Illini Basketball 2026-2027

[Second place is 1st loser]

Question to the forum. Illini get the overall one see and have their choice of region, do they go East/NYC or Midwest/KC? Far more alum in NYC, plane ride only 30 minutes longer. MSG & KC don't compare on the experience.

If we're in the East/NYC, it probably means the #2 seed is a three hour drive from there.

In KC, much like Omaha, we're MUCH more likely to have a big contingency.

With all due respect to NYC....screw the experience. Louisville, KC and Detroit gives us a much, much higher potential for success.

 

[Joel Goodson]

they were pretty good:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2120955032338100348

 

[Scoregasm]

they were pretty good:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2120955032338100348

Forgot about Kyle Wilson.

 

[HoopsterMan]

If we're in the East/NYC, it probably means the #2 seed is a three hour drive from there.

In KC, much like Omaha, we're MUCH more likely to have a big contingency.

With all due respect to NYC....screw the experience. Louisville, KC and Detroit gives us a much, much higher potential for success.

No, the overall one seed gets their pick of region. This is about having that choice. If we were to get the number 1 overall, would Brad choose NYC or KC?

 

[Joel Goodson]

Forgot about Kyle Wilson.

tip of the spear

 

[ImGonnaBeILL]

84 points to a Texas Tech team without Toppin.

I don't know why we don't want to build a program around defense. A great offense wins games. A great defense wins championships.

Asking way too much of a 3-star average athlete (Brown) and a big body like Dre (easy to screen) to guard way too much of the perimeter. We don't have a rim protector besides Z and he's near unplayable at the moment.

Spent all season talking about a no-screen / no-play / concept-based offense. Exposed by Baylor and Texas Tech. Shudder to think about how ugly things will get at Cameron and at the United Center (will be in-person for that game).

Offense sells tickets / recruits

I think we have a great...not good...on ball defender in Lincoln Williams. I guess it remains to be seen how his PT holds up. I personally think he should be no less than 24 MPG.....and I thought that was far too few vs Tech

 

[stevej64]

tip of the spear

Didn’t he become a dude at Wichita State later on ? Then we ended up with Jack Ingram?? Which was a win/win .

 

[wc_illini]

Raw points are useless. TTU shot only 40% from the field.

Even with our awful defensive rebounding, they only scored 1.132 points per possession, which is going to be enough for our offense on most nights.

Maybe just don’t shoot 8-19 from the FT line, and we don’t have to micro-analyze anything.

Most of the other issues are due to not having Mirk (especially the rebounding).

Our AdjD was 101.7. If that were our team defensive rating, we'd be around 26th in the country.

An issue last year was that our adjusted defense was worse against good teams than it was against bad teams. Small sample size, but that's how this year has started out:

Team	Rank	AdjD
FDU	343	73.1
Penn	134	86.7
TT	12	101.7

 

[Dan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2121062657419784599

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2121062657419784599

My guess would be out for Duke.

Back sometime before the UCONN game.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2120949379632959527

“4. Quentin Coleman, 6-4, 180, Illinois

• HS Ranking: No. 14
• Stats: 17.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.0 steals, 60.6% FG, 41.2% 3FG, 3 GP

Coleman has taken the reins from Keaton Wagler as Illinois’ next freshman point guard sensation. The five-star recruit currently sits second on Illinois in points, rebounds and assists per game. He’s a very good rebounder for his position and can shoot the 3 with unlimited range. He should continue to be one of Illinois’ most productive players, and Brad Underwood will need him to stabilize the point guard spot.“

 

[LouHenson]

My guess would be out for Duke.

Back sometime before the UCONN game.

You are probably correct, boy it would be great to get any minutes from him against Duke. I wish we actually knew what he damaged in his foot. It would tell a lot about how far “he should be” at this point?

 

[Chillinini]

It'll be a while for Mirk. Don't want to rush him.

 

[Illinilosch]

It'll be a while for Mirk. Don't want to rush him.

