Illini Basketball 2023-2024

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#26      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
LvilleILL said:
22-9 or 23-8 if we stay healthy this year
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#29      

jjv0004

J
Greenville, SC
jjv0004
I still think there aren't enough shooters and lack of a true point guard will hurt. I think they go 19-12. I thought we would lose 5-6 last year so what do I know.
 
#30      

alaskaillini

A
alaskaillini
aaeismacgychel said:
You're more optimistic than me. I think we have a pretty tough schedule there with a rough stretch in January and another one to close out the season. I'm thinking between 12 and 14 losses. I predict:

Non-con: 8-3
B10: 11-9
BTT: 1-1

And we'll be clenching our butts hard on selection sunday.
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I see this as about our floor. I think there is only about a 10% chance we do worse than this. The ceiling is far harder to predict. I would say that there is about a 10% chance we do better than: 9-2 non-con, 14-6 conf. and 2-1 in BTT. So I guess I am predicting with 80% certainty that we are between 20-13 and 25-9 and going to NCAA tourney. I much prefer the higher, but if I were betting it would be closer to the lower end of that. I think the B1G is going to be tougher to win in than most people think. So put me down for 21-12 and a 6 seed.
 
#34      

IllinoisssssssVarsity

I
IllinoisssssssVarsity
Calvin said:
I agree with your point, but my guess is that defense and interior play will overcome some of the guard concerns and get a couple more wins.
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I think we see that we can consistently do that in the big ten. However, when we hit the tourney and play the SEC/BIG 12 type teams that can also defend us, we struggle.

Matt Mayers ridiculous individual performance and Jayden Epps clutch performance saved us in the regular season vs Texas last year when nobody else really did anything. We had none of that in the tourney and Ark was in control pretty much the whole game. If we can get a balanced attack from our guards/wings in the Tennessee game this year, I will have a little more hope.
 
#35      

mysterio2525

mysterio2525
mysterio2525
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
I think we see that we can consistently do that in the big ten. However, when we hit the tourney and play the SEC/BIG 12 type teams that can also defend us, we struggle.

Matt Mayers ridiculous individual performance and Jayden Epps clutch performance saved us in the regular season vs Texas last year when nobody else really did anything. We had none of that in the tourney and Ark was in control pretty much the whole game. If we can get a balanced attack from our guards/wings in the Tennessee game this year, I will have a little more hope.
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I had high hopes for both and thought Mayer had a run in the tourney in him. Unfortunately Mayer had a lot more step back than 3 towards the end of the season.
 
#40      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
ties will be resolved
Joel Goodson
Is Domask fully back from his injury? (practicing w/o limitations)

Love the additions. If anyone has the (a) skinny on who's looking good, how the team looks, the unwashed would truly appreciate it.

FWIW, I have a hunch that Shannon will be taking a 5th year leap. Nothing short of First Team AA should be the objective. Totally obtainable, IMO.
 
#42      

cjw1901

C
cjw1901
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
I think we see that we can consistently do that in the big ten. However, when we hit the tourney and play the SEC/BIG 12 type teams that can also defend us, we struggle.

Matt Mayers ridiculous individual performance and Jayden Epps clutch performance saved us in the regular season vs Texas last year when nobody else really did anything. We had none of that in the tourney and Ark was in control pretty much the whole game. If we can get a balanced attack from our guards/wings in the Tennessee game this year, I will have a little more hope.
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Yes, MM did go nuts offensively a few games (which we would not have won otherwise), but MM also had gaff games, where he seemed to do more harm than good. I honestly won't miss him much, and especially if Goode can stay healthy and we can find some other guys to contribute (Domask, Dainja, Hawkins, Harmon), then the Illini will be better off w/o MM.

To me personally, JE is different story entirely. I just REALLY liked the way Epps played. I loved how poised he was. I loved his ball handling, drives and layups (off the board with good touch and options to pass, if defenders leave their men to help out). Yeah, I will miss Epps, and I'm hoping the other guards (Rogers, Harmon, Harris, etc.) can somewhat fill Jayden's shoes, but they don't strike me as a replacement for him. Yeah, DGL and Moretti are closer in skillsets (true point guards), but I don't see either as ready for a big role this year.
 
#43      

Combo

C
Combo
Kendall Gill’s Uncle said:
I’ve got a feeling Harmon is going to be really good for this team and maybe a fan favorite. I could be completely wrong but I think hen may have a little Andre Felix to him.
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I like him, but he will have to fight for minutes, assuming most of his time is at the 2. Shannon is our starter there and our best player. And you know Sencire isn't going to back down from anyone.
 
#46      

PepeSilvia

P
PepeSilvia
cjw1901 said:
Yes, MM did go nuts offensively a few games (which we would not have won otherwise), but MM also had gaff games, where he seemed to do more harm than good. I honestly won't miss him much, and especially if Goode can stay healthy and we can find some other guys to contribute (Domask, Dainja, Hawkins, Harmon), then the Illini will be better off w/o MM.

To me personally, JE is different story entirely. I just REALLY liked the way Epps played. I loved how poised he was. I loved his ball handling, drives and layups (off the board with good touch and options to pass, if defenders leave their men to help out). Yeah, I will miss Epps, and I'm hoping the other guards (Rogers, Harmon, Harris, etc.) can somewhat fill Jayden's shoes, but they don't strike me as a replacement for him. Yeah, DGL and Moretti are closer in skillsets (true point guards), but I don't see either as ready for a big role this year.
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I don't think Epps was a true point guard. Was a two guard in a point guards body.

Also, I don't know what happened but he couldn't shoot down the stretch.
 
#47      

Kendall Gill’s Uncle

K
Kendall Gill’s Uncle
Combo said:
I like him, but he will have to fight for minutes, assuming most of his time is at the 2. Shannon is our starter there and our best player. And you know Sencire isn't going to back down from anyone.
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I know this isn’t the plan, but I’ve got a feeling we might see him playing some point guard. I’m not saying thats a good/bad thing, it’s just my uninformed feeling.
 
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