Illini Basketball 2019-2020

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#102      

Illini in OC

In. The. Alley.
Uh, not saying he is going to make that jump, but experience and letting the game slow down for you makes a ton of difference and thus the frosh to soph jump. His stroke looks pretty good and to do what he did at MSG takes some level of ability. With time on the court I think he's ready to make a big jump. Our schedule last year did not let Alan or Tev time on the court to develop like anyone would have hoped.

Recall Luther was challenged to be the best 3P shooter in the country by Bruce for his Sr season. I don't remember exactly where Luther was prior to the challenge but he certainly answered the bell. This kind of goal-setting by BU cant't hurt. Agree Tev is first a slasher but that doesn't preclude becoming a great shooter.
 
#106      
Expecting much bigger jumps in Tevian and Griffin. Both players especially Tevian were having to ask the question WHY. They know WHY, so I expect both to know the schemes, techniques, and routines of successful college athletes. Both players look thicker and more seasoned than last year. Looking forward to their success.
 
#107      
Physical and especially mental maturity between a freshman and a sophomore is a big deal. Going from being led to being a leader ids a big deal. Just knowing what to expect allows a player to expend his energies on improving rather than trying to prepare himself for the unknown. Not enough can be said for the advantage Tev and Griffin have going into this year compared to last. It also illustrates how special Ayo and Giorgi were last year.
 
#108      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Expecting much bigger jumps in Tevian and Griffin. Both players especially Tevian were having to ask the question WHY. They know WHY, so I expect both to know the schemes, techniques, and routines of successful college athletes. Both players look thicker and more seasoned than last year. Looking forward to their success.

The mental aspect is where they'll gain the most. But, heck yeah, really looking forward to seeing the new and improved versions of Jones and Griffin. Both have very high ceilings.
 
#109      
It’s not out of the realm of possibility. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but Tev has enough talent to be efficient from 3 with wise shot selection. Aside from that, I personally hope Tev gets more comfortable off the dribble attacking the rim - he has all the physical tools to be a problem coming off screens taking it to the hole. Tev would bring a ton of value to this offense if he can do what he does at 30 seconds of this tape.

The fact we have more balance inside and out it certainly can happen. Plus he missed 8 games last season. I think tev is the most likely to bust like GB did last season.
 
#111      
No United Center game this year. Whitman says it is on hiatus.

https://twitter.com/craigwchoate/

D9XuDW4W4AExh-I
 
#117      
Expecting much bigger jumps in Tevian and Griffin. Both players especially Tevian were having to ask the question WHY. They know WHY, so I expect both to know the schemes, techniques, and routines of successful college athletes. Both players look thicker and more seasoned than last year. Looking forward to their success.
2020 Award projections:
Most improved: Tev
Best Player: Ayo
All Freshmen BIG: Kofi
Biggest surprise contribution: Samba ( second place Bernard)
All BIG: Giorgi and Ayo
 
#118      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
I think we're all ready for sophomore breakouts from Jones & Griffin, but it would be great if Kane broke out too. If he can give us ~15 quality minutes, we're cooking with gas. Not expecting much offensively, but solid D and rebounding is just what the doctor ordered.
 
#119      

ILL in IA

Iowa City
With Kane in a reserve big man role, we don't need an advanced offensive game on the block. A few off. rebounds and putbacks, along with being able to catch a lob as he rolls to the basket out of the pinch post to keep defenses honest to the system are all we need.
 
#120      
Color me Orange and Blue, but Tev gives me the willies with what I see as his similarity to Kendall Gill.

I don't think you mean the willies, that's a bad feeling. Hmmm, what would a better way to say that? How about, "I'm psyched for this season and Tev's major strides forward."

This team should be a ton of fun!
 
#121      

I Bomb

Stylin' and Profilin'
Saw a clip from practice this morning. Kofi looking tough. Giorgi will be glad once it's someone else's turn to guard him.
 
#122      

Dan

Admin
Here's to the United Center Tradition streak, a fantastic, unique neutral site series (1994-95 thru 2018-19).

The series thrived due to Illini Basketball's connection with Chicago, and was sustained 25-straight seasons despite the challenging scheduling framework of having the non-conference opponent change year-to-year. That scheduling -- despite the wild swings in appeal of the game year-to-year -- was important as it allowed the UC to be an established part of Illinois Basketball completely on its own, without disrupting anything else on the schedule (and avoided it becoming a stale copy of the great Braggin' Rights series).

The UC tradition streak's downfall was brought about by the lowered excitement level of the program during this current NCAA Tournament drought. I still hate to see the series go out like it did last season -- in a disruptive fireball -- and remain skeptical of Josh Whitman's decision-making ability with regards to the schedule.

Last season's United Center game was a tradition-smashing mess-
* On a Wednesday (traditionally a Saturday game)
* Versus a B1G opponent (traditionally a non-conference game)
* Highly disruptive to move the B1G home-opener away from home (hallmark of the UC series was its non-disruptive nature)

If Illinois was obligated to play at the UC last year, there were 3 proper Saturday non-conference games on the schedule that would've worked. Otherwise, last season was the time to go on hiatus.

Moving forward, a good time to have future United Center games is close to New Year's. That way, it's during the heart of the holiday season with so many people already in Chicago (and Champaign-Urbana emptied out), it doesn't necessarily need to be on a Saturday, and you have a chance for additional buildup in interest with good outcomes in the early season. If the UC game has to be prior to Braggin' Rights in early December, then make sure it's on a Saturday (because then tipoff time is not a huge factor).

Which brings us to this upcoming season-
* Team showed flashes of goodness & greatness last season
* 9 returning players, bulk of the production is returning
* Best player, from Chicago, in most likely his final IL season
* 1 large, talented newcomer

There's real reason for optimism heading into this season. The excitement level, while not where it could be, is certainly on the rise. I thought this upcoming season would be a fine time to play at the United Center. Have the game around New Year's for max ticket-buying time, say this team's capable of having 9-10 wins after a Braggin' Rights victory, boom 10k in the UC and everything's on the up&up. Go Illini
 
#124      

Deleted member 628259

D
Guest
Moving forward, a good time to have future United Center games is close to New Year's. That way, it's during the heart of the holiday season with so many people already in Chicago (and Champaign-Urbana emptied out)

Couldn't agree more. Those winter break home games are always depressing.
 
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