leave before getting a Senior Day.

No problem. I’m hoping to get away with just one more update. Let’s see what happens here in the next week.

I guess I am in a wait and see mode because either (A) we have some serious holes that will make this season way more difficult than we thought a week ago or (B) Groce and Wentz are playing money ball and systematically addressing issues position by position within a set budget. We already replaced Gray with Evan. Maybe replacing Okonkwo was intentional and we helped him land somewhere safely. Maybe his replacement is already lined up, but we just don’t know it yet. Maybe we needed to cut Nate’s salary to acquire these players. And maybe there are cheaper options for Nate’s replacement in consideration at this very moment. I know that’s a lot of “maybes”, but I’m trying to keep an open mind.