r/fightingillini • u/Leaf_blower_chipmunk • 7d ago
Men's Basketball What happened with Brandon Podziemski?
Podziemski just signed a $110M contract extension with Golden State. Then I suddenly remembered he actually played for Illinois in the 2021-2022 season. Looks like he transferred to Santa Clara to get more playing time (or maybe money). Why did he not receive more playing time at Illinois?
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u/Poohenis 7d ago
Brad historically has always favored experience, this was especially true with the original core of guys on the team during his freshman year (Frazier, Williams, Grandison)
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u/DirtyDans_Backyard 7d ago
Agreed. And brads adjusted this strategy a little and case in point, let a 18/19 year old Keaton Wagler lead us to a final four last year. But still
Favors experience and a lot of young cats don’t want to stick around. I get it both ways. Podz was unexpected on every level of CBB.13
u/vegasAzCrush 7d ago
Players prove themselves in practices before season
My guess is Pods was good but team was stacked and Pods was not thought or shown himself ti be good enough for pt
Since he was younger coach played seniors knowing pods would cone back
Im a gsw fan. I dont see how pods is worth 110 mil.
Too bad Pods did not get a year later at Illinois but happy it worked out for the kid.
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u/doyouevenIift 7d ago
Yep, Podz joined a veteran-heavy roster, so there wasn’t much room for him to get minutes. He made the right decision transferring to a school that let him be a ball-dominant guard, because that’s where he shines. I don’t necessarily blame Brad for not featuring Podz, just an unfortunate fit for us at the time
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u/Caesar10240 7d ago
It’s also his defense. That was the teams identity at the time, and our offense wasn’t that efficient. He would be targeted on defense. His defense still isn’t good.
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u/scal23 7d ago
We've had a ball dominant one and done freshman the last 2 seasons. Brad favors talent. Nobody thought Podz was that good, as evidenced by the fact that every other major program passed on him.
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u/OutcomePristine3392 7d ago
no Brad only recently started adjusting to this. before last 3 seasons he relied heavily on experience. Tyler's offense uses isolation heavy basketball and that is favoring individual talent more now. Brad's spread offense relied on movement more than iso
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u/Jaded66671 6d ago
What did you see Podz freshman year that Brad was supposed to have noticed that warranted him having more time? He wasn’t good. He sis well against lesser talent at Santa Clara. He made the right call for himself and Illini didn’t miss a beat without him
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u/OutcomePristine3392 6d ago
he was a first class finisher. did you see him shoot clutch 3s and converted 2s with ease? he was athletic. I do not know what Brad did NOT see in him - other than to believe in those years Brad heavily valued defense and upperclassmen - he had neither. last 3 years with Tyler leading offense - i think the focus has now finally pivoted more to offense and more underclassmen are beign featured and i am confident he would have found a place
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u/Jaded66671 4d ago
Yeah I guess I missed that. Clutch 3s?? He had 22 pts total in 16 games. 
During his 2021–22 freshman season at the University of Illinois, Brandin Podziemski played in 16 games in a reserve role, averaging 1.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game0
u/OutcomePristine3392 4d ago edited 4d ago
that was my point that he barely played - he played like 1 min a game average! his potential was huge compared to stagnant players like williams and Underwood failed to recognize that and kept giving defensive players and upperclassmen more chances instead of Podz. one game he played more than that - against northwestern, he scored a 3, a layup and couple rebounds - in like 3-4 minutes. then mizzou bragging rights game.
Key Moment: He hit a clutch layup and a three-pointer in crunch time to help halt Northwestern's late-game momentum and fuel the Illinois comeback. [1, 2, 3]
- Five points in win at Northwestern (Jan. 29)
- Career-high four rebounds in win at Minnesota (Jan. 4)
- Seven points for second straight game with three boards in Braggin' Rights win vs. Missouri (Dec. 22)
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u/Jaded66671 4d ago
He played enough based on what we saw. He provided a spark off the bench in ONE game.
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u/OutcomePristine3392 4d ago
define enough :) just played average of 1-2 min a game and games when he played >2 min (more like 5 min) he scored 5, 7 , 6 and was important for comeback rallies. take it for what you will. at the end of the day, you can not say he was given a fair chance
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u/Jaded66671 6d ago
Keaton Wagler and David mirk have entered the chat. Brad favors good players. Podz showed nothing his freshman year that looked like he deserved more playing time
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u/CRoseCrizzle 7d ago
He was just a freshman, some guys need more time to develop. I thought he actually played well in a conference game against Northwestern when he got a chance later that season. But nothing more came of it.
The staff probably should have been more patient and given him another year but that happens to everyone in the transfer portal era.
The Illini could have used him on the following year's team after Sky Clark didn't work out. But Illinois basketball is fine. And I'm happy for Podz.
