Igor Milicic

[KTrain]

Well he did play at UVA before that

A lot different. He was a seldom used Freshman player scored 33 points the whole year, in 16 games, no starts.

 

[ColinS]

I'll start with saying I really like the guy, and I think he is an upgrade from Awaka. He is getting a ton of rebounds and seems to have really bought into what we've come to expect from a Tennessee defensive player.

Having said that, what's up with missing all the 3 point shots?

When I watched his highlights I was excited to have another 3- point threat. Last night he was just atrocious from beyond the arc.
Hopefully he's just in a shooters slump and dials it in by the time we get into SEC play. Definitely needs to be putting in some extra time in the gym in regards.
Any thoughts as to what could be going on with him? Playing hard on D making him tired? Is it a confidence thing?
Is he the type of guy that needs to see his first one or two go in?

He didn't replace Awaka for the most part, he replaced JJJ, and yes, that's a major upgrade for the 4 position. JJJ was more of a three trying to play the four.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

8 shots is a tiny sample size. Making 0, 1, or 2 is an anomaly. Had he made 3 it would have been better than average in the NCAA.

As long as he’s taking good open attempts and there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with his form he needs to keep shooting. He could easily go 6 for 8 next game.

 

[vol94]

He shoots 25% on the year from 3 and 51% from the field. He doesn't turn the ball over with only 12 on the year along with 22 assists. He plays good D. I think judging him on 1 game where the whole gym shot bad is a little unfair.

See the post before yours listing his shooting percentages per game.

But I agree he contributes beyond three ball percentage.

 

[1morevol]

He shoots 25% on the year from 3 and 51% from the field. He doesn't turn the ball over with only 12 on the year along with 22 assists. He plays good D. I think judging him on 1 game where the whole gym shot bad is a little unfair.

On this forum, one game or even one shot can lead to a judgement that a player is either great or terrible by some posters.

 

[sami]

I've been impressed with his athleticism and size. Want him to continue to cut to the basket cause he gets fouled every time but keep shooting. The pick and pop is there, it'll eventually go down.

No doubt. Think about that game, if Igor makes just 2-3 of those open looks from 3, that game doesn't go down to the wire. The great thing is that as tough as they played us, we left 10-12 points out there on missed wide open looks and free throws.

The shooting stroke is there, and it will come back. Guy is a baller that contributes in so many ways on both ends.

 

[Chris4Vols22]

I could be wrong, but I think it's mostly mental/confidence at this moment. He looks very fluid when he's deliberate, but I've noticed hesitation in some of his 3-point attempts. I gotta think his average will creep up as we go on.

 

[aWhiteLoftonChism]

I'll start with saying I really like the guy, and I think he is an upgrade from Awaka. He is getting a ton of rebounds and seems to have really bought into what we've come to expect from a Tennessee defensive player.

Having said that, what's up with missing all the 3 point shots?

When I watched his highlights I was excited to have another 3- point threat. Last night he was just atrocious from beyond the arc.
Hopefully he's just in a shooters slump and dials it in by the time we get into SEC play. Definitely needs to be putting in some extra time in the gym in regards.
Any thoughts as to what could be going on with him? Playing hard on D making him tired? Is it a confidence thing?
Is he the type of guy that needs to see his first one or two go in?

Maybe just maybe it’s because he played almost 38 mins of highly physical and intense Bball, while having to battle against one of the tallest teams in the country who were absolutely crashing the boards on both ends. He was playing as a center last night so any points from him were a bonus. Plus he still had the second biggest play of the game. He’s fine. Need the other center to play better so he can be more effective on offense.

 

[BradstarVols]

One game

 

[vols 30]

#1 rule of VN has been broken.

 

[orangemadam]

I know this is a Milicic thread and I think he has been a tremendous player.
My question as a side note is that I don't think we did so well in replacing Aidoo so far.
FO has not had good back to back games that I can recall. He has not been a step
up from Aidoo or Awaka in my eyes.

 

[Carolinavols]

Did anyone shoot well last night outside of Gainey?

I was wondering if they were playing with a new or different brand of ball. It seemed to have a different feel to it watching how they shot free throws.

 

[Pride85]

Yeah, he did that Miami game and Virginia.
Looking at his 3 point numbers the rest of the year, if I'm being honest, it just isn't what I expected of him.

GWEB 0-1 0.0%
LOU 1-1 100%
MONT 2-6 33%
APSU 0-1 0%
UVA. 2-3 66%
BAY 0-1 0%
UTM 1-5 20%
SYR 1-4 25%
MIA 2-5 40%
ILL 0-8 0%

You definitely have an appropriate screen name. Gonna point out the negative with a passion. Please point out that our best defensive player fouled out, or that Lanier must be a bust based on his performance.

 

[Jax_Vol]

A bad day shooting...we've all had them.

