Illini Basketball 2023-2024

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#51      

727ill

7
727ill
illini0440 said:
I hope everyone got Illinois at +3000 to win the B1G a few days ago…..
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#52      

IllGuardU

I
IllGuardU
Roundball Sage said:
What the Illini seem to have this season is something that every coach talks alot about and longs for... but often without finding. That is, a group of guys that really play well together in a special way and honestly care about and like each other.

You can’t force this. You can’t really teach this. This is just magic when it happens. Some kind of secret sauce that everyone wants and few ever find. And there may never be a recipe found for it because you can’t find the ingredients to Magic in any cookbook anywhere.

And with this season’s crop of Our Beloveds... not only have they seemed to forge this brotherhood both on the court and off – but they have done so as a bunch of separate pieces that just got assembled for this season. And only this one season.

Some of these valuable human pieces were already here. But several were not and came from diverse parts of the country and different programs. And there were some pieces that are not here any more (outside of Shannon). And that opened up spots for the great symphony of guys who have come together this season that are making sweet roundball music.

The one thing you CAN control is what the Illini brain trust has done. Seek out guys that you think can come together like this. That is something you do with effort and insight and good recruiting. And then, coaching.

This is such a beautiful game when it is played with great skill at a high level. And no team can function this way every single game during the course of a season. But you hope for – and work for – being able to function this way most of the time. And best of all, when Dance Season comes around and you have to be at your best if you are going anywhere pleasant.

So beyond all the countless individual times up and down the floor... and the individual game results as they are tallied one by one... take some time to just sit back and feel the magic of how a group of guys can play like a finely tuned machine when they are at their best. But better than a machine because machines don’t care about each other. (Sorry, A.I.). But these guys do.

It’s times like these and guys like this that make one extra proud to be an Illini fan.

A big thank you to them... the coaches... and to the Realm of Magic for giving us what we hope will be an epic season.
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Beautifully written
 
#56      

Mobi

M
Mobi
illinoisgrad1990 said:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1742928119118602591

Look at that big beautiful orange I in the magic quadrant... this team is putting the "slow starts" behind us and it is just one of many things to love about them.
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We are in the right quadrant. And truthfully, looking at Purdue's location, that's why I still don't like their chances in the tourney unless they improve their defense. 2nd week? Yes. Final four? I doubt. They are dead if somebody shuts down their 3 pt shooting.
 
#58      

Bogey99

Bogey99
Bogey99
Mobi said:
We are in the right quadrant. And truthfully, looking at Purdue's location, that's why I still don't like their chances in the tourney unless they improve their defense. 2nd week? Yes. Final four? I doubt. They are dead if somebody shuts down their 3 pt shooting.
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That only covers the first four minutes of each half, not the whole game.
 
#59      

Mobi

M
Mobi
Bogey99 said:
That only covers the first four minutes of each half, not the whole game.
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Interesting. Still a good place to be. Does anybody has a chart like this for the whole games?
 
#60      

Shockey19

Shockey19
Shockey19
Mobi said:
Interesting. Still a good place to be. Does anybody has a chart like this for the whole games?
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That would essentially be KenPom rankings, which has Purdue at #2 in the country and us at #8. Only wrinkle is that KenPom adjusts for opponent strength.
 
#63      

Doc I

D
Warrenville, IL
Doc I
Not getting any love or respect from Sullivan in the Tribune this morning. Don't know how to give a link but he still sees us behind Purdue, Ohio State, and Wisconsin in the BIG 10
 
#66      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
Goatsmilk said:
Why is Dain not getting more playing time?
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In short, he’s a traditional back to the basket big man. We are playing a wide open NBA style. A traditional big man clogs up our driving lanes and limits our ability to switch on defense.
Basically the same reason NCAA All American, Kofi is playing overseas instead of the NBA.
Dain is a really good player, but you have to commit to a certain style for him to be effective Notice when he’s in the game everything runs through him.. It’s not what we do best.
 
#67      

21ChampaignSt

21ChampaignSt
21ChampaignSt
I'm a Dain fan. He's a likeable kid and is so skilled around the rim. Plus I just like yelling, "Dain DAINJAAA" at our games after he throws one down. For the first several games, I held to the belief that we needed to get him more minutes.

But the truth is, he's the odd man out. That doesn't mean he's not good. He just doesn't fit our style of play anymore. I hope he doesn't get too discouraged and can enjoy the ride and appreciate his place on this team.

I still believe he can flirt with an all conference team at the high major level in the right situation.
 
#68      

WyattEarp

WyattEarp
WyattEarp
Emerson Bigguns said:
In short, he’s a traditional back to the basket big man. We are playing a wide open NBA style. A traditional big man clogs up our driving lanes and limits our ability to switch on defense.
Basically the same reason NCAA All American, Kofi is playing overseas instead of the NBA.
Dain is a really good player, but you have to commit to a certain style for him to be effective Notice when he’s in the game everything runs through him.. It’s not what we do best.
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Yeah, the big one IMO…and the fact that the Dain-less lineup allows us to exploit specific matchups offensively is this team’s bread 🍞 and butter 🧈.

Dain has LOTS of tools…and would be the best player on many a team.
But he hasnt been money in the bank against bigger stronger BIGS enough to warrant Undy changing gears and building around Dain when the other unit is firing on all cylinders. consistent 2-3 minutes spurts/stints are certainly nice though…

In other words his defensive liability coupled with his( mostly proficient yet NOT utterly dominant, old-school skillset) causes him to lose out in the PT raffle.
What a curveball of a second-unit weapon to have if need be though, right?! Our main Dain-less lineup is a coverage nightmare for most teams. So there ya are.
 
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#69      

Illini 993

I
Illini 993
For the insiders, or others who have watched practices, comment on whether Ty shoots any jump shots in practice? If so, is his shot really bad, or just not ready for prime time?
 
#72      

DeonThomas

DeonThomas
South Carolina
DeonThomas
Best Illini basketball transfers ever (UPDATED):


Tier 1:
1. Kenny Battle
2. Ken Norman
3. Terrance Shannon Jr.
4. Marcus Domask (and moving up?)
5. Rayvonte Rice

Tier 2:
6. Quincy Guerrier
7. Andres Feliz
8. Alfonso Plummer
9. Derek Holcomb
10. Justin Harmon

Key takeaway = we had a pretty good off-season last year!
 
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