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u/illini2014 7d ago
Here’s the thing: we won the big ten that year when Podz didn’t get any time. As much has he had a higher offensive ceiling than Damonte Williams etc, there was no way he was going to contribute to winning on the defensive side of the ball.
And if he was upset that underwood kept recruiting guards from high school and the portal for the following year: tough shit. He’s brought in dudes every year for a decade and the cream rises to the top. We are doing just fine.
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u/lonedroan 7d ago
Not a great defender, too many other options for it to make sense for him to shoot 3s at will, not great size in a physical league, some stubbornness from Brad. But Illinois shared the conference title that year.
He was nowhere near starter quality level his freshman year, let alone NBA worthy. He and his team realized that he needed to be “the guy” to maximize his potential, but that he wasn’t cut out to be “the guy” at a high major. So he spent a year averaging 30+ pts a game, showcasing his upside night in and night out in an environment where defense and physicality weren’t at as much of a premium.
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u/Signal_Tip_7428 6d ago
He was an NBA talent and got to show it elsewhere. Now he makes a lot of monies playing in the NBA.
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u/Deadeye_Dan77 7d ago
To be honest, Podz kinda sucked in the minutes he did get here. He didn’t show anything on the court to warrant more playing time.
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u/OutcomePristine3392 7d ago
he barely got any playing time like 2 min a game = can not glean much from that and he showed offensive flashes in those 2 min
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u/OutcomePristine3392 4d ago
- Five points in win at Northwestern (Jan. 29) - this fueled comeback rally.
- Career-high four rebounds in win at Minnesota (Jan. 4)
- Seven points for second straight game with three boards in Braggin' Rights win vs. Missouri (Dec. 22) - again another comeback rally.
games he played more than 1 minute - he made an impact. and yet was given very little playing time
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u/OutcomePristine3392 7d ago
ccoach's decision. i think Underwood really missed the mark on him. At that time he used to value experience and defense more than talent and as a result, some young good offensive players did not get playing time
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u/jmr33090 7d ago
Podz really didn't do much with the minutes he got as a freshman, and his defense was not great. I think he really just blossomed with an offseason and the confidence of going against lower level opponents
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u/YouBeIllin13 7d ago
Yeah, this is one of those cases where the credit has to go to the player for putting in the work to get better. He definitely lacked confidence with his ball handling and drives to the basket while at Illinois.
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u/OutcomePristine3392 7d ago
he barely got playing time while at illinois - so coaches are somewhat at fault. his lack of defense was a reason as well
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u/OutcomePristine3392 7d ago
he did not really get any minutes behind upperclassmen like williams and others. sorry you can not evaluate someone with 2 min a game!
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u/jmr33090 7d ago
You can in practice. And it does not take much sample size at all to evaluate defense
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u/OutcomePristine3392 6d ago
defense - yes. but he had a really good offensive game even in those short minutes, NW game was case in point. but because underwood valued defense and upperclassmen at that time he got overlooked. I am sure if he was there last year he would have played more - the new offense for last 3 or so years with Tyler - allowed better offensive players/iso players to play more minutes without being good defensively
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u/GeorgeWBush2016 7d ago
I did think he should have played more, he had some big minutes against northwestern that without we don't win the big ten. With that said if he stays we may not have got Shannon.
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u/Bright-Ganache-4862 7d ago
Brad never gave him a chance. Brad is a great coach but sometimes gets stuck on his favorites and misses out.
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u/JtotheC23 7d ago
He looked like he had some potential, but he just played like ass when he was given opportunities in games (and supposedly didn't look any better in practice). Something clicked for him in the offseason after transferring to Santa Clara that didn't click at Illinois, and he blew up.
A lot of people have since tried to rewrite history (including Ant Wright, who I otherwise really like). No one saw his rise to success coming. Not Illinois, not analysts at the time, not any other high major coach. There was a reason he got no close major portal attention. You can't blame Brad for not seeing what he could be when no other top-15 coach saw anything either, but people really like to.
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u/OutcomePristine3392 7d ago
he did not play like ass. he barely played. his fault was he was lowerclassman when brad favored upperclassmen at the time. and he did not have great defense which was important for Brad to play him at the time. he has since adjusted under tyler's offense
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u/QuickSafety8100 6d ago
White kids mature a bit slower than black kids (avg age of puberty is later). Podz got stronger and bigger while in college. I dont really see how he is worth 110M, but he is a legit NBA player now.
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u/Balogma69 7d ago
BU played that bitch Skyy Moore over Podz and he left
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u/hoenn-enthusiast 7d ago
Podz left the summer before skyy clark joined
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u/Balogma69 7d ago
You’re right. I meant BU recruited Skyy to start at PG and Podz left because of that
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u/MoonManExplorer 7d ago
It always comes down to this- if he was sooooooo good, why did every single other P4 coach also miss on him? He went to Santa Clara and balled out. He was that good. Just no one saw it.