Illini Basketball 2025-2026

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#276      
Mobi
thefalcon5 said:
anyone expecting Andrej to be TSJ or Ayo from day one was fooling themselves.

That being said there’s no reason he can’t lead this team in PPG and be one of their best players. You don’t avg 18 pts on a P5 team because you get lucky. Don’t care that it was Cal. He’ll be fine.
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I honestly hope Andrey is as good as Domask or perhaps a little bit better.
 
#277      
Mobi
RollChief said:
In exactly one month from now we'll be 3 days away from the ISU exhibition game and the unofficial start of basketball season. Pretty cool if you ask me, even if Stoj shoots 32% instead of 34% from 3
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I just hope he can play healthily at this point with any kind of 3 pt%.
 
#278      
Illiniforlife
Here’s what I’ll also say—and @Indy Illini Fan or @LvilleILL can correct me if I’m wrong—but I’ve been told by my source that Tyler and Hammer are the ones essentially running the program right now. Personally, I’m not thrilled about that, but that’s what I was told.


I was also told that Hammer said Keaton is a one-and-done player and could be one of, if not the best, players. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that—not because I doubt my source, but because I don’t trust Hammer’s ability to evaluate talent. He’s out here offering a bunch of 3-star guys, when, with our NIL support and program prestige, we should be targeting 4- and 5-star players.
 
#279      
the juiceman cometh
Illiniforlife said:
Here’s what I’ll also say—and @Indy Illini Fan or @LvilleILL can correct me if I’m wrong—but I’ve been told by my source that Tyler and Hammer are the ones essentially running the program right now. Personally, I’m not thrilled about that, but that’s what I was told.


I was also told that Hammer said Keaton is a one-and-done player and could be one of, if not the best, players. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that—not because I doubt my source, but because I don’t trust Hammer’s ability to evaluate talent. He’s out here offering a bunch of 3-star guys, when, with our NIL support and program prestige, we should be targeting 4- and 5-star players.
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Lol what!? Your "source" has got to be messing with you. I have a hard time believing that a guy that has singularly devoted his life's work to winning basketball games would just decide he no longer takes any pride in or has any accountability for his job and just turn it over to his two youngest assistants, and I also have a hard time believing experienced assistants like OA and GA would just see this happen and go along with it.

But let's for a minute assume this is absurd rumor is true. If a 29-year-old was able to handle running a top Big Ten program, and coached said program to two consecutive tournaments including an Elite Eight run, wouldn't the response to be to lock up this coaching savant to a long term deal?
 
#282      
BretMyBeachHouse
Illiniforlife said:
Here’s what I’ll also say—and @Indy Illini Fan or @LvilleILL can correct me if I’m wrong—but I’ve been told by my source that Tyler and Hammer are the ones essentially running the program right now. Personally, I’m not thrilled about that, but that’s what I was told.


I was also told that Hammer said Keaton is a one-and-done player and could be one of, if not the best, players. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that—not because I doubt my source, but because I don’t trust Hammer’s ability to evaluate talent. He’s out here offering a bunch of 3-star guys, when, with our NIL support and program prestige, we should be targeting 4- and 5-star players.
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Seems legit. Any chance a Euro league swoops in and grabs Wagler before the season starts?
 
#283      
21ChampaignSt
Illiniforlife said:
Here’s what I’ll also say—and @Indy Illini Fan or @LvilleILL can correct me if I’m wrong—but I’ve been told by my source that Tyler and Hammer are the ones essentially running the program right now. Personally, I’m not thrilled about that, but that’s what I was told.


I was also told that Hammer said Keaton is a one-and-done player and could be one of, if not the best, players. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that—not because I doubt my source, but because I don’t trust Hammer’s ability to evaluate talent. He’s out here offering a bunch of 3-star guys, when, with our NIL support and program prestige, we should be targeting 4- and 5-star players.
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I don't doubt that you have a source but something is getting lost in translation between the source, your source, and you. This all sounds like a drunken ramble that your source heard and took to heart.

