Illini Basketball 2017-2018

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#526      

Spoon House

Spoon House
Spoon House
Don't get ahead of yourself. There's a very real chance we don't escape this Braggin' Rights unscathed. It'll be a doozy.

Though, of course, you're correct that this season is most likely a flash in the pan for Mizzou.
 
#527      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Spoon House said:
Don't get ahead of yourself. There's a very real chance we don't escape this Braggin' Rights unscathed. It'll be a doozy.

Though, of course, you're correct that this season is most likely a flash in the pan for Mizzou.
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There's definitely a chance. We are almost certainly going into the game as underdogs.
 
#528      

TheLegendaryOne24

T
TheLegendaryOne24
LovieIlliniWood said:
I will say this, saw Trent very recently and he is very good! Mark Smith apparently had a bad scrimmage Sunday and not a great practice Monday. With that being said, he will be very good by the time things get really rolling in the next few weeks. The biggest weakness imo will be defensively. My guess is not one of these kids have ever played on the line defensively and we will see them get beat backdoor a lot in the process of learning. I believe the staff does such a great job teaching, they will ‘get it’ sooner than later. Just my opinion.
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I heard Smith was cramping up during the 1st half of the scrimmage but had a decent showing in the second half....now if you are saying Barnes put the 26points up on Smith then I have some real defensive concerns...

I watched Smith play a few times in high school and he was used as a floater which could come back to play a factor....he was used more for scoring ....
 
#535      

LovieIlliniWood

L
LovieIlliniWood
TheLegendaryOne24 said:
I heard Smith was cramping up during the 1st half of the scrimmage but had a decent showing in the second half....now if you are saying Barnes put the 26points up on Smith then I have some real defensive concerns...

I watched Smith play a few times in high school and he was used as a floater which could come back to play a factor....he was used more for scoring ....
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I don’t know about the cramping, I do know he made 2 field goals for the game. IMO this may not ever happen again b/c I think he is an excellent player especially for a freshman. Defensively he will struggle, like every other freshman playing a new style of defense imo.
I am definitely not saying Barnes scored 26 on Mark. Mark will become a great defender at some point, I am pretty sure of that b/c the staff won’t allow anything else.
I am a little uncertain on how much AJ is going to help us, struggling a bit on both ends. I hope he makes some strides over the next few weeks.
 
#536      

Captain Bubbles

Captain Bubbles
Fairfield, IL
Captain Bubbles
We need some Rob Jordan (rcjord1) on this board. Today he and his wife are celebrating their 30th Wedding Anniversary. That'd be cool if he popped in on this special day to post about AJ and the practices. Happy Anniversary Mr. Jordan!
 
#537      

LovieIlliniWood

L
LovieIlliniWood
I hope he is able to help and get some tick, seems to work and has a good attitude. No doubt he can still knock down the 3 ball, which helps his cause for sure.
 
#538      

1970 John

1970 John
1970 John
jmilt7 said:
"Here’s what Penn State men’s basketball can expect from Illinois, Purdue and Michigan this season"

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With all due respect, the guy isn't fully cognizant of the details. Of course, he probably picked up most of his info from other media sources which are saying mostly the same thing. It's the herd mentality of sports writers and journalists. Doing original research is hard but you have pages (real or virtual) so going with the herd is the quickest solution.

That said, his biggest factor in predicting the outcome is what happened last year. Hey, guy, different team. You're not going to go up 20 points in the first half (and still only escape by a couple of points after a questionable call).

If Penn State hasn't improved, we win.
 
#539      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
Spoon House said:
Don't get ahead of yourself. There's a very real chance we don't escape this Braggin' Rights unscathed. It'll be a doozy.

Though, of course, you're correct that this season is most likely a flash in the pan for Mizzou.
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Oh, I'm fully expecting Mizzou to win this year.

And you know what? Fine. We've won 4 straight, so a win for them probably is more urgent than a win for us.

But there is not a doubt in my mind that the long-run favors the Illini in this contest. And Mizzou fans know it.

Cuonzo is pulling his best Ron Zook impression -- loading up on talent early. And like Zook, he may have a big season early on. But like Zook, the recruiting tails off when you no longer prove you're a consistent winner. And in the end, coaching wins.
 
