It is never too early to talk about Illinois basketball circa 2011-2012. And the offseason got off to a roaring start today when Jereme Richmond made himself eligible for the NBA draft. While no one has stated whether Richmond has hired an agent, everyone seems to be on the same page that he will not be back. Whether grades or attitude led to this departure, the general internet wisdom seems to be that Richmond would not have been welcomed back at Illinois. Richmond had enormous potential, but it is hard to believe an NBA team will spend a first round pick (and guaranteed money) on a guy with no jump shot who struggled to beat players off the dribble (props to Tom Smith - real name - for making the comparison to James Johnson earlier today). Richmond's potential adds him to the All-Time Illinois What If team (off the top of my head, Ben Wilson (tragically killed before stepping on campus), Marcus Liberty (the last number 1 recruit in the country to land at Illinois - left early for the NBA draft due to financial issues before making the impact everyone expected), Richmond, Marcus Griffin (what if he hadn't had to go to JUCO for two years), and Charlie Villanueva (committed to Illinois until Self left for Kansas)).
More importantly, however, is the impact Richmond's departure has on next year's lineup. Illinois looks solid at guard (PG: Bradley transfer Sam Maniscalco should start while freshman Tracy Abrams learns the ropes; Wings: DJ, Brandon Paul, Head, Bertrand and freshman Mychael Henry) but they seriously lack for depth in the frontcourt (Myers Leonard is the only guy who played any real minutes last year; Tyler Griffey and freshmen Nnanna Egwu and Michael Shaw will compete for minutes). The lineup I was looking forward to next year had Richmond at power forward with Leonard as the center. Unless Griffey starts making shots, Shaw or Egwu play like veterans, or Weber manages to pick up a Junior College big man who can play right away, we may see Head or Henry guarding power forwards, which is not an exciting prospect.
But there is something to be said for the importance of chemistry in basketball. If Richmond was as much of a problem as anonymous posters on internet message boards would have us believe, then the loss of Richmond could be a case of addition by subtraction. Ideally, Paul and/or DJ turn into a legitimate scorer, Maniscalco stays healthy and plays like he did at Bradley his Junior year, and Leonard makes the leap most big men make from their Freshman to their Sophomore year and becomes a force on the low block. If that happens, Illinois could compete in a weakened Big 10 next year. If it doesn't, there won't be enough Guinness at Murphy's Pub to get us through the season. Go Illini.
No comments:
Post a Comment