Illini Basketball 2018-2019

[TCTORNADO]

In a recent interview posted on here in the past day, Underwood said he would have played Tyler some last year had he been eligible...

Did CBU, give a Larry Bird like comparison to Tyler in the interview??

 

[BWilson25]

Or it's really, really good.

Critical Thinking works best :thumb:

 

[Peoria Illini]

In a recent interview posted on here in the past day, Underwood said he would have played Tyler some last year had he been eligible...

I'm sure he could have been helpful in some of the end of game situations. Maybe taking the ball out of bounds?

 

[bobbob]

Or it's really, really good.

The question was meaningful minutes.

I fully support Tyler being the human victory cigar.

 

[ChiefIllini]

The Illini were so close last year to being an NCAA team. They lost 4 games in OT and one by a prayer at Nebraska. The did that with very minimal talent. They should have a much better backcourt with the addition of Ayo, Tevian, and Feliz. Frontcouort is the big question. Ebo should be better and Samba should help. The 4 (PF) is big question. Ayo and Tevian should help Frazier with the swagger needed to be a good team.

Winning 5 more games wouldn't have gotten us into the tournament. PSU and Nebby were the top two teams left out of the tourney last year and we wouldn't have touched either in terms of RPI or any other important metric in order to make the field. We might have been an NIT team, probably would've actually, but the tournament was more like 7 or 8 wins away, of course depending on who exactly those wins came against.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

The Illini were so close last year to being an NCAA team. They lost 4 games in OT and one by a prayer at Nebraska.

Win a totally unrealistic all five of those, which would have made our record deceptively lucky, and we're still comfortably out.

19-13 (9-9) in last year's Big Ten is not a tourney team. Ask Maryland and Penn State.

This narrative that we were anything other that total flaming garbage last year is really, really misguided, and whatever quality we possessed was solely due to the individual efforts of two players, one of whom chose to jet off to play for subsistence wages on the moon rather than complete his eligibility under the current staff, leaving a gaping crater in the lineup in his absence.

I'm probably overstating the case in that paragraph, but not as much as you are saying we were "so close" to making the tournament.

 

[Joel Goodson]

The Illini were so close last year to being an NCAA team. They lost 4 games in OT and one by a prayer at Nebraska. The did that with very minimal talent. They should have a much better backcourt with the addition of Ayo, Tevian, and Feliz. Frontcouort is the big question. Ebo should be better and Samba should help. The 4 (PF) is big question. Ayo and Tevian should help Frazier with the swagger needed to be a good team.

Hurting your credibility with this claim. OTOH, I agree that there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the season's squad. Tempered by lack of experience.

 

[FC Illiniman]

Win a totally unrealistic all five of those, which would have made our record deceptively lucky, and we're still comfortably out.

19-13 (9-9) in last year's Big Ten is not a tourney team. Ask Maryland and Penn State.

This narrative that we were anything other that total flaming garbage last year is really, really misguided, and whatever quality we possessed was solely due to the individual efforts of two players, one of whom chose to jet off to play for subsistence wages on the moon rather than complete his eligibility under the current staff, leaving a gaping crater in the lineup in his absence.

I'm probably overstating the case in that paragraph, but not as much as you are saying we were "so close" to making the tournament.

Well stated, and agree. The one individual, who jetted, will probably never unfortunately get out of a crater. Our last year roster was low in talent, TF was very good, and Black made the best of his opportunity to get his ticket for a pay day. As it works out, this roster turnover should be in our best interest. Time will tell.

 

[rtbritt]

I agree with your last point that you may be over stating a bit. I think reality lies somewhere in between your doomsday description and being "close" to the tourney. Some of those losses weren't true toss ups either; there were a couple that, quite frankly, were blown I guess due to inexperience etc..

I think there is plenty of reason for cautious optimism. 2 returners that can flat out play. 2 that should fit their role really well. And a wild card in DMW.

We're bringing in a great mix of experience, athleticism, scoring, and most importantly size. Hopefully having 6 guys that know the system already will speed our newcomers along. I would still expect some head scratching losses but with that some unexpected wins. Personally, a ceiling/floor of 5th-10th place B1G finish is what I'm going with.

I'd love to see a lineup of AF, TF, AD, KN, and GE/SK but that would depends on Kippers ability to defend the 4. Obviously, its way too early to project a lineup, that just seems like it would be fun to watch.

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I'm not sure that is a huge question mark overall. We've seen him play the 4. If the other team has a similar-sized player and Kipper is engaged, he'll do fine; if the other team has a bigger, more natural post player, Kipper will struggle to guard him.

Thankfully, it seems most teams are starting to use more 6'5-6'8 type dudes at the 4, which I think KN will do an adequate job defending against.

 

[Peoria Illini]

Win a totally unrealistic all five of those, which would have made our record deceptively lucky, and we're still comfortably out.

19-13 (9-9) in last year's Big Ten is not a tourney team. Ask Maryland and Penn State.

This narrative that we were anything other that total flaming garbage last year is really, really misguided, and whatever quality we possessed was solely due to the individual efforts of two players, one of whom chose to jet off to play for subsistence wages on the moon rather than complete his eligibility under the current staff, leaving a gaping crater in the lineup in his absence.

I'm probably overstating the case in that paragraph, but not as much as you are saying we were "so close" to making the tournament.

LOL...that's a little overstated. We weren't good, but we only had a couple of games where we were total flaming garbage.

