Resist arrest at your own peril! Congrats damonte!
Illini Basketball 2023-2024
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Govoner Vaugn Fan
- New Orleans
I assume he will head up the Peoria CrimeStoppers program?
Just loved Andres Feliz. Tough as nails. Sure wish we could have had him for more than 2 years.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
I wish he was still on the team.
drsmitty74
- Rochester
Only thing better, would be for him to be a cop in Iowa City......oh how fun would that be?
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Kansas, Marquette, Duke and Purdue lead our men's college basketball preseason Top 25
Tennessee, Michigan State and defending champion UConn also are among the top teams heading into the season.theathletic.com
Paywall article but Athletic has Illinois at 14th in their pre-season top 25.
"Brad Underwood once again had a solid year in the portal, headlined by All-Missouri Valley wing Marcus Domask, who will likely slide in the spot of Matthew Mayer. Mayer could score, but Domask is more of a connector and a better fit alongside a player like Shannon. Underwood also added Quincy Guerrier (6-8 forward from Oregon) and Justin Harmon (6-4 guard from Utah Valley). During the Illini’s foreign trip, which Domask missed because of a hamstring injury, a lineup of those two with Shannon, Coleman Hawkins and sophomore Ty Rodgers played really well together. Rodgers, who is a Swiss Army knife, played point guard on the trip, a spot where he really fits and allows Underwood to play a huge perimeter and flood the floor with wings. Hawkins can also initiate from the center spot and is a really tough cover, especially when his 3-ball is hitting. Underwood can also go really big and play through the post when he puts Dain Dianja on the floor.
Shooting was the problem last year, and the Illini need Hawkins, in particular, to shoot it better. If both he and Shannon play to their talent, this team could be Top 10 good."
Funny that a prominent publication has us at 14 in their preseason poll and it garners no convo. Contrast that to members on this board thinking we will struggle to make the tournament. We might not have the point guard we all wanted, but we still have more talent than last year and a pretty darn high ceiling.
Not to mention Joe Lunardi has us as a 5 seed in the off-season bracket which would essentially mean a top 20 ranking.
I think a lot of us still have questions and are waiting to see how the team does against at mediocre+ opponents. There are enough open questins that I can see this team anywhere from 10th to 50th.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Comparing the Athletic's opinion regarding the Illini this year and what some members here think on that same matter is a no brainer in favor of The Athletic and why I have used the ignore button at a dizzying pace the last 2 years..........
I agree that all opinions have merit no matter how senseless they are .....Just because someone has an opinion about something doesn't mean it is accurate.....I apply this theory to myself also as I have my own thoughts that are not for everyone........
It is the privilege here to RESPECTFULLY disagree with another poster , but it is mindless fodder to think your opinion carries more weight than a publication that does it for a living.............Ego is a subtle thing that has been the downfall of many intelligent folks regarding giving their opinions on any thought............Think before you post is a tried and true way to get your thoughts across the board and have an impact regarding a subject.............
I shudder to think what opinions will be posted in the upcoming FB and BB Game threads.......I really really do............
JMHO.............................
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Our defense is going to be one of the top in the country. We are incredibly long and athletic. We have one guy who might get minutes that I have concerns about on that end of the floor and it's DGL. Quite literally every other guy we are running out there is a dog. We should have the type of defense that will get a ton of transition opportunities and the athletes to take advantage of it. Our floor is far higher than 50th, even with our suspect shooting. And I have hopes that a healthy Luke, along with Marcus, and simply having players on the court actually willing to run the plays will alleviate that issue.
We are solid defensively in 4 of the 5 positions. It is really hard for any defense to hold up if one of the opposing guards is getting free reign.
Questions:
Ty: Does he have the handles to bring it up the floor under pressure, even with some help? Does the team have enough passing to run an offense with a PG in training on the floor? (The team defense with Ty at PG will be outstanding.) If Ty becomes a good PG (not even great, just good), this is top 10 team.
DGL: Is his defense at least serviceable?
Harmon: Can or, more importantly, will Harmon play defense, nevermind Defense? In the Spain game that was shared, Harmon, not only got beat on defensive every play, he didn't seem to try or care. On offense, his entire demeanor changed. He focused and orchestrated things nicely. Was this an anomaly? [His behavior put him behind the scrubs IMO. MM warning.]
Well, I wouldn't be surprised if I was on your ignore list, but I'd say it's mindless fodder to think the opinions in the Athletic or SI, etc are that much better than those of a bunch of posters.
And it's absolute naivete to think that the Athletic or any other magazine exists to provide accurate analysis or information. They exist to get clicks.
This season is a ton of question marks. If we are coached well, I think we have a high ceiling and could have a memorable year. But there are plenty of scenarios where things don't go well. And quite frankly, when it comes to how the PG position plays out, there's truly no one, from BU to the halls of the Athletic that really has much of a clue. We're all just waiting.
There's a new Sherrif in town and his name is.........
This should be in the terms and conditions.
Also glad Amani cleaned it up but would really line to see Ty make more layups.
He got all the way to the rim but just missed the shot give him a break
DMFW
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