Recent content by OrangeKrush1981

Someone with a word processor but lacking basketball knowldege.

No way I am disagreeing with this assessment, as I share it. But .... fatboy slim, I mean Nikola Jokic, was a second-round pick (41st overall). Clearly no one knew what cubby-wubby, non-athlete, foreigner-dude could become. Nuggets (my pro team) got lucky as sin. Or in fact they had an INKLING...

Except of course agents agree every chance they get to more years at the NBA or MLB (wrong sport, sigh) or whatever pro-level. It will happen. The nutty charade of NCAA D1 athletes being precious "amateurs" has been fading for a decade and much more. Don't get me wrong: I wish the dream of ILL...

I have no feel for how strong our defense might be next year. Or how mentally tough the new guys are, in terms of taking pride in defending. It's really hard to envision when defense is always a team thing at bottom and this team is likely missing a starting perimeter player. But if anyone has...

No idea what indications might be given at this early stage. The team isn't even together in CU yet, as I understand it. And there is one more very important spot to fill at the wing: possibly the leading scorer on the team has yet to be added. I think this is a huge challenge for Coach...

This coming year has with very high probability always been a team-building year. I don't mean just recruiting although that is the single biggest factor. I also most certainly don't mean that the coaching staff will be shooting for good-but-not-great results in the coming season as the price...

Kendall was the 5th overall pick in the NBA draft. Kendall played, I think, 15 seasons in the NBA. If Underwood can bring in a dude like that as his 10th man, I think Coach goes on Mount Rushmore.

No. Calipari did his 5 man platoons at the peak of his Five Star recruiting days. Ten deep is an Illinois board fantasy much like the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. But it is such a wonderful idea -- I like it myself, to be honest -- it just won't die.

I can't help with NIL at that level, so I am instead planning to contribute to the cause by sending Coach U -- free of charge -- some baseline-out-of-bounds plays. They're from the golden age of hand written notes so I am going to have to digitize them first. Anyways, I am expecting this will...

It's fine taking a break, as I don't believe any of us are required to be here. Well, Dan, if the board is to remain civilized.

Am I remembering a mere rumor, or was it indeed the case that mama Brown told Kansas-transferring Dee that he wasn't going to be leaving the Illini? I like that kind of parent :)

I have been wondering about this issue too when NIL and Portalization began to take off. Universities have not really been providing scholarship funds so much as as they redirect a fraction of football and men's basketball earnings to provide scholarships for athletes in non-revenue-generating...

Nice. I mean, alright alright. I mean, now we talkin'

The thing not mentioned above: in cases such as this one, with a paucity of red-handed evidence (I didn't say NO evidence, but rather paucity), it is very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed. No biases or skepticism is needed whatsover for that to be the case...

... Great post! Regarding the NCAA, Big10 and Universities skimming off money: the NCAA for sure does that and I don't think they at all earn the fraction of wealth they collect. It's shameful, in my view. I hadn't thought about the Big10 in this regard, and honestly don't know what their...