Illini Basketball 2021-2022

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#101      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
Homecoming 2019 said:
You are right, I remember him saying this now, so there's a chance this is his first time. I don't blame him for having not watched it yet, I'm sure he knows every detail of how it went down while experiencing it first hand. Practice just started, I'm sure he will address it with his staff and determine ways to counter it soon enough as like I said he probably hasn't had too many moments these past few months where he hasn't thought about that game.
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Agreed.....I watched the game live and soon after deleted the recorded game off my dvr and I still thought about that game wayyyyyyyyy to much...

I started " what if-ing about that game and LITERALLY got sick to my stomach """""

Go Illini......................
 
#102      

IlliniDawgs

I
IlliniDawgs
Epsilon said:
I would also like to add that even if someone is not playing many active minutes while they are learning the system, they are getting high quality practice time going up against high caliber talent that do know the system. As long as everyone is pulling together and looking out for the future by helping them along, that’s a win-win. How many minutes of practice are there for every game minute? I bet it’s a fair amount. It’s not sexy but it matters - a lot. Also, everyone needs to be ready when the next man up is needed. I also believe that as the season wears on and everyone becomes familiar with the system, the playing field is significantly leveled. If a freshman has the talent and is willing to put in the work, it will work itself out. BU has been willing to play freshman before and I don’t see any reason that will change.
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Agreed. In fact, I believe this will be the first season in Brad's tenure that he DOESN'T start at least one freshman. I think that speaks to the depth that he has built into the program when you consider our 3 freshmen are ALL top-100 level!! They get the opportunity to go at it with these guys day in day out all year and I'm sure the expectation is that they are ready to immediately step into a much larger role next year. It's not like this team sucks, lol. It's not easy to break into a veteran-deep top-10 team... look at Baylor last year.

Looked up Baylor's 2020 class for a fun reference and it's nearly identical... they had 3 signees ranking from 91-161 and the most minutes of the 3 averaged 4.4 minutes per game. I think our freshmen will have a chance to play a bit more than that but especially late in the year when minutes start tightening up and a 10-12 man rotation is shortened to 7-9 it is very challenging.
 
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#103      

Calvin

C
Calvin
I thought the Loyola game was a confluence of several factors:

Brutal BIG tournament that the team slogged out and won. Great wins, but probably some mental fatigue that they still needed to process.
Whatever the reason, the team was flat. I felt it was mostly mental, but the energy and mental sharpness was low too. Needed another rest day or something. Loyola had a great game plan and their bigs did a great job.
Loyola had a chip on their shoulder, and pushed back every time Illinois tried to make a surge.
Ayo had a tough game, and the team couldn't lean on him when they needed a lift. 2 Assits, 6 TOs! Remember that he had the facial injury recently, although I don't believe that was a serious factor since he'd been playing well in the conference tourney.

It happens. Great season overall, but sometimes teams get tripped up and either aren't prepared, or have trouble executing. Doesn't help if your opponent is hot on top of that.

If I had to point to anything, I'd point to preparation. It's difficult to know when a team is mentally tired, but IMO that was the biggest issue. This team will remember, though --hopefully it keeps them motivated as the season gets long.
 
#104      

Baskins Tiger

Baskins Tiger
Baskins Tiger
skyIdub said:
"Cockburn was also named on 27 of 28 ballots for the preseason All-Big Ten team..."

The 28th entry must have gone something like this....

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It was Dickerson's Uncle or something most likely
 
#105      

STL Illini

S
STL Illini
What I do know is that last years shart in the feel of 32 will make this seasons participation in the final weekend of the the 2022 tourney that much sweeter.
 
#108      

Seagee

Seagee
Seagee
BretMyBeachHouse said:
I found the BU not watching the game to be a tad jarring at first. At the same time, it was crap and he can have one of his 300K assistants do that heavy lift. I'm presuming some number of organization people have watched it to get necessary action items for players.
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Let’s all not forget that BU sort of had his hands full this past summer: having to replace all three of his assistant coaches, two of his starters entering the portal, his best player leaving early to go pro (and Giorgi doing the same)—all while having to immediately pick up the slack and ensure continuity on the recruiting trail.

So yeah, I’ll cut him some slack as I’m sure much of the Loyola game always will remain seared into his brain without actually having to watch the replay.
 
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#109      

IlliniFandom

IlliniFandom
IlliniFandom
BRucks said:
Really looking forward to Kofi vs. Hunter. Kofi pretty much had his way with him last year.
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I don't agree with this. Of any center we watched in the B1G last year, I thought hunter was the most difficult to handle for Kofi. He is strong like Kofi and felt like the crashing of two walls when either tried to back down the other. In their one encounter, Kofi hardly lit it up (neither did hunter), but Kofi was also in foul trouble. So I think it'll be a big battle again, edge to Kofi, but I don't think either will have the game of the year against each other.
 
