Illinois 94, Indiana 69 Postgame

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#301      
PepeSilvia
Hingle McCringleberry said:
I wasn't a fan of Goode when he was here either. Never delivered anything but fouls.
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Honestly I'll always respect him for rushing back from a broken foot and burning a year of eligibility as a sophomore trying to help a team that was spiraling.

With NIL and Goode not really looking like a pro player the smart move would've been to simply redshirt and maintain another year of eligibility.

Dude always played hard and was better on the offensive boards then he had any right to be.
 
#303      
nyc_illini
Besides the obvious Luke Goode connection, I also find it interesting that KB and Ballo were teammates at Arizona for 2 years before this season.

Teammates today foes tomorrow. This is the portal era
 
#304      
abchew2
hoopsfan47 said:
Just want to say the metamorphosis of Ben Humrichous' game from standing around ready to shoot a three into a guy who is moving and scoring aggressively from everywhere, hitting the boards hard, and diving for loose balls is a huge part of the potential for this Illini team to reach their goals and dreams. He has become a B1G warrior which is exactly what we need him to be. Not that he is Kofi, but he is being the best Ben he can be. I expect he may have had a long talk with BU...not at the Pizza Hut...but maybe over a delivered Domino's in Brad's office. (Deep bow of respect to Ben...keep it up)..
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The cut to the rim he had for the slam was perfection. Just a different player the last few weeks.
 
#305      
phats22
hoopsfan47 said:
Just want to say the metamorphosis of Ben Humrichous' game from standing around ready to shoot a three into a guy who is moving and scoring aggressively from everywhere, hitting the boards hard, and diving for loose balls is a huge part of the potential for this Illini team to reach their goals and dreams. He has become a B1G warrior which is exactly what we need him to be. Not that he is Kofi, but he is being the best Ben he can be. I expect he may have had a long talk with BU...not at the Pizza Hut...but maybe over a delivered Domino's in Brad's office. (Deep bow of respect to Ben...keep it up)..
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and now are we excited at the prospect of year 2 Ben in full Fletch mode?
 
#308      
Fly Illini Fly!
Hingle McCringleberry said:
I wasn't a fan of Goode when he was here either. Never delivered anything but fouls.
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The Office Lie GIF
 
#310      
Hingle McCringleberry
illini0440 said:
Brought some rebounding, especially offensively, some put backs, some 3s. Definitely kept us in a few games while he was here. But you do you.
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I am sure Luke is "good kid". Yeah, he kept us in a couple games during his 3 years here, but bye and large he consistently under-delivered.

He was a weak link on D that got exploited and wasn't anywhere near the "elite" sharp shooter. Countless missed wide open 3's that could have swung momentum for us while he was here and then typically would get a foul shortly thereafter because he got beat on D.

Ben is a an upgrade and J Davis probably is as well.

So that if that is me doing me, I'm "goode" with that 😜
 
#311      
altgeld88
From the cheap seats said:
I will always root for Luke Goode (except when he's playing against the Illini). I thought he represented the Illini with class and gave all-out efforts. What happened tonight has not changed my opinion of him. Much of the time he was the only Hoosier that looked like he gave a darn.
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PepeSilvia said:
Honestly I'll always respect him for rushing back from a broken foot and burning a year of eligibility as a sophomore trying to help a team that was spiraling.

With NIL and Goode not really looking like a pro player the smart move would've been to simply redshirt and maintain another year of eligibility.

Dude always played hard and was better on the offensive boards then he had any right to be.
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Dude wore the O&B and did it proud. Worked his a$$ off for Brad from what I could tell. He played hard this evening, too. I won't say a negative word about the young man. I wish him success.
 
#314      
Piotyr
After taking a few days break from calculations because....reasons...here are updated EM numbers for the B1G:

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Notes:
- USC is starting to look...okay actually? The best of the Pacific additions thus far, which is weird.
- 7 teams above water in conference, with 4 teams slightly underwater having been dealt huge defeats at some point in the conference slate.
- Northwestern is probably better than this, they've played the toughest schedule in the league through 5 games.
- UCLA is...maybe not better than this? They've played an average conference schedule and now project to finish .500 in the league.
- The teams with the easiest B1G schedules thus far: Michigan State, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue
- The teams with the toughest B1G schedules going forward: Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers, Illinois
 
#315      
GetAWin
As fans, we all have our favorite players, guys we think were just ok, and those we were ready to see leave. Some of us were not annamored with Goode and that's OK.

