TSJ......March 2024.
Illini Basketball 2024-2025
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DevILLDawg
- Meredosia, Illinois
People have memory-holed the Monster chugging wild man...Matthew Mayer could get HOT. He was streaky as all get-out but he had a stretch in Jan-Feb 2023 that got us an at-large bid into the tournament.
He was streaky both ways and sometimes just played terrible launching up bad 3s and taking possessions away from TSJ. Not to mention his defensive plan to let guys drive past him and try to get a block. He won us a few games, like the Texas game, but also lost us his fair share.
robertgoulet
IL Board Resident Crooner
- Austin, TX
Not sure about the best but I liked seeing Jamar go on a heater just bc I loved his jumper.
Cory Bradford possibly
I don't think Amani would even be sniffing the floor on this roster tbh. He would be buried behind Ivisic and Morez.
He isn't mobile enough to guard on the perimeter and he isn't a good enough shooter to really stretch the floor.
The guy from last years team that could really help this years team in place of Ben is Coleman. I know he came back late and talked about not wanting to take minutes from guys that committed but this team would be loaded(a legitimate national championship contender)with Coleman in Ben's spot.
They also created the spot at the 4 that Coleman wanted. Playing next to true bigs in Ivisic and Morez and could have 5 shooters on the floor if Coleman is playing the 5. Coleman got paid but I think he would be a lot happier playing for the Illini right now instead of the dumpster fire going on in Manhattan.
I can't really blame Mayer when that team just had no offense in the half court so it heavily relied on Mayer who was really miscast in that role.
Mayer could shoot(38% on difficult attempts before a late season cold stretch) and he was a capable defender, rebounder, and rim protector when he was dialed in. I would have killed to have Mayer on last years team in the Rodgers/Guerrier roles. Domask, Shannon, Mayer, Rodgers/Guerrier, Coleman would have been an absurdly big and athletic lineup.
On another note, is Mayer playing professionally at all still?
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
Brandon Paul against top 5 Ohio State. Went for 43. Serious heater in that game.
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
According to Wikipedia,
Texas Legends (2024)
On March 1, 2024, Mayer was traded to the Texas Legends in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick.On July 11, 2024, Mayer signed with the Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya of the B.League. On September 13, 2024, his contract was terminated.
In January of 2006, the year after the run to the title game, Dee Brown scored 34 of the Illini's 60 points in a win over Michigan State. He wasn't just a one-man fast break, but a one-man offense that night. He went 7-for-13 from beyond the arc, hitting all sorts of deep shots with defenders draped over him. Izzo tried everything he could to stop Dee, but he was unstoppable. It was an amazing thing to see in a game where both teams combined for only 110 points.
That '06 team is one of the more under appreciated Illini teams, mostly because they got upset in the second round and are often compared directly to one of the best teams in modern history.
If Rich McBride had gotten his shot off a millisecond sooner against Penn St., that team would've had a share of the B1G title. (Why is it always Penn St.?)
It's also one of six Illini teams to finish the season top 10 in KenPom. For reference, here are the others:
2002: (8) 23.21
2003: (5) 24.47
2005: (2) 32.68
2006: (9) 23.20
2021: (4) 29.06
2024: (10) 24.53
I'm sure to get stoned (in a Biblical way) for this, but I have nothing but respect for Coach Weber. That 2004-05 season was just magical. Many fans would trade their right (fill in any part of dual anatomy) to reach a title game, and he did that for the only time in Illini history. Yes, he was using Self's recruits...but if memory serves, he had to re-recruit some of them when Self departed. And, as you note, the next season also was very entertaining. I'll agree it was time for a change, and I won't get into the "what-ifs" (IDKWTI, car crash) that ultimately derailed his tenure (guess I did go there), but his teams provided me with some of my best Illini memories.
Bigtex
- DFW
Lot of respect for Coach Weber but it was time for him to go unfortunately the hire of Coach Groce was even worse. The good years with another coaches recruits and the lean years (38-33 PSU) for both recruiting and scoring.
Coach Groce instilled an appreciation for how bad things can get for a quality program lacking adequate leadership.
DICKnaggie
- Champaign
You would think at some point young players would see the advantages of Euro-style preparation versus the various shades of travel/club ball here, where there is often little to no coaching. I'd love to see a bit of the former rub off on the latter.
You forgot about Domask & TSJ already?
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
Since we are on the subject of "heaters", I have a belief in basketball that you absolutely should feed the hot hand. I call the NBA Jam rule. If someone makes 2 baskets in a row, you better find them a 3rd and if they make that you make sure they continue to have opportunities to make decisions with the ball because the defense is going to focus on them so much.
What say you?
What say you?
I agree and I also hate it.
So many bad possessions result from forced heat checks. But a true heater can really tilt the game.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Weber was a solid coach, but (IMHO) 3 things got in the way of long term success here;
1) Loyalty to his assistants when he clearly needed an upgrade
2) Lack of recruiting mainly due to #1
3) Inability to make adjustments to his coaching style based on his available personnel
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
#2 was primarily due to an unwillingness to “play the game” when it came to recruiting, while other programs had no problem in the so called gray area.
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