lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
I believe coach has mentioned he doesn’t like pre-season tourneys. Maybe because you can stack up 2-3 losses in 2-3 days? Not sure his exact reasoning
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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honestly wouldn't mind to see Underwood teams face multiple tough teams with very little time to scout in between. we have been a notoriously weak on the scouting front of our second round teams imo.
every NCAA tourney loss, and almost all of them in the second round, seem the same pattern. go down early, seem lost on what the opponent is doing to us and only finally find some semblance of consistency yet fall short eventually in the end because we can't overcome the initial deficit. to me that screams poor scouting and gameplan preparation in quick turnaround situations.
I've also seen that is the other team has us scouted well and our primary plan fails then we don't respond well and rarely have a change ready in those quick turnaround games.
Bigtex
- DFW
Tournament games need a slightly different mind set and agree would like to see 24-48 hour turnarounds
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Assuming he's doing full range of motion those are legit numbers. Especially the squat ( and even with safety squat bar which is actually tougher IMO). Bench isn't bad for having longer arms, too.
To be fair, we are not used to having even a remotely competitive football team for a longer span of time than we had in basketball, so it feels weird.Illinois Basketball fans normalizing getting pumped for basketball season in August.
Illinois Football:
They're expensive to participate in.
You don't control who you face, so your opponent(s) might not be worth the trouble.
You could end up losing to a mid-major who caught fire and tank your ranking for the rest of the season (and then that mid-major goes to like the Elite Eight so turns out your ranking shouldn't have tanked but it's too late now.)
I'm sure there's other reasons I didn't name.
Hardly anyone is playing in those this year. Mostly just a bunch of middling power 5 teams and some mid major teams.
Maui field: Seton Hall, NC State, USC, Boise State, Washington State, Texas, Arizona State, Chaminade
Battle 4 Atlantis field: Colorado State, Saint Mary’s, South Florida, Vanderbilt, VCU, Western Kentucky, Wichita State
I’d guess the quick turnaround in games diminishes the number of teaching opportunities to some degree. By the time you get to some of the tape, it’s outdated to a degree, and dissecting multiple games in one sitting also diminishes the value.
…plus you are taking a bunch of19-22 year old kids with a lot of money to locations often known for partying…what could go wrong?
(Obviously plenty of those opportunities on campus, but you’d hope to have an established routine and more accountability within the community in which you play.)
Legitimate question, so not being a wise !!!. What does an impressive max squat and max press over last year do for his game? The jump in strength at his age/year in school, help him shoot the ball better? His physicality has never, ever been in question.
So, what about this makes him more of a beast, with results, over expiring?
sacraig
- The desert
Improved muscle strength, if trained correctly, leads to all sorts of things, like better stability on his feet and ability to cut harder, etc. As long as he's training like an athlete and not one of those dudes in the world's strongest man competitions on ESPN8, then the strength training will only make him more agile and able to be more physical. And I have no reason to doubt that Fletch is taking exactly that approach.
When I hear a basketball player squatting 500 lbs and closing in on pressing 300 lbs.....that seems like someone who is trying to bulk up and beef up than someone who's working on becoming more agile and quick their feet.
Fletch is the professional and I'm sure he's taking the right approach. Just seems like an approach Bielema would be pushing.
DICKnaggie
- Champaign
Ya, that squat is impressive but the bench is just decent comparatively. That said, squat is a way better metric for overall strength.
I sort of agree. It's nice that he is strong, but his strength has never been in question.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Think of Terrence Shannon from his Sr year to his Super Senior year. He added strength and was a force on his way to the basket every time. Not saying that Bam will be TSJ, but the strength can certainly make a difference in his game.
sacraig
- The desert
blackdog
- Champaign
It was in question though. His first two years at Arizona he almost never drove the ball because he wasn't strong enough to be able to take contact. It wasn't until this past year that he had that physicality to his game and it took him most of the year to figure out how to use it.
LouHenson
- Naples Florida
I would think it is the same reason that as you age you really need to do strength training? It leads to so much better balance and coordination in every aspect of your life. I know that in my 60’s my doctor says it is way more important than the cardio I would rather do, and when I was your was told was better for me and my heart?
sacraig
- The desert
Ha, I'd much rather do strength than cardio. To each their own.
thanks for sharing. i'm seeing illinois and wisconsin with 3 players, and michigan and purdue with 2 (and maybe others like msu and the cali schools, but i think those two teams are the favorites). doesn't necessarily mean much but good to see our best players being recognized.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Purdue has three — Smith, Loyer and TKR.
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