#110      

PIT_ILL

P
PIT_ILL
IlliniFandom said:
I don't agree with this. Of any center we watched in the B1G last year, I thought hunter was the most difficult to handle for Kofi. He is strong like Kofi and felt like the crashing of two walls when either tried to back down the other. In their one encounter, Kofi hardly lit it up (neither did hunter), but Kofi was also in foul trouble. So I think it'll be a big battle again, edge to Kofi, but I don't think either will have the game of the year against each other.
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Eh Kofi didn't have a dominant offensive day against them but he absolutely shut Dickenson down on the other end of the court
 
#111      

IllinoisssssssVarsity

I
IllinoisssssssVarsity
IlliniFandom said:
I don't agree with this. Of any center we watched in the B1G last year, I thought hunter was the most difficult to handle for Kofi. He is strong like Kofi and felt like the crashing of two walls when either tried to back down the other. In their one encounter, Kofi hardly lit it up (neither did hunter), but Kofi was also in foul trouble. So I think it'll be a big battle again, edge to Kofi, but I don't think either will have the game of the year against each other.
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hunter is not used to being guarded 1v1. He is used to having the advantage to score 1v1 or facilitate out of a help situation to his shooters. We took away option 2 because kofi can take away option 1 by himself.
 
#112      

Calvin

C
Calvin
IlliniFandom said:
Of any center we watched in the B1G last year, I thought hunter was the most difficult to handle for Kofi. He is strong like Kofi and felt like the crashing of two walls when either tried to back down the other. In their one encounter, Kofi hardly lit it up (neither did hunter), but Kofi was also in foul trouble. So I think it'll be a big battle again, edge to Kofi, but I don't think either will have the game of the year against each other.
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Hunter has a combination of decent post moves, good footwork, and good power. He's also capable of passing out of the post. Kofi did an excellent job, but I don't think you can defend that combination all day without getting into foul trouble.

Speaking of centers, who's the third Illinois center? We have an All American backed up by a legit starter in Payne, which is an enviable combination to have. But if they want to get Payne some tick while Kofi is on the floor, or there's foul trouble, etc., they'll need another big who can step in for some minutes. Hawkins? Grandison even though he's undersized?
 
#113      

IlliniShelt

I
IlliniShelt
Calvin said:
Hunter has a combination of decent post moves, good footwork, and good power. He's also capable of passing out of the post. Kofi did an excellent job, but I don't think you can defend that combination all day without getting into foul trouble.

Speaking of centers, who's the third Illinois center? We have an All American backed up by a legit starter in Payne, which is an enviable combination to have. But if they want to get Payne some tick while Kofi is on the floor, or there's foul trouble, etc., they'll need another big who can step in for some minutes. Hawkins? Grandison even though he's undersized?
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I would think cohawk could help out in spot minutes and hold his own against well enough against most guys not named Dickinson, edey and Williams.
 
#114      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
Calvin said:
Hunter has a combination of decent post moves, good footwork, and good power. He's also capable of passing out of the post. Kofi did an excellent job, but I don't think you can defend that combination all day without getting into foul trouble.

Speaking of centers, who's the third Illinois center? We have an All American backed up by a legit starter in Payne, which is an enviable combination to have. But if they want to get Payne some tick while Kofi is on the floor, or there's foul trouble, etc., they'll need another big who can step in for some minutes. Hawkins? Grandison even though he's undersized?
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Hawkins and BBV seems the obvious answers. Hawkins put on the much heralded 25 pounds and BBV was already used in spot minutes last year to guard Garza so I think either could be capable of handling a couple minutes at the 5.
 
#115      

Illini B-Ball Fan

Illini B-Ball Fan
Illini B-Ball Fan
IlliniFandom said:
I don't agree with this. Of any center we watched in the B1G last year, I thought hunter was the most difficult to handle for Kofi. He is strong like Kofi and felt like the crashing of two walls when either tried to back down the other. In their one encounter, Kofi hardly lit it up (neither did hunter), but Kofi was also in foul trouble. So I think it'll be a big battle again, edge to Kofi, but I don't think either will have the game of the year against each other.
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Krutwig was a big problem...
 
#119      

Tacomallini

T
Washington State
Tacomallini
#120      

Calvin

C
Calvin
BigMuddyMonster said:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBas.../?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Hunter Dickinson on Illinois fans: "They just act like they're some powerhouse in the Big Ten and they're really not. ..... I think their fans are kind of annoying."
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Good fodder for the program. Someone should ask him which team has the most conference wins over the past two years?
Who won the last BIG tournament?
How did Illinois do when they last visited Ann Arbor?

[Hint: he won't like any of the answers]

Howard is killin it, so props to him, but they're not the only team in the BIG...
 
#121      

the juiceman cometh

T
the juiceman cometh

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#122      

illiniguy

illiniguy
illiniguy
Calvin said:
Speaking of centers, who's the third Illinois center? We have an All American backed up by a legit starter in Payne, which is an enviable combination to have. But if they want to get Payne some tick while Kofi is on the floor, or there's foul trouble, etc., they'll need another big who can step in for some minutes. Hawkins? Grandison even though he's undersized?
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From 247:
"The Illini are so intrigued with Payne’s skill set — length, athleticism, versatility to guard multiple positions — that Underwood said last week that Payne will play some at the four with Cockburn at the five."

247sports.com

The gain with Payne: Florida transfer pushes, complements Cockburn

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Omar Payne had played Kofi Cockburn before. And he had success with Payne’s loaded Monteverde Academy team, which included NBA first-round
247sports.com 247sports.com
 
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