Illini Basketball 2026-2027

[FrankNitty30]

I was there that night my first ever Illini game attended. I went to Lou Henson basketball camp in the 90s but never a live game until that night. It was electric still remember the noise in there that night.

It does not seem like the atmosphere is as electric as it used to be.

 

[lstewart53x3]

2nd to last item in the article:

99. David Mirkovic will win national player of the year. He was all kinds of fun as a freshman and by all accounts he has made a major leap this summer. He’ll have the team around him to do it as well.

^^^ Guess us "insane homer" fans here aren't the only ones that think he's capable

1st or 2nd team All-American is very doable. To win player of the year, the usage will have to be there.

Last year, his usage was 23.3 and Keaton’s was 25.7. Meanwhile, his biggest competition for player of the year, Jeremy Fears, was at 27.1 last year and I could see that going up this year.

But this coaching staff has shown they’ll give our best players a ton of usage. TJ had a 27.9 in 2024, Kofi had a 30.7 in 2022, and Ayo was at 29.4 in 2021.

Not sure any of those teams had as much talent around their stars as we do this year, though.

 

[mysterio2525]

He was my favorite player ever at Illinois. Definitely Mt Rushmore of PGs at Illinois. DEFINITELY on the Mt Rushmore for clutch players.

the last sentence really hits home for me. Frank Williams was the first guy I saw in a Illini uniform that made me dismiss the PTSD of painful losses and deep seeded fear that it would all fall apart. when he had the ball at the end....I knew we would win. transformative feeling

 

[Ga65]

Mirkovic can score the same amount of points and still be a much better player. You're just taking what one random guy said and acting like the entire message board thinks it.

If we really did that, our offseason summary would look like:

- None of ESPN, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, CBS, Torvik or Kenpom knows anything about how to rank teams, only random people on the internet are skilled at this

- We only have 7, maybe 8 (if we're lucky), guys on the roster who are good at basketball

- Keaton Wagler was a complete non-story this past season, everyone knew he was awesome last summer

- USC has a better roster than Illinois despite being ranked 31st on Torvik

- Justin Harmon > Lucas Morillo

- Really need to improve upon last year's offense

- John Blackwell is far better than any of our players could ever hope to be

- Mirkovic being mocked in the lottery and having 4th best odds to win NPOY is silly because he is slow and can't jump and already hit his ceiling as a player

- Morez Johnson is an impeccable young man who was drafted exactly where everyone thought he would be

- Brady Pettigrew became a worse player overnight as chatter of re-class surfaced

- Its impossible for any of our players to improve

Seems like everyone has assumed Morillo would be the eighth guy in the rotation. Listened to a podcast of Illini guys with the opinion that Williams would be in the rotation and Zens getting playing time. Not sure how accurate this opinion is but first variance I’ve heard from Morillo.

 

[FrankNitty30]

the last sentence really hits home for me. Frank Williams was the first guy I saw in a Illini uniform that made me dismiss the PTSD of painful losses and deep seated fear that it would all fall apart. when he had the ball at the end....I knew we would win. transformative feeling

100%. The dude just took over games down the stretch. They always show the “Frank Williams Show” highlight against Iowa. Which was amazing.

But he was better against Mizzou in the Braggjn Rights game. Was the best performance I have ever seen by an Illini, until Wagler against Purdue.

He was incredible against Mich St @Breslin.

 

[Combo]

Seems like everyone has assumed Morillo would be the eighth guy in the rotation. Listened to a podcast of Illini guys with the opinion that Williams would be in the rotation and Zens getting playing time. Not sure how accurate this opinion is but first variance I’ve heard from Morillo.

Will be interesting to watch. Williams certainly has more run-jump athleticism than Morillo, but if we need PG help, Morillo is better suited. Neither is a particularly strong outside shooter. Our top 7 is likely pretty fixed, but after that there are a few guys in competition for the coveted 8th and 9th man roles.