Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#1,526      
jamarvelous31
ILFaninFL said:
Think of when the rule was made. Teams had already committed to NIL for players, and suddenly the pool changes. Now, after teams have been working toward next season, this is dumped on them. At this point, what can Brad do? Bringing in someone of starter caliber will be disruptive in numerous ways. I get the win-at-all-costs mentality, but this will have ripple effects on team chemistry. I doubt very much that better teams will be interested in these guys this late in the process.
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The rule was in limbo for almost a year.

The NCAA chose when to announce it and regardless of when it was announced they would've had the same issue based on their illogical distinction.
 
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#1,527      
Ga65
PepeSilvia said:
I feel like the 2024 team actually matches up pretty well with the 2026 though and would create some serious matchup issues.

2026 doesn't have anyone that can guard Shannon or keep him out of transition. We saw the 2026 Illini have problems with explosive guards(Boyd, Dent, etc.). Shannon would absolutely dominate in this matchup.

Then Domask would also be a huge problem. 2026 has nobody to matchup with him. He would kill Boswell or Stojakovic in the post and would blow by Mirk or Ben.

The advantage the 2026 team has is having two 7 foot centers but they didn't really pound the ball inside enough and score in the paint where it would hurt 2024. Coleman would be fine guarding the twins and be able to draw them away from the basket on the other end.

I know the metrics weren't kind to the 2024 defense but I think they were better than the metrics suggest and were capable of stepping up on that end.Shannon was a good point of attack defender and had the size, length, and quickness to force Wagler into a lot of tough shots. Ty probably does a decent job on Stojakovic, and Guerrier was athletic enough and strong to be fine on Mirk. Would be very hard to hunt matchups for the 2026.

2026 is a deeper roster but the 2024 top 3 of Shannon, Domask, and Coleman is killer and I think they actually match up well. Plus if you told me to name the 4 best players in that matchup 3 of them are on 2024(Shannon, Wagler, Domask, and Coleman are the 4 best players across the two years).
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I agree with most except Tomi would kill Hawk in the post. Rim defense was that teams weakness.
 
#1,531      
EmeraldCityIllini
msphdillini said:
Q.C: Does #11 mean 1 and done!?
While we enjoyed Keaton's shows from December, we might see Q.C. show from day 1.
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Coleman is a long, athletic, dead eye shooter with some secondary playmaking and can defend multiple backcourt spots (based on scouting, obviously we have to see it)

He’s about as built in the lab as you can be for today’s NBA outside of being 3 inches taller
 
#1,532      
AnnaMay
Ga65 said:
I agree with most except Tomi would kill Hawk in the post. Rim defense was that teams weakness.
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The 24 team was not a good rebounding team either. The 26 team would score at will against the 24 team due to offensive rebounding. It would be a fun one to watch though. Shannon was a monster.
 
#1,533      
Fly Illini Fly!
Stock up on our #9thMan:

15:35 —


Sounds like he’s on pace to being the #8thMan actually. Which now begs the question, if our anticipated #8thMan is good enough to be our #9thMan? 🤔
 
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#1,535      
PepeSilvia
EmeraldCityIllini said:
You think you’d choose Coleman as the 4th best guy between those two teams? The way Mirk was playing in March, I think I’d actually lean him.
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I love Mirk but Coleman was just such a versatile player and shot the ball really well that year.

He could put the ball on the floor and do a lot facilitating just like Mirk but then was capable of switching 1-5 defensively(which that is really the problem that the 26 team has with 24, is that the 24 team effectively limita what the 24 team does by being able to switch every screen if they wanted).

I think Mirk ends up being a better player but I'm taking Senior year Coleman over freshman Mirk.
 
#1,536      
PepeSilvia
Ga65 said:
I agree with most except Tomi would kill Hawk in the post. Rim defense was that teams weakness.
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I definitely agree that Tomi would have the ability to score inside. However, he also has a penchant for sometimes being soft around the rim and the offense all didn't really feed him in the post and give him many opportunities to score in the post.

If you look at the elite 8 game against Iowa, it took until late in the 2nd half until they finally gave Tomi a few post touches(which turned that game around), and Iowa didn't have a big as good as Coleman(probably not even as good as Dainja).

Tomi just isn't really a banger like Clingan, who gave Coleman issues, and the 26 offense didn't really utilize low post touches. So while I agree that the size of the twins would be their best advantage against the 24 team I just think it would force them to a play a style that they weren't necessarily comfortable playing or had much experience doing so.
 
#1,540      
SescIllini
Have seen enough Illini teams to know that the #1 guy in August doesn't mean he is the #1 guy in January-April. But we may have several 1a,1b,1c, 1d guys on the team. Think we will have a loaded team in which multiple guys will have big games, it might be David/Tomi or Dre/Stephan, Q/Davis....but we have a team of guys that can be multiple things that it won't be necessarily an off night for one of these guys. Big Z will likely have several games in which he get 2 blocks and scores 4-8 points but impacts the game by shutting down the middle and getting key rebounds.
 
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