I think we will be better this year. And I think we will advance the culture that BU is trying to establish as well.

 

[EJ33]

Hendrickson is one of those who has probably tempered expectations with some of his comments. Nothing negative per se, but not expecting him to be a huge impact player right away. That's what I've taken away anyhow.

Ayo's highlight video shows exactly why Henricksen doesn't think he's an impact player as a freshman. He's a smooth player, but his shot needs a lot of work and he's not a great athlete. I think he can be a solid contributor next year, but expecting much more is just typical IllinoisLoyalty hyperbole.

 

[EJ33]

Ayo has the Derek Harper game....cant wait to see him and Tevian and the rest mature and represent the ILLINI

Harper was a very good athlete and deceptively so. He was a tremendous defender, ball-handler, and passer who was a top 10 national recruit. Other than that, Ayo and Harper are totally similar players.

 

[TownieMatt]

Ayo's highlight video shows exactly why Henricksen doesn't think he's an impact player as a freshman. He's a smooth player, but his shot needs a lot of work and he's not a great athlete. I think he can be a solid contributor next year, but expecting much more is just typical IllinoisLoyalty hyperbole.

I do think expectations are too high for Ayo, but I think he can make an impact as a freshman. His ability to create off the dribble is something that we don't have enough of on this roster. Trent is the only guy that's shown an ability to do it. Ayo can get in the lane pretty much at-will, and that includes when he's gone up against some of the best talent in the country. I think that translates to the college level next season.

Ayo's never going to be Kyle Korver, but if he can develop a reliable shot that defenders have to respect, he's going to be a very dangerous B1G player.

 

[skyIdub]

 

[skyIdub]

What Ayo may lack in athleticism he makes up for it in his attitude. Every interview I've watched of him shows an elite level of confidence, similar to Trent. These guys play with an edge, and we've all seen that edge overcome athleticism.

This years team will definitely play with an edge. I can't wait to watch it.

 

[ChiefIllini]

We need more talkers and leaders on this team. Prior to last year, who was a vocal guy on the court? I dont even remember the last guy who had a positive on court personality. Leron was getting there. Malcolm, Rice, and Nunn had there moments (Rice more so than the other three). I know a lot of the time its hard for strong personalities to meld, but sometimes your team needs some bulls (preferably not of this years NBA type).

 

[The Dave]

Yeah, Bo Ryan is the only coach in history to get great effort out of 3 star recruits. Probably the only coach to ever do it, can’t, won’t happen again ever. Ever.

Just catching up on the board. I realize this is pre-Bo, but Bobby Knight was a system recruiter/coach. He had Isiah for a single year and Calbert Chaney was an NBA talent. Not much else that ever made an impact.

Actually, I think that if the NBA really pushes this G-League thing and makes it a great alternative to being a one-and-done that you'll see coaches that can recruit and teach to a system become more the norm.

 

[Tevo]

Hurting your credibility with this claim. OTOH, I agree that there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the season's squad. Tempered by lack of experience.

...with the coaching staff, with each other, with college basketball, and with basketball altogether in some cases. It's hard enough to get experienced veterans to gel into a solid team. Getting inexperienced, young, physically slight players to gel while playing for a new coaching staff, while attending new classes, and in a new league, against players who are virtually ALL older and more experienced... starts to look like an almost impossible task.

 

[FiveStar]

Back to topic, do Muslim players adjust their workouts for evenings to best utilize nutrition? As a teacher, I can attest this affects students, especially during testing times. I give these students plenty of credit for their dedication. I cannot imagine how training and weight lifting would be affected.

I could see a couple viable strategies in this situation:

1) Snack at sunset, work out, binge.

2) binge at night, wake up and workout while still sustained from last night’s meal. Come evening, binge again.

Either way his big meal probably needs to be at least 3000 calories by itself and idk if that is even possible.

Edit: I guess a third option would be eat at sunset, wake up before sunrise and eat again. Then workout mid morning? 2 more evenly balanced meals. That might require a polyphasic sleep schedule for best results though.

 

[bobbob]

Ramadan was during basketball season once when I was in HS. The guys fasting would just step out of practice and eat a small meal (a little more than the traditional water and dates). They'd finish practice and then eat normally after. They'd also cut it pretty close to sunrise for breakfast.

In hindsight, they were probably glad to have in winter that year. Shorter days.

 

[Joel Goodson]

So, Samba's in da house pretty soon, right? Any sightings yet? Fletch has big plans for him, no doubt. Sincerely hope the kid puts his all into it.

 

[FC Illiniman]

So, Samba's in da house pretty soon, right? Any sightings yet? Fletch has big plans for him, no doubt. Sincerely hope the kid puts his all into it.

Would think an evaluation 1st thing is after he gets settled. Imagine rest will trickle in after holiday? Maybe some B4, graduation still going? Hope they all ready to go. Last year we got some videos and updates regularly, hope we get more of the same. I know football team starts B4, but I'm ready for the hoops!

 

[Peoria Illini]

The 8 week Summer Session starts on June 11th, so if they are taking a summer class, then they would be in that weekend at the latest.

 

[FeelYourPaign]

Just read that Cameron Liss achieved Bronze Tablet !
That is an impressive achievement no matter who the student is, especially so if you are attending all of the basketball practices. Top 3% of graduating seniors. Well done.

 

[FiveStar]

Do CPS high schools still get out in super late June?

Just wondering how that could mess with Ayo’s schedule.