Yuri is entering the draft

[Soderball]

1 minute ago, billikenfan05 said:

Goodwin wasn't a shooter either. Yuri's got a summer of nothing but basketball ahead of the Draft. Crazier things...

Goodwin has height and rebounding skills.

[brianstl]

I was higher than most on Yuri coming out of high school and he even surprised me by how much he excelled in college. I don’t think he is a NBA player, but Yuri has been proving people wrong for a long time now.

[almaman]

What's become of his little brother?

[Gremio14]

34 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

I don't know about that. If a guy has one elite talent/ability, theres always going to be a shot for him. 

Yuri needs to watch and emulate hermano Facundo….if he can get his passing to that level there may be a spot for him..

[billikenfan05]

39 minutes ago, Soderball said:

Goodwin has height and rebounding skills.

I mean Yuri has an unbelievable asset in his passing and court vision. NBA teams will at least see if his entire game will translate. It'll surprise me if he gets to the NBA, but it won't shock me.

[thetorch]

1 hour ago, almaman said:

What's become of his little brother?

Already has scored 1200+ points through two hs seasons. Has a good shot at the all time missouri scoring record.

[BIG BILL FAN]

1 minute ago, thetorch said:

Already has scored 1200+ points through two hs seasons. Has a good shot at the all time missouri scoring record.

Was selected on the class 5 all state team.

 

https://www.newstribune.com/news/2023/mar/26/mbca-announces-2022-23-all-state-basketball-teams/

[BigMouthBilliken]

I wish him good luck, and he may end up being a fine player in Europe. But I have no doubt in my mind that he will never touch an NBA floor. Maybe I’ll be wrong

[Scoop]

Good luck, Yuri. Thanks for being a Billiken. The hate on this board that continues after he’s gone is immature but nothing surprises me here anymore. It’s probably Ford’s fault. Well wishes and thanks again for reppin’ the Lou.

[majerus mojo]

20 hours ago, bauman said:

I think he is going to be sorely disappointed. 

 

17 hours ago, Soderball said:

Yuri's not an NBA player. he's "short"(by professional basketball standards) and his shot is poor. He's going to need to shoot 40+% from the three-point line to play in The League.

 

I don't want him back because this program needs to move on to a new identity. We never made the tournament with him. He was still a skilled player and stuck by his home town to play basketball. Mixed reviews in the end.

 

8 hours ago, BigMouthBilliken said:

I wish him good luck, and he may end up being a fine player in Europe. But I have no doubt in my mind that he will never touch an NBA floor. Maybe I’ll be wrong

[slu72]

Note to Yurimania: last time I checked no one on Billiken.com is employed by the NBA. Good luck in your quest and make us proud. 

[Coach314]

Yuri is ready to move on from college.  Despite the odds he has a chance to pursue his dream at the highest level.  Congratulations to him. 

[ACE]

20 hours ago, Soderball said:

Yuri's not an NBA player. he's "short"(by professional basketball standards) and his shot is poor. He's going to need to shoot 40+% from the three-point line to play in The League.

 

I don't want him back because this program needs to move on to a new identity. We never made the tournament with him. He was still a skilled player and stuck by his home town to play basketball. Mixed reviews in the end.

Again, this critique against Yuri simply needs to be refuted, and put in proper context. The timing of his college career was highly unusual.  His freshman season, the team ends the regular season Top 50 NET, and likely needs one win in the conference tournament to get into the Dance. COVID shut down the conference tournament and the season, so he never even got the chance. The following season, the team is rolling behind Yuri and in early January the team cracks the Top 25 for the first time since the Majerus era, then COVID shuts the team down for more than a month.  Even the harshest Ford or Yuri critic would have to concede that team was a lock for the Dance. The following year, the pre-season conference POY blows out his knee before the season begins. Under the circumstances, players like Yuri and Gibby stepped and grew their games in Perk's absence, but it was no longer a Dance caliber team without Perk. This most recent season is really the only one where the team underachieved. The frustration for this season is justified, but don't let it cloud the prior three seasons and re-write history. Yuri had a hell of a career that should be celebrated.

[RUBillsFan]

Current shortest NBA players per a random Google search:

Facundo Campazzo 5'10" 195lbs - Denver Nuggets

Jordan McLaughlin 5'11" 185 lbs - Minnesota Timberwolves

Chris Paul 6'0" 196 lbs- Phoenix Sus

Kyle Lowry 6'0" 175 lbs - Miami Heat

Tyus Jones 6'0" 196 lbs - Memphis Grizzlies

Yuri 6'0" 190 lbs.

Yuri's size isn't an asset, but it isn't unheard of for players his size to be in the NBA. 

One thing all the NBA players above have in common is that they are all PGs and actually most are noted for their passing ability above their shooting / scoring punch. 

Careers assists per 36 for the above players range from 6.2 (Campazzo) to 9.9 (Paul)

Career turnovers per 36 range from 1.4 (Jones) to 2.6 (Lowry)

Career 3pt%s range from 32.6% (Campazzo) to 36.8% (Paul)

Yuri doesn't need to shoot 40%.  He needs to shoot well enough & be willing enough from NBA range to keep defenses honest and he needs to be a good/really good defender.  He's strong for his size, but undoubtedly needs to get stronger to defend NBA level players who are mostly going to be bigger than him.

