Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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Absolutely. Though the narrative-building comment I made was more of a general response/reaction to the rest of the context of the discussion, which was then reinforced by the speculation that nobody except Illinois wanted him (which I think is a huge stretch: Johnson is a very good player despite all of the folks saying otherwise).
If we believe it was his only offer, that would actually just add to my own speculation that it was the money.
So which is more believable- Johnson wanted more money or Brad doesn’t know how to develop players?
the national
- the Front Range
Well, there could be multiple factors.
Of course BU has been successful developing players. But not all players have developed. Entirely possible that Morez didn't believe he would develop under BU.
I really felt that after his freshman year Giorgi didn't really develop as an example. Not every system or roster is ideal for every player.
I wonder if the reason KW may start the ISU game is twofold: one, MP was the last to arrive and practice with the team and may still need some time to learn the ropes, so to speak, and two, MP has still not been cleared yet. Now, that will not matter for the exhibition game, but if he isn’t cleared by Nov. 3rd, he will not be playing. So, it would make sense to have KW start the ISU game so he has some experience at the point for the first official game of the season, Nov. 3rd.
Lol at Iowa's 365 KenPom ranking in Adjusted Tempo.
Maybe McCollum had to promise to run the four corners offense to get the job.
Maybe McCollum had to promise to run the four corners offense to get the job.
MDchicago
- Lake Norman NC
Great interview of Keaton's HS coach (and state championship winner) talking about his play. E.g., Keaton doesn't get sped up, doesn't turn the ball over, high IQ, our best decision maker, team record 3FG%, "his advanced stats are insane for a high school player", high ceiling, etc.
Bigtex
- DFW
You completely misread my response. maybe others. Understand he was top 35 recruit and has been playing on various USA teams. He and his camp definitely had some level of frustration during 2024/2025 season regarding expectations and playing time. As a result, IMO hurt feelings and I am gonna show them, had him look around and take another offer. Sure money played a role in final decision but so did Underwood's use of him last season. IMO Johnson is going to be a good college played but I don't think he is the next Podz who will make a big splash at his next school. This is not an underwood development concern for me. As I understand it, Illinois upped the NIL offer meaning they saw Johnson in the Illinois future. If it wasn't enough, then adios.
Also I think it is a bad look to negotiate new NIL and then move on but that sounds similar to Jerry Jones & Parsons negotiations saying Dallas had a commitment from Parsons but then his agent got involved.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
his penchant for drawing whistles was directly correlated to his PT, and he's a late game liability because he's such a poor FT shooter. I get the gruntle, but Morez and company need a little self awareness here.
am looking forward to seeing how Dusty unlocks him
The only thing that we DO know is that Johnson signed a $1M offer subsequent to the regular season ending to return to Illinois the following season.
My original response was to a post speculating that Johnson transferred because he was unhappy in how he was used here. In order to make this initial speculation more believable, folks have added additional speculation that no other programs were interested in him in the portal market (which is absolutely silly, jmo) while also completely dismissing my own speculation that he just took a better money offer (which seems Michigan offered him twice what we gave him, so this is much less silly and more believable to me).
EDIT: Most plausible explanation to me is that Johnson's camp was unhappy about playing time early on, then by end of regular season were bought in again (at least enough to sign the $1M offer to return), and then the Kentucky game happened. I think saying either (a) money wasn't a factor or (b) no schools were interested in him in the portal, or geezus both of those things, in order to exacerbate the severity of their unrest with the staff begins to make things a little far-fetched for me.
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robertgoulet
IL Board Resident Crooner
- Austin, TX
I love the Insiders but I also remember the Alex Legion preseason hype train. We will see how he is when the lights come on.
Nothing against Johnson or Dusty but I for one am not going to be rooting for them. I don't like Michigan. Period. I don't like the players. I don't like the coach nor their program. I don't care if they are playing against Duke. As a matter of fact, my disdain for Michigan is lower than either Iowa or Indiana. As far as the Illini are concerned, I think this could potentially be the team with the highest ceiling that we have had since before B.U. got here. I know everyone was pumped about AYO and Kofi including me but this teams seems to have more depth and may be able to play different styles depending on the need. I love it when a big man can either pop a three or go down and score in the post. We have that. And the schedule? This could not have been imagined 6-7 years back. This program has had it low points but man I am sooo pumped for this season. The only question that I have is can we stay HEALTHY? If so, I like our chances to compete against anyone.
Many upvotes for this posthis penchant for drawing whistles was directly correlated to his PT, and he's a late game liability because he's such a poor FT shooter. I get the gruntle, but Morez and company need a little self awareness here.
am looking forward to seeing how Dusty unlocks him
What has me bullish on Keaton is we will likely be fine to more than fine if he’s what, our third or fourth option?
For better or worse, last year’s team was built around Kasparas and Will, and we rode the highs and lows of five star frosh.