And what does "running the program right now" even mean? Does "right now" mean holding down the fort during the dead period? Does "running the program" mean they're just coordinating schedules and making sure the Gatorade gets delivered on time or does it mean they're in charged of personnel decisions, scheme and philosophy, booster relations, etc.?
 
#286      
IlliniFan42
Based on it seeming like I hear either Tyler or Zach's name in every high school recruitment, perhaps they're in charge of that pipeline while Orlando and Geoff handle the overseas pipeline?
 
#288      
RollChief
ChiTown said:
During the offseason it’s never a dull moment on this board.
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Summer is probably the most dull moment in time on this board, a time of full news destitution where the only thing left to post (and therefore the only thing posted) is nonsense
 
#289      
NarrowJ
As far as recruiting:

Brad -> top priority recruits, deals/speaks with all of them though
O -> top priority recruits + europe
Geoff -> mainly europe now
Hamer -> lower priority recruits, ambassador-type tasks
Tyler -> ambassador-type tasks

That's how I understand it

EDIT: No clue how Crocker fits in here, he's likely not recruiting-focused since they want him revamping the defense
 
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#290      
logjam
Illiniforlife said:
Here’s what I’ll also say—and @Indy Illini Fan or @LvilleILL can correct me if I’m wrong—but I’ve been told by my source that Tyler and Hammer are the ones essentially running the program right now. Personally, I’m not thrilled about that, but that’s what I was told.


I was also told that Hammer said Keaton is a one-and-done player and could be one of, if not the best, players. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that—not because I doubt my source, but because I don’t trust Hammer’s ability to evaluate talent. He’s out here offering a bunch of 3-star guys, when, with our NIL support and program prestige, we should be targeting 4- and 5-star players.
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It's summer workouts time...coaches have limited amount of practices they can be at until a certain date...doesn't this happen every year?
 
#292      
DICKnaggie
Fun note: tryouts for the basketball pep band were last night. My freshman son tried out and I'm so proud. Probably won't make it as a freshman but a great learning experience and it means we are that much closer to the opening of the season! ILL!
 
#293      
whatahack
mysterio2525 said:
i was told there would be no math.
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Occams Razor find X.jpg
 
#295      
Fly Illini Fly!
Illiniforlife said:
Here’s what I’ll also say—and @Indy Illini Fan or @LvilleILL can correct me if I’m wrong—but I’ve been told by my source that Tyler and Hammer are the ones essentially running the program right now. Personally, I’m not thrilled about that, but that’s what I was told.


I was also told that Hammer said Keaton is a one-and-done player and could be one of, if not the best, players. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that—not because I doubt my source, but because I don’t trust Hammer’s ability to evaluate talent. He’s out here offering a bunch of 3-star guys, when, with our NIL support and program prestige, we should be targeting 4- and 5-star players.
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Brad literally said himself that CC will be running the defense. Quite hefty newsbreak from someone with little to no insider-credible history.
 
#296      
IlliniFan42
The roster page updated and now the assistant coaches have additional job titles. I've never seen them do this before, so they must really want to spell it out for people:
  • Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
    Geoff Alexander
  • Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator
    Tyler Underwood
  • Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator
    Camryn Crocker
  • Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development
    Zach Hamer
 
#297      
21ChampaignSt
IlliniFan42 said:
The roster page updated and now the assistant coaches have additional job titles. I've never seen them do this before, so they must really want to spell it out for people:
  • Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
    Geoff Alexander
  • Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator
    Tyler Underwood
  • Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator
    Camryn Crocker
  • Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development
    Zach Hamer
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Interesting. BU has a new title, too.
"The Richmond Family Endowed Men's Head Basketball Coach."
 
#298      
CoalCity
IlliniFan42 said:
The roster page updated and now the assistant coaches have additional job titles. I've never seen them do this before, so they must really want to spell it out for people:
  • Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
    Geoff Alexander
  • Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator
    Tyler Underwood
  • Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator
    Camryn Crocker
  • Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development
    Zach Hamer
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Thought we had 5 AC's. Where's OA on this list?
 
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