It does not seem like the atmosphere is as electric as it used to be.
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
…and if a guy as talented as Morillo is getting pushed by Williams and Zens, maybe a few people can calm down a bit about depth.
It’s significantly more likely that Morillo pushes Zvonimir or Jake, than gets pushed by Zens or Williams.…and if a guy as talented as Morillo is getting pushed by Williams and Zens, maybe a few people can calm down a bit about depth.
Our top 8 is likely pretty fixed, based on every indication we’ve gotten.
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No?
Andrej will be our top point-of-attack defender. Not Vaaks.
Vaaks just has to be average or just slightly below average.
Biggest concern is ball handling - team will be huge, but not overly athletic of with much of a handle. While Keaton turned out a steal, hard to put all of the BH in the hands of a freshman.
In reality, probably the smallest concern.
Vaaks -- primary handler.
Coleman -- secondary handler.
Stojakovic, Mirkovic, Morillo can all handle.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
We’re currently the #1 projected offense in the country. Don’t have a lot of concerns on the offensive side of the ball.
I thought I read Vaaks was pretty bad. I am just hoping he isn’t Plummer bad
Biggest concern is depth. Every year, we’ve had at least 1 of our imagined-top-8 players get injured or be unplayable.
2022 - Curbelo concussions
2023 - Goode out for 1st half of the year. Skyy out for the 2nd half of the year.
2024 - Sencire Harris redshirt
2025 - Ty Rodgers redshirt
2026 - Ty Rodgers redshirt and Petro being unplayable
It’s no secret we went into each of those seasons with much more depth. You just have to hope everything goes perfectly this year (which is pretty rarely the case).
Yeah, I know what you mean but with that many talented freshman it’s ALSO quite likely there will be at least ONE of the Non-QC guys, that surprises everyone.
(Keaton was once in a blue moon & completely unheard of; obviously.) Yet, the chances of having one of those guys come out of nowhere and make a solid contribution is a VERY distinct possibility. There’s a lot of talent there.
Yeah, I dont see it.
Morillo is our projected 8th man. If those guys were that good, then the rankings gap between them and Morillo wouldn't be 100-150 spots. That's a very sizeable difference (again, Wagler was the exception).
The top 8 is the top 8.
Whether one of those guys can be the 9th man and provide 5-10 minutes, would be my question.
Regardless of Boswell, point is Andrej did not present the value to play 30 minutes a game (at least in the staff's evaluation). That had more to do with him not getting 30 minutes a game, than whatever injury he was dealing with.
Your perceived value to the team, is always the most important determinor for the minutes you play.
For next season, its likely he was assured a greater role with more minutes.
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Virginia was the worst 3 seed I've probably ever seen.
St Johns lost their best player to an Achilles tear. UCONN will plow through that league.
TSJ scored 40 points in the BTT against Nebraska.
Impressive, yes, but not nearly on the same level as what Wagler did as an 18-year-old true freshman, on the road vs Purdue, the #5 team.
it's shocking how much we remind people that this offense is a well oiled machine the last few years.
the biggest issue is we still have no answer for a fast small lead guard like Nick boyd. hopefully QC can help but that's asking a lot. Jeremy fears is a problem for everyone but a real problem for us... not even counting the nut taps
Ha, well he was only our 2nd leading scorer. Not to mention playing great defense down the stretch on one leg. Sheesh, man, tough crowd.
Anyway, he was on a minute restriction for the first month, that hurts your average minutes... and so does a game where you get 12 minutes because you get injured again... he was getting 25-35 minutes in the games he physically could. And still he was 4th on the team in minutes despite this limitation of those minutes due to various injury.