Illini Basketball 2019-2020

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#54      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
Soxfreak64 said:
Watching our B1G “peers” demolish solid-good ACC teams is not exactly heartening.
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Agreed, in actuality I think it only gets worse for us moving forward. Think about this...we just finished 8-6 with some quality wins, unexpected wins, unexpected losses (ILLINI). The conference strength this year will be something else....lucky to get 500% in retrospect now?

With that said, I believe the top to bottom of the B1G will only get substantially better as the year rolls on, ACC not so sure about the same happening.

I mean there Top 3-5 are always loaded more years than not, but the rest of that conference especially this year is woefully bad and I don't see that changing throughout the year. The B1G will continue this year to get really strong imo.

2 B1G teams in Final Four this year I think for sure regardless of seeding/brackets. Many B1G teams will be higher seeds, in different brackets I think.
 
#58      

lstewart53x3

lstewart53x3
Scottsdale, Arizona
lstewart53x3
haasi said:
Sounds reasonable, unfortunately. How hot is Underwoods seat in that circumstance?
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These are three big IFs, but if:

1.) Ayo has a poor year & does not go pro.
2.) We have a poor year & do not make the tourney.
3.) Miller decommits.

Underwood’s all but done.

He might get a token 4th year, but he’s gonna have a hard time moving forward.
 
#60      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
lstewart53x3 said:
These are three big IFs, but if:

1.) Ayo has a poor year & does not go pro.
2.) We have a poor year & do not make the tourney.
3.) Miller decommits.

Underwood’s all but done.

He might get a token 4th year, but he’s gonna have a hard time moving forward.
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Yeah he's getting that 4th year regardless (barring a scandal). He's on the hook for a NCAAT appearance next year though, honestly he should be even if we make it this year.

My biggest worry is this:
1.) Ayo goes pro, even past his bad year
2.) Kofi goes pro too
3.) We have a poor year & do not make the tourney
4.) Miller decommits, seeing that we did not improve Ayo to lottery or even first round status

I dont think that the above outcome is all that farfetched either, perhaps the combination of 1 and 4 happenning would be the least likely. I still think even if all of the above happens, BU stays.
 
#61      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
ChiefIllini said:
Good Stuff

1.) Ayo goes pro, even past his bad year-Still a possibility, I do believe his desire to make something here may come into play though-especially with a bad year (by PRO standards)
2.) Kofi goes pro too - talent wise overall he will be a PRO, not sure if I buy after this year-he has dominated against lesser players-held his own or been dominated by better talented teams. Pro Scouts will see this and factor it into his declaring for advice scenario.
3.) We have a poor year & do not make the tourney - Most logical choice at this point of listed ones.
4.) Miller decommits, seeing that we did not improve Ayo to lottery or even first round status - I actually think Miller could be persuaded by Ayo of all people to come aboard and build it with him after all the hoopla clears (just a feeling), however I don't think Miller will based on Ayo development not the issue of playing or not with him.

If BU and staff cannot get the Ayo development and season turned around fast, the long term affects could in reality get us right back to where we were all thinking we climbed out of? 15 years of underperformance is not a shallow hole so to speak...BU has us fans and the media all bought in before this year...but the easy part was over awhile ago. Perform now or our recruiting efforts will take a massive hit moving forward, if this happens, then the staff might be in trouble?
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#62      

AZis

A
AZis
Who was our last 'pure' assist guard? Demetri McCamey comes to mind for me. I am sooooo looking forward to having Curbelo in the lineup the next few years. Honestly, I don't know what to think about Ayo. Of course, I would love to see him perform in a way that makes him a 1st rounder, but I didn't really see it last year (2nd rounder for sure), and I certainly don't see it yet this year...... I am certain we will be fine at the PG position whether Ayo goes or not, but I can see the recruiting effect it MAY have should he stay another year. It's a big unknown at this point honestly. Funny business this Illini basketball stuff........
 