This year we are built around Kylan, Tomi and Andrej, and probably Mahailo. If we get 15+ from Keaton on a given night, great. But I don’t think we will need 15+ from Keaton every night to be successful.
For better or worse, last year’s team was built around Kasparas and Will, and we rode the highs and lows of five star frosh.
This year we are built around Kylan, Tomi and Andrej, and probably Mahailo. If we get 15+ from Keaton on a given night, great. But I don’t think we will need 15+ from Keaton every night to be successful.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I think one thing we can certainly take away from all this Morez talk is that no “contract” that any player signs will ever be enforceable as long as the schools and the NCAA try to skirt around the actual pay for play model. If Morez did indeed make a deal with Illinois then go ahead and sign a deal with Michigan, Illinois wouldn’t have a legal case since any name, image and likeness deal wouldn’t be linked to his actually playing at Illinois.
In theory, had illinois wanted to challenge the move, it would still have access to using his name, image and likeness even though he’s now playing at Michigan. It’s just a messy, unnecesssry complication that could be fixed by making the players employees and having collective bargaining.
In theory, had illinois wanted to challenge the move, it would still have access to using his name, image and likeness even though he’s now playing at Michigan. It’s just a messy, unnecesssry complication that could be fixed by making the players employees and having collective bargaining.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Muck fichigan,,muck forez.drop
Not Illini, but I just need to 'lol' publicly about the most transactional coach in the history of the sport saying he will retire if he ever becomes so...
www.espn.com
Calipari: Will retire before becoming 'transactional' coach
John Calipari has no plans to leave college basketball but said if he can no longer build relationships with players and do the job the way he wants, he'll exit the sport.
I'm glad that Cal is finally stepping up to draw the ethical line that this sport really needs.Not Illini, but I just need to 'lol' publicly about the most transactional coach in the history of the sport saying he will retire if he ever becomes so...
Calipari: Will retire before becoming 'transactional' coach
John Calipari has no plans to leave college basketball but said if he can no longer build relationships with players and do the job the way he wants, he'll exit the sport.
sacraig
- The desert
My own personal theory: Johnson (or his camp) were mad about his utilization during the season (thinking it wasn't allowing him to develop the way he wanted), but not mad enough to leave without another viable offer. I don't know what Michigan paid him relative to what we would have, but I think he probably would have left as long as Michigan's bag was at least comparable to ours.
And yes, that's my own speculation based on what Morez et al. said publicly and what our insiders have said over time. All filtered through a hazy memory and my orange-tinted glasses.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
It's getting to a point where we desperately need a 'Former Illini in College Basketball 25-26' thread to quarantine all these Rez posts. We have so many fascinating storylines with this team, but y'all are beating this horse to absolute death. It's Podz all over again.
I don’t think we have anyone to slow down Morez when we play Michigan, I assume he’ll get a lot of playing time that game, bring intensity and try to prove a point.
Good luck. This is the same board that still brings up Brandin Podziemski regularly.
Look, Morez wouldn't continue to take shots at our staff unless he was unhappy with how things went down. He continues to publicly trash the IL program's ability to "evolve his game" or allow him to "expand his role." Watch the video that was posted directly before my post #360 and listen to what he himself says.
The poster who shared the video asked for "Thoughts on the Morez quote" from the video. I gave a response stating that he may have been unhappy with his perception of how he was handled here BASED ON HIS QUOTES IN THE VIDEO (that I directly quoted above.)
That was then labeled a "wild theory" as to why he ultimately accepted UM's NIL offer even after accepting ours. LISTEN TO MOREZ's OWN WORDS. HE CONTINUES TO SAY HE LEFT TO BE BETTER DEVELOPED (in his opinion). Either that is the reason, or he is lying and it was all about money. If he did, indeed leave for his own stated reason and is not lying, by default, he was unhappy with his situation here. It's not a great mystery if you listen to the man's own words!
The poster who shared the video asked for "Thoughts on the Morez quote" from the video. I gave a response stating that he may have been unhappy with his perception of how he was handled here BASED ON HIS QUOTES IN THE VIDEO (that I directly quoted above.)
That was then labeled a "wild theory" as to why he ultimately accepted UM's NIL offer even after accepting ours. LISTEN TO MOREZ's OWN WORDS. HE CONTINUES TO SAY HE LEFT TO BE BETTER DEVELOPED (in his opinion). Either that is the reason, or he is lying and it was all about money. If he did, indeed leave for his own stated reason and is not lying, by default, he was unhappy with his situation here. It's not a great mystery if you listen to the man's own words!
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When did he take shots at the staff? I think you’re reading in to his comments far too much.
The only real information anyone has available is that he resigned with Illinois and then backed out of that commitment 3 weeks later.
Anything more is pure speculation. There’s no need to ALL CAPS SCREAM about this, though I admit I am a little disappointed you seem to be more of a Morez fan than an Illinois fan for whatever reason.
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