#540      

Calvin

C
Calvin
Verified Insider said:
Oh, I'm fully expecting Mizzou to win this year.

And you know what? Fine. We've won 4 straight, so a win for them probably is more urgent than a win for us.

But there is not a doubt in my mind that the long-run favors the Illini in this contest. And Mizzou fans know it.

Cuonzo is pulling his best Ron Zook impression -- loading up on talent early. And like Zook, he may have a big season early on. But like Zook, the recruiting tails off when you no longer prove you're a consistent winner. And in the end, coaching wins.
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Odds of him getting the #1 player in the country again?

It's really hard to predict how well they'll play. I don't think he's much of a coach, but if you have enough talent, and they play well together, they'll win plenty of games.
 
#541      

Calvin

C
Calvin
americanoutlaw11 said:
Sweet. There isn't one of us that won't soon forget what he did, either.
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He committed to Groce/Illinois, and Groce got fired. I don't see why it's a big deal that he left. There have been much less classy moves (IDKWTI, Cliff, etc.)
 
#542      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
jcgoldie said:
EntireIllinformedGreathornedowl.gif
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Oh, I'm not saying I like it or wish for it. But I'm not going to be devastated if we lose to Mizzou. They loaded up with a bunch of talent on the backs of hiring the father of two 5* kids while underhandedly recruiting an already-committed ESL kid. So, Cuonzo is doing whatever it takes to make an immediate splash, and he'll probably succeed.

But unfortunately for Cuonzo, he still has to prove himself as a coach. And over time, that façade will crumble and order will be restored.

Do I want to beat Mizzou very badly this year? Hell yeah. Am I going to cry into my cheerios if we don't? No. I'm looking big picture, here.
 
#543      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
I'd be hard pressed to believe Mizzou makes the tournament in back to back years when Cuonzo is their coach. To me, I'd rather have sustained success than be a flash in the pan.
 
#544      

Calvin

C
Calvin
Write up on Mizzou

The preseason poll has them 29th (4th team getting votes outside the top-25). Personally, I don't see how we can stop Porter Jr., but both teams have a lot of question marks this early.
 
#545      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
Verified Insider said:
But there is not a doubt in my mind that the long-run favors the Illini in this contest. And Mizzou fans know it.
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You've obviously never met a mizzou fan...

They are all about taking one little victory and building it up to unreasonable proportions. When they were decent in football, the majority that I talked to literally thought of themselves on the same level as Alabama. Don't be surprised if they start thinking of themselves on the same level as Kentucky if they have even a little bit of success this year.
 
#546      

DB11Headband

D
Chicago Burbs
DB11Headband
Calvin said:
Write up on Mizzou

The preseason poll has them 29th (4th team getting votes outside the top-25). Personally, I don't see how we can stop Porter Jr., but both teams have a lot of question marks this early.
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I don't see how any team will be able to stop Porter, but you have to think that Kipper is our best bet. I know he gives up size to Porter, but I think he could do a decent job against him.
 
#547      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
DB11Headband said:
I don't see how any team will be able to stop Porter, but you have to think that Kipper is our best bet. I know he gives up size to Porter, but I think he could do a decent job against him.
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You win by trying to get Porter into foul trouble as soon as possible. I have no idea if he has any tendency to get into foul trouble, but the best defense against him is to have him on the bench as much as possible.

And then you do everything in your power to limit his supporting cast. Him scoring 50 points isn't enough to win on its own.
 
#549      

JFGsCoffeeMug

JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
JFGsCoffeeMug
TheGMan said:
And then you do everything in your power to limit his supporting cast. Him scoring 50 points isn't enough to win on its own.
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I like how our backcourt matches up with theirs. Should be a fun game.
 
#550      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
Clearly I'm drinking too much orange koolaid cause I feel like we'll dispatch of Mizzou rather easily. It's probably some major ignorance on my part too, because I haven't studied their roster a whole bunch, but it seems like Tilmon and the Porters are 3 of their best pieces yet I don't see how they fit. And generally, you're trying to get your best 5 on the court at once as a coach.
 
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