theNewGuy
- Dallas, TX
Someone listened to the illini inquirer podcast with LaTulip
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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Brad has said time and time again that he values all the things Jake does even if they don't show up in the box score. Ideally he makes 2-3 corner threes a game and that opens up the floor for everyone, but I think from a hustle standpoint and just his size, Brad will keep playing him.
I believe Davis will play more than some people think….one of Brads interviews, he made the comment about how valuable rebounding is and that Davis is one of the better rebounders on the team…if players don’t rebound then they will likely find the bench….Im paraphrasing, but that was the gest of BU’s comments
agree. I with a group of friends plan on opening a true Illini bar someday to address that gap but we're still in the daydream phase of that projectIt's surprising though given 1) we have enough folks to drive the Northwestern away game prices into the $100s every year (albeit much smaller arena), 2) we travel well, look at the crowds we bring to Vegas or NY for example, 3) Chicago is a huge metro area with a big in-state alumni base
I do not want to see another DMW Podz fiasco. Brad should have learned from that mistake
Brad also said that Fagbemi is the best athlete he ever coached. I just don’t see where Davis plays much, especially in bigger games.
All home games were not sold out, then?
Chicago.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
I just realized I never submitted my season prediction. I know this is cheating because I’ve already seen the team play, but here are my predictions:
9-2 non-con
15-5 conference
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2 seed B1GT
2-1 championship loss
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2 seed NCAAT
3-1 elite 8
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29-9 final record
9-2 non-con
15-5 conference
—
2 seed B1GT
2-1 championship loss
—
2 seed NCAAT
3-1 elite 8
—
29-9 final record
I like that you posted this but don't like the content. Can we get a reroll?
Good Morning, Illini Nation: Another injury update
Add Zvonimir Ivisic to list of Illinois players whose health is being watched carefully
I'm unh,No sir you can 3 or 4 more wins to that.The Illini have backups for backups with not a lot of drop-off and players that rise to the occasion. In example, Underwood challenges Mirko Bang to get more rebounds and he got 20.Texas Tech got stronger in the second half,Peja J went solo bucket monster on them.Boswell has been a grown man out there and he is only 20 years old.They are well conditioned and well coached.The right guys want a championship and the rest will follow...
We didn't know what the Balkans would do before but now that 2 of them have stepped up loudly (we know Peja J is Cali kid mostly lol.),the other have a standard to keep up with Two Serbs and 2 Croats are reunited and giving that once whole country something to share..... Nothing but a whole US national title would look better for them...I think it would be awesome... Because they ain't getting a hold medal too soon..lol
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Eh, as someone who has lived in the city for over six years and is a non-alum fan (so maybe an interesting perspective), I actually don't agree with this. I mean, first of all, we need to acknowledge that we simply cannot compare our "traction" to Michigan/MSU in Detroit, let alone Iowa with Des Moines ... we will NEVER get that type of support out of Chicagoland simply due to how different it is from those places. Chicago is way too big to funnel students "mostly" to Illinois, and alums of out-of-state schools are not pouring into metros like Milwaukee every single year. Our support in Chicago should be compared to Georgia in Atlanta or Rutgers/Syracuse in New York; even UCLA/USC in Los Angeles or Cal/Stanford in San Francisco are SO close (or literally in the city) that you're going to a bump there that a more classic state school should not expect. And when you look at Illini support in Chicago vs., say, Rutgers support in NYC ... we are much, much better. While casual fans who didn't go to a specific school mostly just focus on pro sports, there is at least SOME aspect of these folks jumping on an Illini bandwagon BECAUSE they're a "local school" in a way that NYC residents simply wouldn't do. 2005 is an obvious example, but I remember random cab drivers and doormen seeing my Illini sweatshirt when we were closing in on a #1 seed in 2021 and saying stuff like, "You think we can go all the way??"
I honestly think the biggest issue this year is the day of the week ... this game has almost always been on a Saturday, and even objectively bad Illini teams have drawn 16k+ (i.e., more than our home arena's capacity).
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
EDIT: And if someone were to point out that UGA football, for example, has a way better overall support in Atlanta than we have in Chicago, I would counter with...
1. Atlanta is approaching that Chicago level, but it's not quite there. You are still going to get a tad more of a "local Georgia" feel than Chicago has had in many, many decades.
2. Even so, Atlanta is very quickly developing the reputation as an "SEC melting pot," very similar to how Chicago is viewed with Big Ten grads. If you were a Seton Hall grad with no football team that you cared about and you moved to Des Moines, you very well might feel "pressure" to adopt Iowa or Iowa State. If you moved to Milwaukee, you might feel the same for Wisconsin. Detroit? Eh, maybe for the Michigan schools. Atlanta is definitely over that hurdle where you can find plenty of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, etc. fans all over the place on Saturdays where Georgia is more of a "first among equals" than a true home team.
3. To the extent UGA Football DOES enjoy some "home team" status that we don't, I would argue it's because of this incredible run of success. They've won two national titles (back-to-back, as well!) in the last five years, and they've been to the CFP two of the last three years. This would be Illinois' "basketball version" of the same resume since 2021, bumping it up a year since basketball ends after the New Year.
2 National Championships (2022, 2023)
2 Final Fours (2022, 2023)
3 Elite Eights (2022, 2023, 2025)
2 Big Ten Championships (2022, 2024)
Ranked in the top FIVE of the final AP Poll every single year (#3, #1, #5, #2, #5)
That is the type of dominance that matches our 2005 squad except on a multi-year scale, and we saw the city truly go crazy over that team (I remember hearing once that the 2005 National Championship had more viewers in the Chicago Market than the Super Bowl ... that's truly insane!). So, I would wager that if Illini Basketball had been stringing together a resume like that over the last five years, the city would be head over heels, at least to the extent that it will EVER happen here given the dynamics. And if Illinois FOOTBALL had accomplished that???? You can only imagine.
P.S. I have also been told one time by a bar owner that there is an assumption that a "non-affiliated" sports bar would default to local teams like Illinois, Northwestern or even Notre Dame. So, there is actually very little incentive for bar owners in Chicago to declare themselves "Illini bars," because theoretically Buffalo Wild Wings is an "Illini bar" in Chicago. It's probably a better move to find a much smaller but more rabid and cohesive group of alums from an out-of-state school who are in search for a constant and stable place to KNOW their games will be on TV and not have to simply hope. Point being, while I would love more Illini bars in the city and Brickhouse has been a nice improvement, I wouldn't say that it's a good measuring stick of "Illini support" in the city, personally. I mean, we watched the 2024 Elite Eight loss to UConn at Village Tap in our neighborhood, and the whole back patio was filled with Illini fans ... how many other bars that I wouldn't think of as "Illini bars" were probably the same?? Meanwhile, if Indiana or Michigan is in an Elite Eight game, their fans are going to flock to their sacred spots where they know they'll be around their own club of fans.
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