Illinois Basketball: Illini Players Improving or Declining this Season?
Mar 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Malcolm Hill (21) drives to the basket as Maryland Terrapins forward Robert Carter (4) defends during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Illinois basketball team hasn’t played well this season, but they have some talented players.
Some of these players played meaningful minutes last season. Have they improved or declined this season compared to last, though?
Malcolm Hill (Improved)
This season Hill’s minutes have slight decreased so has the rest of his stats. He averaged 18.1 points per game last season and now he is at 17.8 PPG.
Hill’s rebounds declined to 5.9 rebounds per game from the 6.6 RPG last season. His assists also went from 3.3 assists per game last season to 2.5 APG this season.
But, Hill’s minutes also went from 35.1 minutes per game last season to 32.4 MPG this season. He has less of a workload so of course his other stats will decrease.
The real key statistics to see whether or not Hill’s production has increased or decreased is his efficiency.
Last season, Hill was shooting at a clip of 43.6-percent from the field. That is a pretty good number and he increased that to 44.5-percent so far this season.
Hill has also increased his three-point shooting from 31.4-percent to 35.9-percent this season. That is a big bonus for the Illini. He is taking more three-point shots and making more.
The only decrease in efficiency for Hill is his free throw shooting. Last season he was shooting 82.1-percent from the free throw line and this season he is only at 79.4-percent.
Most of Hill’s stats are down this season but so are his minutes played. He has increased his efficiency, though, and that is why I would say he has improved from last season.
Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Maverick Morgan (22) shoots as Missouri Tigers forward Russell Woods (25) defends during a basketball game at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Maverick Morgan (Improved)
Last season Illinois had to play Maverick Morgan a lot more than they wanted to due to injury. But, that experience helped him improve as a player.
This season Morgan is receiving 22.2 MPG, which is up from the 21.1 MPG last season. He has improved from 8.3 PPG last season to 10.2 PPG this season.
Morgan’s turnovers are up slightly from 1.1 TPG last season to 1.7 TPG this season, but his other key stats are up.
Last season Morgan averaged 3.5 RPG and now he is at 3.9 RPG. He went from .6 APG to .8 APG and from .5 BPG to .8 BPG.
I also like that Morgan has improved in the shooting efficiency as well. He only shot 56.4-percent from the field last season and he has that up to 60-percent this season.
Although, Morgan did decline in the free throw shooting. He was shooting 73.9-percent last season and now he is at 68.3-percent.
On the stat sheet, Morgan has improved in most statistics. But, what really impresses me is how much he has improved in the eye test.
Morgan goes down as an improved player for the Illini and I hope he continues to improve the rest of the season.
Mar 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Leron Black (12) battles for a rebound with Michigan Wolverines guard/forward Kameron Chatman (3) during the second half in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Leron Black (Improved)
It is hard to tell if Leron Black has improved over last season because he was injured. But, I can kind of tell if he has or hasn’t.
This season Black is averaging 20.9 MPG and last season he only was at 12.9 MPG. That is a big jump so I expect a big jump in stats as well.
In that minute’s boost, Black has increased his scoring from 3.9 PPG to 9.5 PPG. That is a massive gap between this year and last year.
Black has also improved his rebounds from 3.9 RPG to 6.7 RPG this season. That has helped this team tremendously.
The one area I wanted to see improve but hasn’t is the fouls. He averaged 2.9 FPG last season and that has now increased to 3.1 FPG.
Black needs to stay on the court to be valuable.
I do like how Black has improved his shooting from 41.7-percent last season to 47.9-percent this season. That is a huge jump and he is also shooting from the outside more often.
Black’s free throw shooting has improved as well. He was only at 50-percent last season and now he is at 78.6-percent this season.
I think Black is the best looking NBA prospect on this team. He can shoot and he is tough inside the paint. I think he also improved from last season as well.
Mar 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) leads a fast break against Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) and center A.J. Hammons (20) during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Coleman-Lands (Declined)
One of the best shooters on this Illinois basketball team is Jalen Coleman-Lands. I still think once his time is done in Champaign he will be one of the best ever.
Coleman-Lands had to live up to a really good freshman campaign. He is around the same number of minutes this season. He went from 26.1 MPG last year to 25.8 MPG this year.
The scoring production has decreased, though. He averaged 10.3 PPG last season and now he is at 8.6 PPG this year. Illinois needs points and he isn’t filling the bill.
Coleman-Lands has improved his rebounding from 1.9 RPG last season to 2.1 RPG this season. That is nice to see a guard being able to rebound as well.
I am worried about Coleman-Lands shooting efficiency, though. He went from 41.2-percent shooting from the field to 36.7-percent this year.
The three-point shooting has decreased as well. He was at 42.2-percent last season and now he is at 37.8-percent this season.
Coleman-Lands has increased his free throw shooting. He was at 75-percent last year and now he is at 77.8-percent this year.
Illinois needs Coleman-Lands to be a sharpshooter and he hasn’t been able to this season. I have to say his game has declined this season
Nov 24, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Michael Finke (43) looks to pass as West Virginia Mountaineers guard Daxter Miles Jr. (4) defends during the first half of the second game of NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Finke (Improved)
Illinois has a nice player in Michael Finke. He is a big 6-foot-10 forward that can shoot the ball from three-point range.
Finke had his minutes decreased slightly this season. He was averaging 20.3 MPG last year and now he is at 19.4 MPG. This decrease in minutes made his points decrease a little bit as well.
Last season, Finke was averaging 7.5 PPG and now he is down to 7 PPG. That isn’t a huge dip but since the minutes went down it makes sense for the points to go down as well.
Finke has become more of a rebounder, though. He only averaged 3.7 RPG last season and now he is up to 4.4 RPG. That is a huge benefit to the Illini.
I am also impressed by how efficient Finke is becoming. He was shooting 43.5-percent last season and now he has driven that up to 49.5-percent.
Finke’s three-point percentage has gone up as well. Last season he was shooting 36.7-percent from deep and now he is shooting 40-percent.
The only decline that I see with Finke is his free throw shooting. He was at 65.1-percent last season and now he is at 57.7-percent this year.
Overall, I am happy with how Finke has improved. He is a dangerous player on the offensive side of the ball and I would have to say he has improved from last season.
Nov 25, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard CJ Walker (2) shoots the ball as Illinois Fighting Illini center Mike Thorne Jr. (33) defends during the second half of the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center. Florida State won, 72-61. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Thorne Jr. (Declined)
Last season Illinois fans only had a brief view of center Mike Thorne Jr. Despite only seeing him for a brief period of time, we could all see he was going to be good.
But, after coming back from that injury last season, Thorne has not looked the same.
Last season Thorne was averaging 21.4 MPG and now he is down to 14.7 MPG. That is understandable with the injury he dealt with.
Thorne was averaging 12.9 PPG last season before the injury as well. Now he is only averaging 5.9 PPG this season. He isn’t as productive this year and it looks like it is hard for him to move.
The rebounds are down as well. Thorne was averaging 8.5 RPG last season and now he is down to 3.9 RPG.
When Thorne is on the court he is shooting more efficiently, though. He improved his shooting from 47.3-percent last season to 56.8-percent this season.
I wanted to see what a fully healthy Thorne could bring to the table but it looks like we won’t get to see that in Champaign. I would say he has declined from last season.
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