He seemed to give good effort, but I think the guys we have now are more talented and also play hard. I'm happy with the upgrade because I like watching winning teams! I suffered through the Groce/Weber years, and am now thoroughly enjoying Underwood improving the pedigree of players each year.
 
#316      
STLini25
illini55 said:
By the end of this season, it may not be too outrageous to say he’s the best player in Illini history. Not yet, but maybe. Would a natty do it?
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KJ is a terrific player and is potentially the best freshman we’ve ever had. However, some of his NBA interest is because he is still 18.

As of right now, he is not our best player ever. We’ve had players play at a higher level. In fact, TSJ did last year, Kofi did in 2022 and Ayo did in 2021 (in addition to others previously).

KJ is impressive and improving and maybe he leads us to a BT championship and a final four with exceptional play and that changes but as of right now we’ve had numerous other players play at a higher level but probably no one their freshman year.
 
#318      
number1IlliniFan
Made the road trip to Bloomington not sure what I would see, especially after Saturday. Was definitely hoping to see a revived group, but had my concerns; unsure if KJ would play and if he did would he be 100%? While walking in, IU fans chirped about being undefeated at home and how hard it is for teams to win on the road. Pregame hype video showed clip of Bill Self saying how loud Assembly Hall was and how difficult it is to play there. Crowd was slow to fill in and I was surprised the upper deck on far side was completely empty. Student section was half full before the start, but eventually filled in.

Then tip off happened. And KJ went off. The beat down was so thorough it was hard to believe. Loud? Not. Eerily quiet in our section. Hoosier fans were just dumbfounded. I almost felt sorry for them. Young family sat next to us with their cute kids all excited for the game, 6 year old girl dressed like a cheerleader. They left at halftime
Reminded me of many walks out of State Farm with my kids back in the John Groce era.

Watching this team put on a clinic at IU was a thing of beauty. Couldn't have been prouder to be wearing my orange and blue. The boos as the Hoosiers entered halftime was truly unbelievable. Not sure I've witnessed anything like it.

Seems the IU team is the antithesis of the Illini. Lots of talent but just a disaster of team chemistry, heart and fire. I guess they have a hefty NIL payroll, but money can't buy a genuine basketball team. So grateful for what I see regarding the chemistry, heart and fire I see with Illinois right now. Reminiscent of the 04-05 team.

Walking out the door I had a very respectful Hoosier fan extend her hand to me and say, "Just want to say congratulations. You have an amazing team." All i could say was "Thank you very much. We think so too."

Gotta admit I was disappointed with Goode's demeanor. Always liked him and root for him except for tonight, but he really turned me off with his attitude and disposition. Not the Goode I knew at Illinois.

Fan next to me said before the game that all we had to do was punch the. Hoosier in the mouth and they would fold pretty quickly. Boy was he right.

Thankful to witness KJ this season; what an amazing player. This is a special team and I'm starting to really believe this might be the year! Looking forward to the rest of this season.

Sure glad I'm not a Hoosier fan right now. Looks like a dumpster 🔥 for that program.. Sure was a fun drive home.
Oskee Wow Wow!
 
#320      
OB positive
From the cheap seats said:
Also, we gave up 10 points to Indiana in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half. I'm not clearing my bench until the final three or four minutes unless the other team pulls its starters. Actually, a lot of our bench guys played lots of minutes in the second half. It's just that the first four guys off our bench could start for many teams in the B1G.
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We started the second half very similarly to the USC game. We seem to have an issue of starting halves. Need to get better at coming out of the gate ready to roll.
 
#322      
OB positive
Illiniguy13 said:
I mean this as a compliment, Tomi put up the worst 17/11/4 I’ve ever seen. If he can get stronger & more assertive in the post, he’ll be elite.
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Ya he about folded up like a broken lawn chair when he got bumped. Not even very hard. Definitely looks awkward at times. We did finally see the aggression we need out of him during the game when he got the cheap shot from Goode at the end. Brad needs to cultivate that.
 
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