Depressive maybe, offensive no way...at least we will be 500 right? Half full here!
Illini Basketball 2018-2019
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Depressive maybe, offensive no way...at least we will be 500 right? Half full here!
Someone stated they thought one should be started in another thread.
9-11 Conference
7-5 Non Conference
Total 16-16, no bid, learning year with this group, and lack of height that is system oriented leads to a sub par season. A entertaining one but sub par with wins/loss again.
Take your guess', someone save the post and lets see where all of us Kool Aid drinkers end up in March?
9-11 in conference would be a major feat in my eyes. And a great stepping stone heading into 2019-20, when hopefully we are officially back as a legitimate NCAA tournament team....and possibly even a Big Ten title contender (depends on the '19 recruiting class).
This Balsa guy they just offered might be a high flyer ... [insert toy airplane GIF here]
I thought hard about Griffin (Tom Crean voice)... and I do think he could have many and will have some bright spots. I just see these other guys being more consistent throughout the season given their natural athletic abilities.
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Do we have the game by game schedule, or just know the opponents?
Without the schedule, I have to predict (in the way too early for this nonsense):
8-4 non-conference
10-10 B1G
18-14 NIT
Without the schedule, I have to predict (in the way too early for this nonsense):
8-4 non-conference
10-10 B1G
18-14 NIT
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It’s very unrealistic in my opinion to go from 9-11 (16-16 overall) to a Big Ten title contender.
We’d have to see some incredible promise this year for that too happen. Unless we land the dream class we’ve been hoping for over the last 10 years. Then again, I could just be beaten down over expecting the turn to happen for the last decade that I’m blind when it is actually about to happen.
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BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
It's not unrealistic at all if we landed the class we all hope we can land (Whitney, Cockburn, Walker/Liddell or similar). We'd legit have two McD's AA caliber players on that team, maybe even 3 since Ayo was very very close. It would be similar to the 99-00 season when Frankie and Griffin came on board from a team that I believe had only won 3 conference games the season prior and ended up winning 11 games in conference plus the BTT.
That said, I think 9 B1G wins this season is very optimistic. I still think we end up 16-16, but with 9 non-con wins and 7 B1G wins. I think we could be gelling by the end of the season, though, and could make some noise in the BTT and NIT.
To summarize:
9-3 non-con
7-11 B1G
16-16 overall
3rd round BTT
Semifinal NIT
Promising things on the horizon.
I eagerly await this thread being cited in IL debates after the season.
Probably a good move lol
16-16 overall and 7-11 B1G will not get us in the NIT, highly unlikely scenario.
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
A few BTT wins puts us at 19 wins which would probably be enough.
I think players that work hard, have good bb IQ and have good D are going to be on the court. I like athleticism, but I dont see the correlation with consistency. I think if Griffin can be consistent scoring and not make mistakes on D he will see xourt tim.
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What! And get confused by all sorts of facts!
I agree. His scoring might get him more court time. But I’m speaking more specifically on defensive ability/expectations as a freshman.
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He's right though. Ayo made it his personal mission to stand out as a defender to make the U18 national team. It is pretty likely that will carry over into his time as an Illini.
Deleted member 654622
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Guest
Well done sir!
We basically know the entire schedule, there's probably one mystery cupcake still to come, but yeah, until we have Kane and Higgs on campus (or not) there is too much potential variance out there IMO.
But I do enjoy reading the predictions of others nonetheless! :thumb:
This seems a little optimistic to me. Road games in the BIG are tough, and tougher when you're such a young team. I expect us to be optimistic at the end of the season, but struggling through most of it.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
I like this quote;
"Fearless," Jordan said to describe the new freshmen. "That's one word, and I'm going to keep saying it for those guys. They've stepped up to the challenge, they listen and they try to get better every day. The older guys, when they challenge them, they don't back down."
That would be 3 BTT wins, which for a .500 conference team puts them in the Championship game. That's aggressive.
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
I'm skeptical of Giorgi's ability to move laterally well enough to be a good defender, but perhaps he can make up for it or surprise me.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
That was good to read, and I like the quote about Tevian Jones having trampolines in his shoes!
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