#63      

Halloweenie

H
Halloweenie
AZis said:
Who was our last 'pure' assist guard? Demetri McCamey comes to mind for me. I am sooooo looking forward to having Curbelo in the lineup the next few years. Honestly, I don't know what to think about Ayo. Of course, I would love to see him perform in a way that makes him a 1st rounder, but I didn't really see it last year (2nd rounder for sure), and I certainly don't see it yet this year...... I am certain we will be fine at the PG position whether Ayo goes or not, but I can see the recruiting effect it MAY have should he stay another year. It's a big unknown at this point honestly. Funny business this Illini basketball stuff........
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Yes.. even positive developments have downsides.😉
 
#64      

tpbradley

tpbradley
tpbradley
AZis said:
Who was our last 'pure' assist guard? Demetri McCamey comes to mind for me. I am sooooo looking forward to having Curbelo in the lineup the next few years. Honestly, I don't know what to think about Ayo. Of course, I would love to see him perform in a way that makes him a 1st rounder, but I didn't really see it last year (2nd rounder for sure), and I certainly don't see it yet this year...... I am certain we will be fine at the PG position whether Ayo goes or not, but I can see the recruiting effect it MAY have should he stay another year. It's a big unknown at this point honestly. Funny business this Illini basketball stuff........
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Jaylon Tate :p
 
#66      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
I'll be interested to see on court improvement of running BUs system this year. If Gentry is all he's cracked up to be, I'd expect improvement as the year goes on.
 
#67      

FeelYourPaign

FeelYourPaign
So Cal
FeelYourPaign
ChiefIllini said:
I'll be interested to see on court improvement of running BUs system this year. If Gentry is all he's cracked up to be, I'd expect improvement as the year goes on.
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We certainly need to improve.
Not just because of our start, although that is part of it.
But because most teams improve as the year goes by.
So, we need to improve at least as much as they do.
I think we need to improve than they do, as I would say that at this moment, we are not a tournament team.
And we want to be.
 
#68      

PtownIllini8

P
PtownIllini8
AZis said:
Who was our last 'pure' assist guard? Demetri McCamey comes to mind for me. I am sooooo looking forward to having Curbelo in the lineup the next few years. Honestly, I don't know what to think about Ayo. Of course, I would love to see him perform in a way that makes him a 1st rounder, but I didn't really see it last year (2nd rounder for sure), and I certainly don't see it yet this year...... I am certain we will be fine at the PG position whether Ayo goes or not, but I can see the recruiting effect it MAY have should he stay another year. It's a big unknown at this point honestly. Funny business this Illini basketball stuff........
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Chet Frazier 2009, team MVP.
 
#69      

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
PtownIllini8 said:
Chet Frazier 2009, team MVP.
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It was McCamey. He could score and he could assist. Had a huge jr. year with big assist numbers. Just not a ton of talent around him. Frazier was a PG, but not on McCamey's level at all offensively.
 
#70      

jcgoldie

J
jcgoldie
Pretty sure I’ve asked this question every year for a decade but too many beers in between... what are Illini sections for BR game please? The wife almost got us tossed last time we sat in the Mizzou end and I can’t handle that kind of stress anymore. :noidea:
 
#73      

Hoppy2105

H
Little Rock, Arkansas
Hoppy2105
Kofi is doing soooo well as a freshman. He is one of those guys that other fans say “CRAP, we have to deal with this guy for 3 more years?? I hope he goes pro after this year.”

The only difference is that we haven’t proven we can win against high major competition with him. So even if they don’t like that we have Kofi, they still know Illinois is perfectly beatable and won’t stress when they see us on the schedule.

Sucks. I desperately hope we can turn it around.
 
#74      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
Hoppy2105 said:
Kofi is doing soooo well as a freshman. He is one of those guys that other fans say “CRAP, we have to deal with this guy for 3 more years?? I hope he goes pro after this year.”

The only difference is that we haven’t proven we can win against high major competition with him. So even if they don’t like that we have Kofi, they still know Illinois is perfectly beatable and won’t stress when they see us on the schedule.

Sucks. I desperately hope we can turn it around.
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it would help if we had him on the court at those critical times when the game could have been won
 
#75      

Illiniguy13

Illiniguy13
Illiniguy13
Not losing faith here, because past Underwood teams have improved mid-season. Granted, our improvements last year fizzled, but if we see any kind of resemblance of that turn-around, we'll be just fine. On a separate note, I have a feeling Grandison and Hutcherson are going to be welcomed additions next year. Desperate for guys outside of Trent and AG who can hit shots consistently.
 
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