 

 

 

[Taj79]

The Billiken record book is punctuated by a whole lot of shouldas/couldas/wouldas and sadly nevers.  Luther Burden.  Anthony Bonner.  Jordan Goodwin.  Hasahn French.  Josh Fisher.  Kevin Lisch.  Tommie Liddell.  David Burns.  Monroe Douglas.  Roland Gray.  Now we add Yuri Collins.  That's a lot of good/great players.  Success stories?  Eye of the beholder.

[RUBillsFan]

1 minute ago, Taj79 said:

The Billiken record book is punctuated by a whole lot of shouldas/couldas/wouldas and sadly nevers.  Luther Burden.  Anthony Bonner.  Jordan Goodwin.  Hasahn French.  Josh Fisher.  Kevin Lisch.  Tommie Liddell.  David Burns.  Monroe Douglas.  Roland Gray.  Now we add Yuri Collins.  That's a lot of good/great players.  Success stories?  Eye of the beholder.

I'm not 100%, but I think all those guys have degrees from SLU (I believe it took Tommie longer, but he evetually got his), so they ARE success stories as individuals.

Was the SLU team successful during their careers / did their teams meet goals?  That's eye of the beholder.

[HoosierPal]

32 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

I'm not 100%, but I think all those guys have degrees from SLU (I believe it took Tommie longer, but he evetually got his), so they ARE success stories as individuals.

Was the SLU team successful during their careers / did their teams meet goals?  That's eye of the beholder.

I am curious. Did Liddell get his diploma?  I know he did not graduate in four years but did come back several years ago to finish. It was not publicized if he did achieve that goal and got his diploma. I do hope he did. I asked a local ex-Bill player a year or so ago and he wasn’t sure. 

[Brighton]

Yuri gets the most criticism of any player due to sending the program and fanbase on a rollercoaster last offseason. Rightly or wrongly, it rubbed many off the wrong way.

[dlarry]

2 hours ago, Brighton said:

Yuri gets the most criticism of any player due to sending the program and fanbase on a rollercoaster last offseason. Rightly or wrongly, it rubbed many off the wrong way.

That’s part of it. It’s also because he was the face of what ended up being one of the most disappointing Billiken team in a long time.

 

People had giant expectations this year and those expectations weren’t close to being met.

He was the QB of this team and the QB always gets to much credit for wins and to much blame for losses.

Regardless of my disappointment in this season he had a heck of a career and I wish him nothing but success. 

[Crewsorlose]

On 3/31/2023 at 4:18 PM, almaman said:

What's become of his little brother?

I saw a few St. Mary's games and Zyree is a different type of player. He averaged 30ppg as a sophomore. He can finish through contact and although he really sees the floor, he's not a pass-first PG, but more of a wing-scorer. He was at almost every home game this year. I think the local news did a nice story on him a couple months ago. 

[HoosierPal]

OT  https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36224467/nba-nbpa-memo-outlines-new-nba-draft-selection-requirements

Without starting a new NBA thread, this is a good place to park this topic.  Two major changes in the NBA draft, per the new collective agreement.

1) If invited to the NBA Combine, all players must participate in all the non-basketball related sessions, including league medical examinations, sharing of medical history and biomechanical and functional movement testing, as well as strength and agility testing, shooting drills, performance testing and anthropometric measurements. Players will also be required to conduct team interviews, media circuits, player development sessions and other assessments, as determined by the NBA in consultation with the NBPA. Players will not be compelled to compete in 5-on-5 scrimmaging, which typically only a handful of first-round prospects elect to participate in.

2) The second major change that will be instituted in the new CBA involves doing away with automatic eligibility for high school or collegiate players who sign professional contracts with entities such as G League Ignite, Overtime Elite (OTE) or the Australian NBL.  In the past, players who signed with such entities would be automatically eligible for the subsequent NBA draft, regardless of whether they were interested in doing so or not, provided they were turning 19 in that calendar year.  The revision of these sections of the CBA means that U.S.-based players will be able to sign pro contracts with G League Ignite, OTE or international teams and spend several years with those entities until they elect to enter the draft on their own volition, or turn 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. This will likely have major implications on alternative pathway entities' ability to recruit elite prospects out of high school, international destinations or college, opening a wide range of options for players.

 

 

[RUBillsFan]

I haven't seen this previously posted, but another new rule in the CBA that should significantly help Yuri's chances of making an NBA roster is teams are going to be allowed to carry 3 two-way players in stead of the past limit of 2.  That's essentially 30 more NBA roster spots.  I'd guess Goodwin would have gotten a 2 way deal a year earlier if teams had 3 back then.

[crymdg2]

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2023/05/50-prospects-reportedly-invited-to-g-league-elite-camp.html

 

 

Yuri did not get invited to the G-League Elite Camp. Keep working hard,  Yuri!

[bauman]

Yuri's main problem isn't going to go away.  He needs to grow 3-4 inches unless he becomes much quicker and a much, much better shooter.   If none of these happen he is never going to play in the NBA.

I hope he gets a nice NIL gig at a P5 school which needs a one year fix at PG.

[David King]

25 minutes ago, bauman said:

Yuri's main problem isn't going to go away.  He needs to grow 3-4 inches unless he becomes much quicker and a much, much better shooter.   If none of these happen he is never going to play in the NBA.

I hope he gets a nice NIL gig at a P5 school which needs a one year fix at PG.

Yeah, Tennessee is still looking for somebody to back up Zakai Zeigler.