Illini Basketball

#176      
Emerson Bigguns
ChiefGritty said:
That's Illini big man heritage of course šŸ˜¬



Yeah if he could stop getting diseases a 12 year old gets that would be terrific.

Him at his 2025 best versus him in the post-mono funk is a huge pivot point in terms of how good the team can be next year.
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"Tournament Tomi" is a huge reason our defense improved during the run to the Final 4. He was on a mission. This is his last chance to prove he can do it consistently. If he does, he's going to find a spot in the Association.
 
#177      
FrankNitty30
the juiceman cometh said:
Are those all time stats? There were not that many tips this season. And yeah, Tomi is not amazing at them but 44.4% isn't terrible. Over the course of one season the difference between .444 and .500 is about two tips. Just seems like this is not a big deal. At the end of the day we're talking about a single play that might result in one team getting one additional possession (or it might not!). The idea that it's worth changing the starting lineup based on that seems nutty to me.
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That is because it is.
 
#178      
Umit9
ChiefGritty said:
That's Illini big man heritage of course šŸ˜¬



Yeah if he could stop getting diseases a 12 year old gets that would be terrific.

Him at his 2025 best versus him in the post-mono funk is a huge pivot point in terms of how good the team can be next year.
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Met Meyers in Indy a few weeks back. Brief, but nice conversation. Plus, he was very kind to my kids.

Pretty cool.

Go Illini
 
#179      
BWBW
Emerson Bigguns said:
"Tournament Tomi" is a huge reason our defense improved during the run to the Final 4. He was on a mission. This is his last chance to prove he can do it consistently. If he does, he's going to find a spot in the Association.
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1777053860713.png
 
#180      
Illinicpa14
21ChampaignSt said:
Thanks! I agree the tourney still feels a little undervalued. It's really hard to strike the right balance.
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This is great work. The hard thing of balancing the tournament is also what type of fan or ability do you have to ā€œexperienceā€ the run.

I had the opportunity to go in person to the FF (and Monday night) and had good seats. I can say that weekend despite losing was easily the most fun Iā€™ve ever had as a fan of any sports team.

Iā€™ve been to tournament games and the BTT final among others and while theyā€™re fun, I would easily trade reg season success to get to experience that weekend more often. The build up all week was also nothing like anything else.

For someone that watched at home, the scoring of ā€œsuccessā€ probably looks a little different of what makes a good run.
 
#182      
hoopsfan47
Emerson Bigguns said:
"Tournament Tomi" is a huge reason our defense improved during the run to the Final 4. He was on a mission. This is his last chance to prove he can do it consistently. If he does, he's going to find a spot in the Association.
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As I stated before, there is nothing more motivating to make a collegiate athlete start giving it his all than waking up one day and fully understanding that this is your last chance. "Tournament Tomi" was a breath of fresh air. However, there is more upside to step to and may be the reason Underwood is comfortable and confident. I like Tomi over just about anyone when he is balancing his inside/outside scoring at a high % along with tough rebounding and defense. That guy is pretty awesome, but TBH, we have not seen him yet. I think we will if he can stay healthy. That guy is a first rounder.
 
#184      
derrick6
21ChampaignSt said:
Sharing this infographic that I update at the conclusion of each year.

We are fully back. By my objective-ish methodology, the BU era is now equal to the Before and During Dee era (1980 - 2006) of Illini basketball. And BU is quickly becoming the most decorated coach in Illini basketball history.

As a reminder, I started this a few years ago to:
a) Quantify the successfulness of a full season - regular season and post season summed together rather than thinking of them in a more siloed way.
b) Understand what our expectations should realistically be as a program.
c) Give context / a frame of reference for all the differing opinions about what those expectations should be. For example if one person's frame of reference is the After Dee years and another's is the BDD years, those expectations will probably deviate wildly. I wanted to visualize that.

Methodology:
Basically, I assign a point value to all the relevant milestones that happen throughout a season. (Scoring system is below) Then, I sum up those values and turn them into a percentage of the total points possible for that particular year. A perfect season would have a score of 100. Different years have different points possible due to number of games, conference tournaments, and size of the tournament field. This allows me to standardize the results across different eras.