He will bounce back next time.

 

[Volfan1000]

I'll start with saying I really like the guy, and I think he is an upgrade from Awaka. He is getting a ton of rebounds and seems to have really bought into what we've come to expect from a Tennessee defensive player.

Having said that, what's up with missing all the 3 point shots?

When I watched his highlights I was excited to have another 3- point threat. Last night he was just atrocious from beyond the arc.
Hopefully he's just in a shooters slump and dials it in by the time we get into SEC play. Definitely needs to be putting in some extra time in the gym in regards.
Any thoughts as to what could be going on with him? Playing hard on D making him tired? Is it a confidence thing?
Is he the type of guy that needs to see his first one or two go in?

Milicic and Lanier were the two big portal acquisitions this off season.

 

[butchna]

He’s been a roster upgrade and a major factor in the WINNING. Find more of these, Deacon!

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

On this forum, one game or even one shot can lead to a judgement that a player is either great or terrible by some poposters.

I never said he was necessarily a great or terrible player. I was posing some questions about his 3 point shooting after a pretty awful performance in respect.
Also, my concerns aren't just from one game. He's had 7 games now where he has either made only 1 or no 3 pointers at all.
IMO, if we are going to win a championship that's not going to cut it. Going to need him to find his stroke from behind the arc.

 

[Orange Navy]

He didn't replace Awaka for the most part, he replaced JJJ, and yes, that's a major upgrade for the 4 position. JJJ was more of a three trying to play the four.

This is correct.

Igor replaces JJJ at the 4
Okpara replaces Aidoo at the 5
Cade Phillips is actually the replacement for Awaka (back-up 5)

We can discuss whether we are better or worse in the post this year. But more helpful to use this apples-to-apples comparison

 

[RockyTop140]

He just had a cold shooting night. I do like he had the confidence to keep taking shots when he had good looks.

Exactly. You don’t want a player who gets scared to shoot even when they miss the first 3 or 4. He’ll come back around. So much of it is mindset

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

I hear ya, but there is shooting bad and then there is shooting BAD. He was just 2-13 last night and an abysmal 0-8 from 3 point land.
If he is going to shoot that bad from 3, we probably need him taking less of them.

Nah, keep shooting. Slumps don't last

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

You definitely have an appropriate screen name. Gonna point out the negative with a passion. Please point out that our best defensive player fouled out, or that Lanier must be a bust based on his performance.

Come on, bro. I've been positive one him ( in this thread) and other players in threads from last night. My username doesn't mean I like to be negative or bash players. "Anti" doesn't necessarily mean opposite of. Just means I oppoose/don't like sunshine pumpers.
I digress.
I belive it's fair to ask if there is a reason he's been a little unimpressive from behind the arc this year.
Maybe it is because he isn't accustomed to playing such intense D. ZZ being out and him having to picl up the slack on D could've had a factor on him last night. I'm just wondering what's up. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[rdk4121]

Awaka has been pretty bad this year. He's only scored double figures 3 times, and all of those were against low quality opponents. Against power 5 competition, he's averaging 4.8 and 5.8 rebounds. Still a good rebounder, still has a foul problem.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Exactly. You don’t want a player who gets scared to shoot even when they miss the first 3 or 4. He’ll come back around. So much of it is mindset

Nah, keep shooting. Slumps don't last

For sure I agree if it's a slump he needs to keep shooting. Definitely don't want him to miss one and be afraid to shoot. I'm afraid that's the situation with Mayshack atm.
At the same time he needs to be hitting if he's going to take 8+ in a game.
He had two games this year where he went 1-4 and 1-5. At that percentage that's all he needs to be taking. If he can keep it to + 30-35 % than I say bombs away.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

This is correct.

Igor replaces JJJ at the 4
Okpara replaces Aidoo at the 5
Cade Phillips is actually the replacement for Awaka (back-up 5)

We can discuss whether we are better or worse in the post this year. But more helpful to use this apples-to-apples comparison

Yeah, you're right. Technically he replaced JJJ at the 4. Awaka was poised to play a lot more minutes this year, tho. I can almost guarantee coach Barnes was counting on Igor's height, rebounding, and rim play to help make up for losing Awaka.

 

[RockyTop140]

For sure I agree if it's a slump he needs to keep shooting. Definitely don't want him to miss one and be afraid to shoot. I'm afraid that's the situation with Mayshack atm.
At the same time he needs to be hitting if he's going to take 8+ in a game.
He had two games this year where he went 1-4 and 1-5. At that percentage that's all he needs to be taking. If he can keep it to + 30-35 % than I say bombs away.

In that Illinois game, everyone was struggling to hit shots. It may be different if you start off cold and there’s another guy who’s hot. Then you maybe pass up a shot or 2 if it means he can get an open look. With the circumstances of that game, you take an open shot.