Yeah I'm betting that his foot is close to 100% (could be completely wrong as I'm only assuming this). But the issue at the moment is his conditioning is likely hot garbage right now. The appendix removal looks to have went very smooth and quickly with very little issues. But he's not really done heavy duty conditioning for a long time.

JMO

 

[Illinicpa14]

Yeah I'm betting that his foot is close to 100% (could be completely wrong as I'm only assuming this). But the issue at the moment is his conditioning is likely hot garbage right now. The appendix removal looks to have went very smooth and quickly with very little issues. But he's not really done heavy duty conditioning for a long time.

JMO

He’s probably also not back playing 32 minutes a game in December - you’re probably looking at 15-20 (which would have been great against TTU)

 

[wc_illini]

Rap47 said:
We are supposedly one of the tallest team in the ountry, but 7 footers are not an advantage 20 ft. from hoop.

Inverts the defense, pulls rebounders/shot blockers out of the paint, which opens up driving lanes and allows our jumbo guards to rebound against 6'2 guys

Its an incredible advantage and the whole point of a 5-out offense

Interesting thoughts from coach:

"We need to get [Z] to the rim more. He hasn't shot the ball particularly well. He's an incredible threat rolling to the rim. He had a great day of practice today. He needs to carry that over. He needs to be consistent in those areas. He should be the most dominant defender in college basketball, and yet, he's not been that. And I'm looking for consistency. I'm looking for great practices. And I don't need a 3-point shooter. I need a guy who can go threaten the rim and put pressure on the rim with his lobs. And then block shots and be an elite athlete, which he is."

I mean, he can stand out there and maybe even be effective rolling to the rim at the right times if the opposing big is out of position, but it doesn't create the full spacing advantage if he isn't a shooting threat.

 

[NarrowJ]

Interesting thoughts from coach:

"We need to get [Z] to the rim more. He hasn't shot the ball particularly well. He's an incredible threat rolling to the rim. He had a great day of practice today. He needs to carry that over. He needs to be consistent in those areas. He should be the most dominant defender in college basketball, and yet, he's not been that. And I'm looking for consistency. I'm looking for great practices. And I don't need a 3-point shooter. I need a guy who can go threaten the rim and put pressure on the rim with his lobs. And then block shots and be an elite athlete, which he is."

I mean, he can stand out there and maybe even be effective rolling to the rim at the right times if the opposing big is out of position, but it doesn't create the full spacing advantage if he isn't a shooting threat.

I one thousand percent agree if we’re talking Z because he’s different from his brother in those aspects. I kept thinking maybe he shot the ball so much better at Kentucky and Arkansas because he was more selective. There are times he doesn’t even get a clean catch and still launches. I’m fine with him shooting one if he is set, the catch is clean, and nobody is around him.

Tomi is a bit different for me because I feel like he has a better selection mindset. Even though he shot 14 of them last night, he passed up a few where he recognized a close out. He also attacked the close out a couple of times. Should our game plan be to get him 14 threes every game? No way.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

I kept thinking maybe he shot the ball so much better at Kentucky and Arkansas because he was more selective. There are times he doesn’t even get a clean catch and still launches. I’m fine with him shooting one if he is set, the catch is clean, and nobody is around him.

Last season:

Z shot 13-for-34 (38.2%) on unguarded catch and shoot threes.

However, he shot a dreadful 14-for-62 (22.6%) on guarded catch and shoot threes.

62 of his 96 catch and shoot attempts were guarded.

 

[NarrowJ]

Last season:

Z shot 13-for-34 (38.2%) on unguarded catch and shoot threes.

However, he shot a dreadful 14-for-62 (22.6%) on guarded catch and shoot threes.

62 of his 96 catch and shoot attempts were guarded.

Not to sound literally like an AI response, but that's fantastic insight.

Lines up with the shot selection theory and the 38.2% lines up with his percentages at Kentucky & Arkansas.

