Illini Basketball 2022-2023

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#401      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
I'll have to admit, I never figured that we had a preseason top 25 only 3 times in a row. Went back and checked the 80s.

So that 87-88 year we lost Norman. A really great freshman class was becoming a great sophomore class. Nick was joining as a prop 48 sit out. Kenny Battle also arrives to play. We first show up in the polls January 5 at 9-2.

PreseasonFinal
1983-84NR6
1984-85212
1985-86719
1986-871411
1987-88NR16
1988-8993
1989-90818
2002-03 we were somehow not ranked in the preseason as well. It was 6 in 7 years from 1999-2000 to 2005-06, but 3 and 3 on either side.

We must have been very close though, because we got to #25 by early December off the back of just a couple of cupcake wins.

Then we beat UNC and Mizzou and were in the top 10 by Christmas. Brian Cook - pretty good!
 
#402      
2002-03 we were somehow not ranked in the preseason as well. It was 6 in 7 years from 1999-2000 to 2005-06, but 3 and 3 on either side.

We must have been very close though, because we got to #25 by early December off the back of just a couple of cupcake wins.

Then we beat UNC and Mizzou and were in the top 10 by Christmas. Brian Cook - pretty good!
There might have been a few freshmen contributing that year as well!
 
#404      
See where ESPN has some of our games scheduled for broadcast. Anyone know when the B10, CBS, and FS1 will release their schedules???
 
#407      
Rick Pizzo (B1G Network) on my flight to Columbus this morning.
I told him don’t sleep on RJ. 🤣
He said “yeah nobody talking about him!”
Let’s see if he takes my(our) advice…
That's ok...let everyone be surprised by mid December that RJ is unstoppable....we can sit back smile and enjoy
Happy Eddie Murphy GIF
 
#409      
Coach talks a lot about Hawks defense. And when you look at defensive stats from last year Hawks is near the top.
Drtg #3, DWS #4, (behind only Kofi, Trent and Da'Monte), DBPM #2


The highest offensive rating on the team was Lieb, even better than Kofi and RJ. I don't mean to shoot down your post, you could be right. It's just that I don't put a lot of stock in those stats over what I see on the court. I'd add that the whole team benefitted defensively in the stats because of Kofi.

I think CH as the anchor in the middle is going to be a very different role for him. Will be interesting to see how he does. I think there are good pieces everywhere, so that should help.
 
#411      
The highest offensive rating on the team was Lieb, even better than Kofi and RJ. I don't mean to shoot down your post, you could be right. It's just that I don't put a lot of stock in those stats over what I see on the court. I'd add that the whole team benefitted defensively in the stats because of Kofi.

I think CH as the anchor in the middle is going to be a very different role for him. Will be interesting to see how he does. I think there are good pieces everywhere, so that should help.
Agreed. CH’s two big defensive games were against Murray and Harper iirc. He had a length advantage over both and that isn’t as likely to be the case playing much more in the middle. I do worry that going up against bigger players more routinely leads to more foul issues. But the overall size of this team should help him, and he does seem motivated to have a big year. Looking forward to him hopefully being up to the task.
 
#412      

Really enjoyed this, maybe because I agree with the analysis. They seemed high on Ty Rogers, TSJ, RJ, cautious about a lot of the other players, with Skyy as a wildcard that could make a major difference. Refreshing to see "experts" agree that they just don't know a lot. That said, low in the top-25 seems reasonable, as do the comments about the this group being more inconsistent than most in the early going.
 
#414      
Refreshing to see "experts" agree that they just don't know a lot.
This is my take on the season. I think there's a high ceiling, lower floor than we've had the last two years. Pretty much everyone on the team is being thrust into a new role.

My confidence is based on the overall odds. We're gonna score about 120 ppg based on some projections here. But realistically, some of the wildly optimistic takes will come through and some will fall short and someone is going to flat out shock us I bet. But we don't need all the optimistic takes to pan out to have a good year. If enough pan out, we could have a great year.
 
#415      

jjv0004

Greenville, SC
He said the 2 things I have been thinking all summer. Coleman might take a step up but expecting a huge jump is just silly. And, point guard is a concern. I keep getting people telling me to relax about it but you heard what Goodman said and he was at practice. Epps is not a point guard and the only other true point guard is a true freshman. Just really wish we had another point guard on this roster.
 
#416      
The highest offensive rating on the team was Lieb, even better than Kofi and RJ. I don't mean to shoot down your post, you could be right. It's just that I don't put a lot of stock in those stats over what I see on the court. I'd add that the whole team benefitted defensively in the stats because of Kofi.

I think CH as the anchor in the middle is going to be a very different role for him. Will be interesting to see how he does. I think there are good pieces everywhere, so that should help.
No comparison. 2.4 mpg vs 19.0 mpg, 0 games started vs 14 games started.
 
#417      
Rick Pizzo (B1G Network) on my flight to Columbus this morning.
I told him don’t sleep on RJ. 🤣
He said “yeah nobody talking about him!”
Let’s see if he takes my(our) advice…
Funny, I ran into Andy Katz at O’Hare yesterday as well. He was on the phone so I just said Go Illini ! and kept walking.
 
#418      
Rick Pizzo (B1G Network) on my flight to Columbus this morning.
I told him don’t sleep on RJ. 🤣
He said “yeah nobody talking about him!”
Let’s see if he takes my(our) advice…

Pizzo crap if he doesn't like RJ. Goof.
 
#419      
He said the 2 things I have been thinking all summer. Coleman might take a step up but expecting a huge jump is just silly. And, point guard is a concern. I keep getting people telling me to relax about it but you heard what Goodman said and he was at practice. Epps is not a point guard and the only other true point guard is a true freshman. Just really wish we had another point guard on this roster.
Goode's really a 2.....but he could be our point guard if necessary....not much different than what he does for us at the 2 spot....:rolleyes: also per Goodman's 1 or 2 practices...they're getting acclimated with each other and it's early....I'm waiting for the season before making any judgments on Epps at the point....
 
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