Further evidence that the staff reads this board. Thanks for the reply, Brad!
Illini Basketball 2022-2023
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Further evidence that the staff reads this board. Thanks for the reply, Brad!
sacraig
- The desert
Have we ever seen @Dan and Brad in the same room together?
Knowing there are a lot of pro Nance people out there, I was ecstatic about the Mayer news when it came. Knowing he didn't fit a certain less filled position quite as well as Nance, but was more dynamic and versatile with a huge motor, was and remains my reason for being glad we got him. If you had to pick Mayer or Nance, I'm with Mayer. There will be a lot of disagreement on this sentiment here, but that's OK.
Underwood: Matthew Mayer 'has been where we want to go'
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood raved about Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer's championship pedigree.247sports.com
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
YES, BRAD!
Big Jack
- Decatur
This is how 0440 was talking…hmmm
sacraig
- The desert
I imagine Tyler and Brad think a lot alike.
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Like father, like son.
Big Jack
- Decatur
I am glad we are here ahead of lots programs. But this is going to become the norm for some P5 teams where you “buy” free agents to complement your home developed “core” players kind like MLB/NBA except you need to do this almost every year. Kind of tiresome but good for the school whose boosters have deep pockets and are willing to play. This is a new era and I am excited we appear to be a leader. People are going to copy our approach.
So I will preface this by saying I don’t really care about preseason rankings much as water tends to find its level during the course of the season. That being said, aren’t we criminally under rated this year?
So I think biggest strike against us is we have 7 newcomers. But from what I can see just about every top 10 program in CBS’ top 25 and 1 has at least 5 newcomers. The one I can’t figure out is Duke who has 10(!) newcomers next year, with Jeremy Roach as their only returning rotation piece. I understand they have 3 of the top 4 freshman coming in, but I think we’ve seen with the exception of a Zion like talent, for a single season or game, a 4th/5th year borderline NBA kid > and 18 year old lottery pick. And we picked up 2 of those guys in addition to what we have on our roster + our current freshmen.
Just saying, when you factor in both talent and experience, I actually like our roster better than Duke’s. Not saying we should be ranked in the top 5, but I do think we are a top 25 team for sure.
I can’t wait to see what the team looks like this season and BU looks giddy. Think we will surprise a lot of people but we shouldn’t if they are paying attention.
So I think biggest strike against us is we have 7 newcomers. But from what I can see just about every top 10 program in CBS’ top 25 and 1 has at least 5 newcomers. The one I can’t figure out is Duke who has 10(!) newcomers next year, with Jeremy Roach as their only returning rotation piece. I understand they have 3 of the top 4 freshman coming in, but I think we’ve seen with the exception of a Zion like talent, for a single season or game, a 4th/5th year borderline NBA kid > and 18 year old lottery pick. And we picked up 2 of those guys in addition to what we have on our roster + our current freshmen.
Just saying, when you factor in both talent and experience, I actually like our roster better than Duke’s. Not saying we should be ranked in the top 5, but I do think we are a top 25 team for sure.
I can’t wait to see what the team looks like this season and BU looks giddy. Think we will surprise a lot of people but we shouldn’t if they are paying attention.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
Also, it's a rookie head coach trying to mold these pieces together. I love that Brad talks about the benefit of being a JC coach, when it applies to putting a team together on the run.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
So, RE: the schedule ... combining Dan's OP and some of my own guess work, we likely have this semi-penciled in:
Tuesday 11/15: vs. ___ (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
Friday 11/18: vs. Baylor/UCLA/Virginia (Las Vegas Main Event)
Sunday 11/20: vs. Baylor/UCLA/Virginia (Las Vegas Main Event)
Tuesday 12/1: vs. ___ (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
Tuesday 12/6: vs. Texas (Jimmy V Classic at MSG)
Wednesday 12/21: vs. Missouri (Braggin' Rights Game)
NOTE: I chose to save space, but the Gavitt Games, Big Ten/ACC Challenge and Braggin' Rights could obviously be a day before or after the "middle day" I chose ... I suppose Braggin' Rights could even be the weekend before.
That is 6 non-conference games, and we usually have about 12, right? We have also usually been playing two Big Ten games the week after the Big Ten/ACC Challenge - something like Saturday 12/10 and Wednesday 12/14.
I would love to bust out the United Center game again on Saturday 12/17 but only if we could get a semi-decent opponent. I find it hard to believe that we couldn't get a home-away-neutral "home"-neutral "away" series like we had with Gonzaga (Spokanne-Champaign-Seattle-Chicago) a few years back and stagger them. It's a nice stage for all involved.
Tuesday 11/15: vs. ___ (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
Friday 11/18: vs. Baylor/UCLA/Virginia (Las Vegas Main Event)
Sunday 11/20: vs. Baylor/UCLA/Virginia (Las Vegas Main Event)
Tuesday 12/1: vs. ___ (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
Tuesday 12/6: vs. Texas (Jimmy V Classic at MSG)
Wednesday 12/21: vs. Missouri (Braggin' Rights Game)
NOTE: I chose to save space, but the Gavitt Games, Big Ten/ACC Challenge and Braggin' Rights could obviously be a day before or after the "middle day" I chose ... I suppose Braggin' Rights could even be the weekend before.
That is 6 non-conference games, and we usually have about 12, right? We have also usually been playing two Big Ten games the week after the Big Ten/ACC Challenge - something like Saturday 12/10 and Wednesday 12/14.
I would love to bust out the United Center game again on Saturday 12/17 but only if we could get a semi-decent opponent. I find it hard to believe that we couldn't get a home-away-neutral "home"-neutral "away" series like we had with Gonzaga (Spokanne-Champaign-Seattle-Chicago) a few years back and stagger them. It's a nice stage for all involved.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Love our coach. Total flippin' boss. Love where we're at and the trend. Love our ACs. Love our Fletch.
Could be a fantastic and fantastically fun season. Chomping at the bit.
If Skyy's a 1AD, sky's the limit. (not saying it's gonna happen)
Damn the hyperbole, I love our coach.
Could be a fantastic and fantastically fun season. Chomping at the bit.
If Skyy's a 1AD, sky's the limit. (not saying it's gonna happen)
Damn the hyperbole, I love our coach.
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Been saying the same thing since the Mayer commitment, but don't want to get worked up into a lather over pre-season rankings as some cautioned. However, I think being outside the top 25 like I have seen in some polls is ridiculous and puts us in the position of having ground to make up. Hopefully we hit the ground running in Vegas and put the doubters on notice we are the real deal.
I'm thrilled that we got either of them, to be honest. For what it's worth, Mayer graded out as the fifth-best player in the NCAA last year by defensive BPR (a stat that measures defensive performance while a player is on the floor, controlling for competition and teammates) per Evan Miyakawa. He might not actually be the fifth-best defender nationally, but I'm pretty sure that both he and Shannon are (sorry) elite defenders.
It's a bit easier to hide weak rim protection when you can keep your opponent from getting to the rim in the first place. I'm looking forward to this.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Bring them on.
Arizona got a new coach and basically whole new team in less than a year. I had Arizona cutting the nets, surprised they lost so early.
I grew up in the Big Two >> Little Eight era
I like this era a lot better
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