 

[Ga65]

My biggest concern with Brown was formed after watching HS film against a St. Louis team. He simply appeared to need to develop physically to be able to handle play at high major level. But that may have been film from his Jr. season. The guy we see today is taller and far stronger than the kid in that film. His confidence level and processing speed are elite for a freshman....at least to date. And his passing and shooting skills are exceptional...and I love kids that can shoot. He fills his role perfectly and is another "diamond in the rough" find by the staff.

His stats are ridiculous
FG% .625. 3pt % .500 FT% 1000. Rebounds 7, Asst 22 Steals 7
He is leading the team in all shooting percentages plus in rebounding and steals.
Kind of playing out Mirk’s role last year as a great frosh but 2nd best on team.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Ethan Brown has 22 assists and 4 turnovers through 4 games.

 

[AirTran]

Last season:

Z shot 13-for-34 (38.2%) on unguarded catch and shoot threes.

However, he shot a dreadful 14-for-62 (22.6%) on guarded catch and shoot threes.

62 of his 96 catch and shoot attempts were guarded.

Shooting % from 3 point range - is not a determinant of game outcome.

Offensive/defensive rebounds, FT shots and % are the determinants of win% for the Illini basketball program.

We have no idea when Mirk will be back - but let me take you back to 1989 - Illinois was a better team when Kendall Gill returned from a broken foot.

In the meantime the Freshman getting minutes will improve every game. Please go back and look at posts from November 2025. I don't see a single one that said Keaton Wagler was going to carry that team.

The biggest issue Freshman have is positioning: (1) Spacing and movement on offense as well as 3 - point rebound positioning (2) Defensive rebounding position and communication - when and if to switch, and which players are guarded more tightly. Those are skills that come with playing together.

Z is our best defender and..

Go back to March of last year. The Brad/Tyler offense we run is dependent on 4 things:

(1) Everyone shoots 3 - Point shots
(2) We position ourselves to get 40% of the missed 3s
(3) We do such a good job of offensive 3 point rebounds that opposing defenses have to come out and cover everyone.
(4) We score 12 - 16 points a game on baseline cuts owing to (1-3).

That is how we got to the final 4 last year and Z and Mirk were large pieces of that puzzle.

 

[wc_illini]

I one thousand percent agree if we’re talking Z because he’s different from his brother in those aspects. I kept thinking maybe he shot the ball so much better at Kentucky and Arkansas because he was more selective. There are times he doesn’t even get a clean catch and still launches. I’m fine with him shooting one if he is set, the catch is clean, and nobody is around him.

Tomi is a bit different for me because I feel like he has a better selection mindset. Even though he shot 14 of them last night, he passed up a few where he recognized a close out. He also attacked the close out a couple of times. Should our game plan be to get him 14 threes every game? No way.

Yeah, so then the question is whether 5-out works with Z on the floor. I guess if he shoots a good percentage when he's wide open (thanks Fly! for that info), it can. He just needs to be more selective about those and make more of an effort to sneak in for lobs

 

[Combo]

His stats are ridiculous
FG% .625. 3pt % .500 FT% 1000. Rebounds 7, Asst 22 Steals 7
He is leading the team in all shooting percentages plus in rebounding and steals.
Kind of playing out Mirk’s role last year as a great frosh but 2nd best on team.

I had to look it up - Brown is indeed leading the team in rebuilding. Even considering the prevalence of 3 pt shooting which produces lots of long rebounds, that’s very impressive. Some of our much taller players should be embarrassed.

 

[Det_Illini_fan]

My two cents: I think it’s a bit crazy to still not consider us a top 10 or higher team at this point. We’re without 2 starters, but knocking on the door of getting one, a NPOY candidate, back imminently. We were shell-shocked from TTU, but even down these starters who are our best communicators, we still came back to within 1 of a top contending team.

We’ve been playing sloppy, but that’s not indicative of our best or even normal performance. The things we’re struggling with are the easiest to train and fix in practice, but also have seemed more like a mentality thing than anything else. Duke will be tough, but we could still do damage and even win. They’re not a finished product either.

We just need to lock in more and we’ll meet the expectations we started the season with. We’ve had a truly microscopic sample size this far.

Sky is not falling