Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#576      
wc_illini
EmpoweredIllini said:
i had an achilles tear as a soph in college at mckendree and they made me wear a boot only after practices and rehab work as began physical activity again, and other guys with lower body injures, ankles, feet etc all did the same far as i can recall so the boot proves nothing imo

the scooter seemed a bit much though so that part worrried me unless mirk was just being his silly old self
Click to expand...
Sep 16: illini0440: "Obviously out of the boot. Rehabbing and doing things individually. I think if game 1 was a tournament game he’d play. If you catch my drift."
Oct 13: Dunk video posted (even landed on the injured foot)
Oct 23: In a boot with a knee scooter
Oct 27: LvilleILL1: "They wanted to give him a little more time to get to a 100%. Don't think the boot will be on very long."

That doesn't sound like he's been wearing the boot outside practice all along and that nothing has changed since the dunk video.
 
#577      
Illinisnake
EmpoweredIllini said:
i had an achilles tear as a soph in college at mckendree and they made me wear a boot only after practices and rehab work as began physical activity again, and other guys with lower body injures, ankles, feet etc all did the same far as i can recall so the boot proves nothing imo

the scooter seemed a bit much though so that part worrried me unless mirk was just being his silly old self
Click to expand...
Yeah I wouldn’t have been worried if it was just the boot, scooter makes it look bad
 
#578      
RollChief
Illinisnake said:
Yeah I wouldn’t have been worried if it was just the boot, scooter makes it look bad
Click to expand...
Like every other 19-year-old, he was probably offered a scooter by the docs to get around campus, etc., when he is using the boot. They've got him in the boot to promote further healing. Does this seem like the kind of guy who would stop using the scooter just so message boards wouldn't worry?

1793226644899.png
 
#579      
EmpoweredIllini
wc_illini said:
Sep 16: illini0440: "Obviously out of the boot. Rehabbing and doing things individually. I think if game 1 was a tournament game he’d play. If you catch my drift."
Oct 13: Dunk video posted (even landed on the injured foot)
Oct 23: In a boot with a knee scooter
Oct 27: LvilleILL1: "They wanted to give him a little more time to get to a 100%. Don't think the boot will be on very long."

That doesn't sound like he's been wearing the boot outside practice all along and that nothing has changed since the dunk video.
Click to expand...

‘obviously out of the boot’ meaning it’s not a 24/7 thing anymore

will be interesting to see whose mental gymnastics win out of all of us lol
 
#586      
illini0440
Rap47 said:
I can't understand how a coach very seldom has our two seven footers around the offensive basket when they shoot 83 and 71 percent on two point attempts.
Click to expand...
Really the whole point of having the bigs away from the basket is to create driving lanes for our guards and wings to get layups without the other teams big guarding the rim. Also helps our offensive rebounding when we send our wings and their big isn’t down there.
 
#587      
SkyysNotFalling
Illinifan1995-- said:
Do we know what kind of foot fracture Mirk has? That would tell us a lot. Based on what I'm hearing, I'd guess it's Jones
Click to expand...
Typically for a Jones fracture, you’re not fully healed for about 6-12 weeks with surgery. You’re back to full go in typically 3-4 months. Mirk had surgery the first week of August so we’re looking at about 12 weeks now.. or 2.8 months or so. I’d expect Mirk to be back to full go in about 2-4 weeks if that’s the case. Typical to remain in a boot during the day even after the healing is done as well.. so it does add up.
 
#588      
Fly Illini Fly!
illini0440 said:
Really the whole point of having the bigs away from the basket is to create driving lanes for our guards and wings to get layups without the other teams big guarding the rim. Also helps our offensive rebounding when we send our wings and their big isn’t down there.
Click to expand...
Last year — Illini were 22nd in FG% in the paint, and 8th in points per shot attempt in the paint.

Our efficiency is very good when we get down there.
 
#591      
wc_illini
illini0440 said:
Really the whole point of having the bigs away from the basket is to create driving lanes for our guards and wings to get layups without the other teams big guarding the rim. Also helps our offensive rebounding when we send our wings and their big isn’t down there.
Click to expand...
It seemed like down the stretch last year our ORB% wasn't as great when our bigs missed 3s. I assumed that was because opponents noticed our bigs' drop in 3pt%, so opponents' bigs stayed closer to the rim, leaving our wings/guards to rebound against opponents' bigs and wings/guards. Regardless, hopefully T and Z return to being bigger threats from 3.
 
#592      
From the cheap seats
illini0440 said:
Really the whole point of having the bigs away from the basket is to create driving lanes for our guards and wings to get layups without the other teams big guarding the rim. Also helps our offensive rebounding when we send our wings and their big isn’t down there.
Click to expand...
Matt Painter alluded to that in his postgame comments after we beat Purdue last year. He said the Illini were able to invert Purdue's defense because of our bigs' ability to shoot the ball. Said he kept telling his big men to head for the rim instead of trying to box out 20 feet from the basket, but they couldn't get there and that left our taller wings with a big advantage on the offensive boards. I'll trust Painter's word on what makes the Illini so difficult to guard.
 
#594      
RichardKeenesCousin
EmpoweredIllini said:
i had an achilles tear as a soph in college at mckendree and they made me wear a boot only after practices and rehab work as began physical activity again, and other guys with lower body injures, ankles, feet etc all did the same far as i can recall so the boot proves nothing imo

the scooter seemed a bit much though so that part worrried me unless mirk was just being his silly old self
Click to expand...
I had an injury at McKendree too. I blame Ames. Something had to be in the food.
 
#597      
Rap47
illini0440 said:
Really the whole point of having the bigs away from the basket is to create driving lanes for our guards and wings to get layups without the other teams big guarding the rim. Also helps our offensive rebounding when we send our wings and their big isn’t down there.
Click to expand...
I realize that,but when both are in the game an occasional high, low play would see to be a good play. There are not many teams would be able to defend Tomi at the free throw line to Z down low.
 
#599      
Fly Illini Fly!
https://twitter.com/x/status/2115815433404063982

West Region

No. 1 Illinois* vs. No. 16 Howard*/Montana State*
No. 8 Marquette vs. No. 9 Auburn
No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon*
No. 4 Virginia vs. No. 13 UC Irvine*
No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 11 West Virginia/Maryland
No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 14 James Madison*
No. 7 Villanova vs. No. 10 Ohio State
No. 2 Arizona* vs. No. 15 East Tennessee State*/Queens*
 
#600      
Fighter of the Nightman
Regarding Bracketology, here is a reminder of where the NCAA Tournament sites are this season:

First Round & Second Round
Louisville, KY
Minneapolis, MN
Omaha, NE
Pittsburgh, PA
Charlotte, NC
Fort Worth, TX
Sacramento, CA
Spokane, WA

Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight
Kansas City, MO (Midwest)
New York, NY (East)
San Antonio, TX (South)
Los Angeles, CA (West)

Final Four
Detroit, MI

So while I fully expect large Illini contingents wherever we play, there is no "dream path" of virtual home games like we could have had last year with St. Louis-Chicago-Indianapolis ... which is fine, as it in some ways takes off some pressure. With that said, it will also be nice to probably have less intense competition for the Midwest region this year, as last season was STACKED with top 3 seeds that would all prefer to go through Chicago. I doubt it would approach the absolute takeover we had in Indianapolis last season (seriously, everything outside of the four designated fan sections in the bottom bowl was 85%+ Illini fans), I definitely think we will dwarf the turnout for any other fan base if we make it to Detroit, with the massive exception of if MSU or Michigan make it.
 
Back