Eh I don't think Mid December is an awful time to come back, considering he tore it in March. The bigger question is will he be able to perform at high levels.
Illini Basketball 2018-2019
- Status
Eh I don't think Mid December is an awful time to come back, considering he tore it in March. The bigger question is will he be able to perform at high levels.
Oh, it's an amazingly fast recovery. Enough to make one suspicious that it will actually happen.
But damn, we could really use a 7-footer who has played college basketball before in Maui.
GortTheRobot
- North Bethesda, Maryland
No kidding. One of Gonzaga’s specialties seems to be luring big men. I’m not sure who they have in the front this year, but I imagine it’s, again, someone who can do some damage.
t7nich
- Central IL
Kane and Higgs should be on campus in the next few weeks. Both had to complete a summer class, if my memory serves me correctly
KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
- Chicago, IL
Based on Gonzaga's schedule we'll probably be one of the top 5 teams they play all season so....How much does the outlook on this season improve if we somehow miraculously beat Gonzaga?
Are we Final Four bound?
Disclaimer: I think Gonzaga is overrated every year due to an easy schedule.
While I generally don't think they should be a top 10 team, they've proven more than once in the past that they are indeed just that. They are definitely a top 10 team this year, will probably go into our match up ranked around 5 (I've seen some ranked them preseason 2nd). Only losing one out of their top 5 scorers.
Good, then the win over the Zags will be a really nice one.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
OK, I've been on hold for a work issue for over 30 minutes, so I decided to look up the Zags roster, to look at their bigs. 3 guys over 6'8" (2 listed at 6'8")
A freshman from Serbia, 6'11", 225#, redshirt sophomore from Denmark, 6"11", 235#, junior from France, 6'10", 220#. I don't know if this means anything, I was just bored.
A freshman from Serbia, 6'11", 225#, redshirt sophomore from Denmark, 6"11", 235#, junior from France, 6'10", 220#. I don't know if this means anything, I was just bored.
t7nich
- Central IL
Tillie = good player. Can really shoot it from 3.
Was curious to compare 2016-17 team to current players as it was 8-10 in conference which is higher than any predictions I have seen for this year's team and was not considered coached well. If you take the combined stats from Morgan, Black, Hill, Abrams, and Lucas it averages 46.4 pts and 13 defensive rebounds. If you take DeLaRosa (KSU stats), Nichols, Jordan, Frasier, and Williams (conference stats) it averages 42.5 pts and 12.4 defensive rebounds. Didn't use any freshman stats as not comparable and used defensive rebounds as a defensive indicator. Would not take much of an improvement to exceed 16-17 team.
Yeah, but how does the conference compare then vs now? I don't know that answer, but it's probably important to look at.
For example, last year I saw a few people trying to compare it to 1998-99 when we were last in the big ten, but showed promise, especially in the BTT run at the end. The problem with that comparison was that the 98 team had 14 losses against ranked teams, so they had a brutal schedule, whereas our schedule last year was one of the worst I can remember.
IIRC the big difference was that 98-99 was missing a point guard. As the team worked though it the rest of the players improved greatly to try to cover for that. That team was truly just one missing piece away from greatness and everyone knew that piece was sitting on the sidelines just waiting to be eligible.
Last year’s team was definitely improving and I expect a great deal of improvement from the returning players and a huge lift from the new players. However there is not the obvious savior just sitting on the sidelines waiting as there was in 98.
Oh, for sure. Not to mention Griffin and Cook coming in too. Let's hope Ayo can have a Frank like impact as a freshman, even without the redshirt season.
14 losses against ranked teams and 5 wins! With a team that was much, MUCH less experienced than last year's. Zero career starts.
Never before and never again will a 14-18 team indicate such a bright future for a program. Just a weird confluence of a roster situation and an all-time high point for the conference.
Squad33 said:
IIRC the big difference was that 98-99 was missing a point guard. As the team worked though it the rest of the players improved greatly to try to cover for that. That team was truly just one missing piece away from greatness and everyone knew that piece was sitting on the sidelines just waiting to be eligible.
Last year’s team was definitely improving and I expect a great deal of improvement from the returning players and a huge lift from the new players. However there is not the obvious savior just sitting on the sidelines waiting as there was in 98.
We were more than just Frank away, with Griffin & Cook that was 3 new starters the next year, that is much more than just Frank on the bench
IIRC the big difference was that 98-99 was missing a point guard. As the team worked though it the rest of the players improved greatly to try to cover for that. That team was truly just one missing piece away from greatness and everyone knew that piece was sitting on the sidelines just waiting to be eligible.
Last year’s team was definitely improving and I expect a great deal of improvement from the returning players and a huge lift from the new players. However there is not the obvious savior just sitting on the sidelines waiting as there was in 98.
We were more than just Frank away, with Griffin & Cook that was 3 new starters the next year, that is much more than just Frank on the bench
Higgs isn’t on campus yet
So, players are playing in summer leagues etc....hearing and seeing video of that...nothing in general on Higgs since commit?
Dan
Admin
Williams using summer to his advantage
https://www.wcia.com/sports/illini/..._medium=social&utm_source=twitter_WCIA3sports
https://www.wcia.com/sports/illini/..._medium=social&utm_source=twitter_WCIA3sports
Deleted member 654622
D
Guest
Don't think this was posted yet. AJ squatting 405
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Cool. I remember when I squatted my first 405. I'm a lot shorter than him, though. That's pretty good weight for a tall, lanky basketball player.
They say the magic number is squatting 2x your body weight. He’s listed at 209 so he’s close. 405 is man sized lift no matter how much you weigh imo.
So glad he didn't transfer.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Wait, what!? Was Williams seriously considering transferring? If so, news to me.
- Status