Illini Basketball 2017-2018

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#77      

iLL 89ers

iLL 89ers
Dallas,TX , Born and raised in Alton,Illinois
iLL 89ers
Illinois will finish in top 4-6 of BIG,,if they can stay healthy I really love this team and think 20-22 wins is very realistic IMO(this team I think gonna remind a lot of people of the UNLV Runnin` Rebel teams, pick-up 3/4 press and relentless pace on offense,and Yes I think we have the horses (studs) to do it,,,
IF most think 11th or 12th finish, good luck on the dark side of the moon!!!

GO:illinois:
 
#78      

foby

foby
Bonnaroo Land
foby
iLL 89ers said:
Illinois will finish in top 4-6 of BIG,,if they can stay healthy I really love this team and think 20-22 wins is very realistic IMO(this team I think gonna remind a lot of people of the UNLV Runnin` Rebel teams, pick-up 3/4 press and relentless pace on offense,and Yes I think we have the horses (studs) to do it,,,
IF most think 11th or 12th finish, good luck on the dark side of the moon!!!

GO:illinois:
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:thumb: me likey and pass the kool-aid
 
#79      

TheLegendaryOne24

T
TheLegendaryOne24
MonteGoesWeGo said:
are we really better than northwestern, iowa, maryland, michigan? I think 6-8 is very realistic but will stay cautiously optimistic. Think the season go one of two ways..

Like our football team, rely on a lot of freshmen and struggle to close out ball games but show steady improvement while they gain experience and BU implements more of his offense while slowly getting closer and closer to the bubble. Then just like last year have an opportunity to play ourselves into the tourney in the final conference games and BTT (rutgers last game again this year :tsk: ). Or...

We lose 10+ games by 1-6 points because our defense folds from having little depth. Go 10-3 in noncon and 6-12 in conference (18-15) but still show strides.
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Mostly or all you stated is correct but the big heavy I think for this particular team/group is and just a basketball opinion:

- Finke/Black/Kipper all played last season the thing they didn't was be major consistent (key word) contributors last season. Their roles for this team are significantly different. They have to be a consistent 8-10ppg offensively from at least (2) of the (3) defensively they MUST be SMART meaning staying out of foul trouble against teams with true bigs/post players

- Alstork how good will he be against real competition and when things don't go his way will he become a head case for the team (BU won't allow that)

- TJL I love his motor and leadership but he along with the other veterans have to be vested in "what is my role on this particular team"

- the freshman well I know there are expectations for these fellas but I guess how quick will the find their groove and pace of the B10. Smith will have to mature real quick real fast...I think if Smith can find some early success meaning have a break out game of 20plus that could be huge before we hit B10 play

- how quick will a group of 5 jell sometimes groups like this are more successful when the chemistry is good and players understand what they bring to the table....I don't know how practices are going now but the one I attended Smith was never with Finke or Black or Alstork but that was one practice...just my opinion
 
#80      

TheLegendaryOne24

T
TheLegendaryOne24
Another key factor will be how good will the D be with a group without a true big but BU has been succeful without a true post....

Consistency on the offensive end.......
 
#90      

Oldtoysrock

O
Sarasota, Florida
Oldtoysrock
MonteGoesWeGo said:
For what it's worth, College Sports Madness did a ranking of the top 144 teams in college basketball. Our beloved are at #122

Maryland #39
Iowa #44
Indiana #55
Wisconsin #62
Ohio St #76
Penn St #86
Nebraska #99

The rest of the rankings will be released as the days leading up to the season dwindle down. Leaving us at the 13th best team in the conference. We were behind the likes of Elon, Albany, Mo. State, Loyola (IL), Grand Canyon (!), Fairfield, Mercer, UC-Irvine and Louisiana Lafayette.
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Imho it just means were going to surprise a lot of people.


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#92      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
ties will be resolved
Joel Goodson
AJ has upgraded his physique a lot. He'll get his shot early. The rest is up to him. Really hoping he thrives and carves out a rotation role.
 
#93      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
Joel Goodson said:
AJ has upgraded his physique a lot. He'll get his shot early. The rest is up to him. Really hoping he thrives and carves out a rotation role.
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AJ is a great ambassador for our school, however I am starting to think he is that guy that "looks" like a player, but cant quite hit that level. I hope I am wrong and he comes on and has at least a Bertrand type of rest of college career.
 
#98      

mattcoldagelli

mattcoldagelli
The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
mattcoldagelli
WizardBill said:
I find it very interesting. I am very optimistic about our chances to be good this year. However, isn’t that the same as every year?
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I don't know about you guys, but the last year of the Groce Era and the last two years of the Weber Era, I thought we were definitely going to suck.
 
#99      

JIllini

J
JIllini
WizardBill said:
I find it very interesting. I am very optimistic about our chances to be good this year. However, isn’t that the same as every year?

We always think we are better than we actually are. We hear the same things every year. “They don’t know us.” “They don’t have all the facts.”

It would seem to me that quite possibly WE don’t know as much as Wae think and maybe, just maybe, 99.2% of the prognosticators are correct.

I’m still an optimist but it reminds me of global warming. If 99.2% of the experts think something then it is true (99.2% of the time).
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I think we're likely overrating ourselves because koolaid, and the experts are likely underrating us because of our recent performance. We'll probably end up falling somewhere in between. That being said, I still have high hopes. We have a new coach and several new players so it's hard to predict how good we'll be.
 
#100      

foby

foby
Bonnaroo Land
foby
My biggest hope is that I have more fun watching this team than any other team over the last 10 years. If that happens, then anything else is just gravy.
 
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