This year, I did increase the value of a Final Four. It always bothered me that 1984 scored higher than 1989, but it was easy to view that as an anomaly..until this year's team scored a little bit lower than I felt was fair. Even still though, this year ranks as our 6th best season behind three non-Final Four teams: 1984, 2001, and 2021. Won't lie, that still seems not right to me, but I'm trying to keep in mind the point of this - to look at the season in its totality and not overvalue too much the one game difference between an Elite Eight and a Final Four for example.

View attachment 50016

Scoring:

View attachment 50017
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This is great! You definitely need to calibrate the weights a bit more but the graphic is illuminating.

When have we ever experienced two elite 8ā€™s and a final 4 in a 3 years history and no gap in NCAA invites? Or, two Illinois players on the same NBA roster from different playing periods? Or, three one and dones in two years playing material minutes on NBA rosters?

In my opinion, Brad is already the most decorated, successful coach weā€™ve had. I view making the finals is slightly a boost over making the final 4. Itā€™s about winning it all, really.

Bruce has the most decorated season. Your infographic clearly shows this.

Lon Kruger has the immediate turnaround.

Self has the hype!

Henson is the standard.
 
#186      
Deacon05
hoopsfan47 said:
As I stated before, there is nothing more motivating to make a collegiate athlete start giving it his all than waking up one day and fully understanding that this is your last chance. "Tournament Tomi" was a breath of fresh air. However, there is more upside to step to and may be the reason Underwood is comfortable and confident. I like Tomi over just about anyone when he is balancing his inside/outside scoring at a high % along with tough rebounding and defense. That guy is pretty awesome, but TBH, we have not seen him yet. I think we will if he can stay healthy. That guy is a first rounder.
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Was Tomi injured this year? I know last year he had the mono, the tonsils removed etc. I dont remember him being injured this year. Was he not used to his potential, because it seemed like he regressed pretty significantly from the year before, everyone thought he was going to be all big ten this year.
 
#187      
JKR
derrick6 said:
This is great! You definitely need to calibrate the weights a bit more but the graphic is illuminating.

When have we ever experienced two elite 8ā€™s and a final 4 in a 3 years history and no gap in NCAA invites? Or, two Illinois players on the same NBA roster from different playing periods? Or, three one and dones in two years playing material minutes on NBA rosters?

In my opinion, Brad is already the most decorated, successful coach weā€™ve had. I view making the finals is slightly a boost over making the final 4. Itā€™s about winning it all, really.

Bruce has the most decorated season. Your infographic clearly shows this.

Lon Kruger has the immediate turnaround.

Self has the hype!

Henson is the standard.
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How about Combes with three B10 titles and three Final Fours over a five-year period?
 
#188      
derrick6
JKR said:
How about Combes with three B10 titles and three Final Fours over a five-year period?
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Correct, but I was limiting my context to the infographic assuming it meant ā€œmodernā€ history.
 
#191      
OrangeBlue98
#192      
hoopsfan47
Deacon05 said:
Was Tomi injured this year? I know last year he had the mono, the tonsils removed etc. I dont remember him being injured this year. Was he not used to his potential, because it seemed like he regressed pretty significantly from the year before, everyone thought he was going to be all big ten this year.
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It was reported that early in the season, he was having some swelling in one of his knees or legs. He was also struggling to regain full conditioning from his mono which I personally know takes more time than most understand...even after being cleared to play. Not sure he was feeling strong until the dance.
 
#193      
Deacon05
hoopsfan47 said:
It was reported that early in the season, he was having some swelling in one of his knees or legs. He was also struggling to regain full conditioning from his mono which I personally know takes more time than most understand...even after being cleared to play. Not sure he was feeling strong until the dance.
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I would be even more optimistic than i already am about this coming year if that were the case and he is back to some semblance of full health.
 
#194      
NarrowJ
hoopsfan47 said:
It was reported that early in the season, he was having some swelling in one of his knees or legs. He was also struggling to regain full conditioning from his mono which I personally know takes more time than most understand...even after being cleared to play. Not sure he was feeling strong until the dance.
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He actually had his tonsils removed before the season, so there was that too

But yes, had a lower body injury as well early on
 
#196      
RabidDawgClassic
NarrowJ said:
He actually had his tonsils removed before the season, so there was that too

But yes, had a lower body injury as well early on
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His conditioning was off for most of the early part of the season. Iā€™m not sure he ever got up to full strength until tourney time.
 
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