In the sense of a ghost roster, Ace represents all 3 ghosts of Christmas with as many schools/programs he's left.
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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In the sense of a ghost roster, Ace represents all 3 ghosts of Christmas with as many schools/programs he's left.
And adapting.
And he hit the glass!
But he admitted that we don't run "an offense."
Hearing Tomi talk about the Illini’s philosophy of wanting to take “gold” shots instead of bronze or silver shots was instructive for me as it is counterintuitive to so much of what I was taught about the value of points in the paint. The Illini want layups, free throws or good looks from three.
It’s not your grandfather’s offense; it’s not even your older brother’s offense. It’s 3D chess instead of checkers. It works so well (most efficient in the nation) because of their size and the fact even the bigs can shoot from three. When they miss, everyone but the shooter attacks the offensive boards (another thing that flies in the face of the old follow-your-shot adage) — and they get second and third chances at one of the highest rates in the country.
It has opened my mind to this new way of playing NBA-style offense with college players. It’s really fun. Kinda like when I first learned to use the Google.
It’s not your grandfather’s offense; it’s not even your older brother’s offense. It’s 3D chess instead of checkers. It works so well (most efficient in the nation) because of their size and the fact even the bigs can shoot from three. When they miss, everyone but the shooter attacks the offensive boards (another thing that flies in the face of the old follow-your-shot adage) — and they get second and third chances at one of the highest rates in the country.
It has opened my mind to this new way of playing NBA-style offense with college players. It’s really fun. Kinda like when I first learned to use the Google.
Lol i thought the same thing especially with his family demands for nil
A lot of folks are having a hard time adjusting to modern play… took me a while
…. both NBA and college B ball looks very different today.
I suppose… if yesterday’s game was a better method, someone would be plugged into it and winning!
…. both NBA and college B ball looks very different today. I suppose… if yesterday’s game was a better method, someone would be plugged into it and winning!
So, just to be honest, this isn't a very "analysis driven" podcast like the ones with LaTulip or even Kyle... so I skipped through a lot of it, but one of the most interesting pointers would be at 54:15.
If all true, it speaks even more to who Keaton is. Minny offered more $$, chance to play in the Big Ten, the Cam Christie sell, much easier path to immediate PT. Versus Illinois -- less $$, pretty much no one thought he'd play significant minutes.
He chose Illinois, trusted the development, bet on himself, turns into an AA candidate in just his freshman year and is gonna be a lottery pick. Not to mention being ranked the #261 recruit.
Just insane.
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Yeah if not just his possible production here but also that he could have eaten into Waglers development and PT.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
It would be an oversimplification to say that ALL of these guys transferred as a consequence of Brad and Tyler's single-minded vision and determination to push the program toward analytics fueled NBA style offense, but there's a lot of that there, plus the second-order consequences of losing assistant coaches who weren't quite in-line with that vision.Not sure where to put this
Pounded by the portal: Teams hit hardest by departing transfers who are starring at new schools in 2025-26
You could field a good team comprised solely of the outbound transfers from the 'ghost roster' of these schoolswww.cbssports.com
But at the end of the day this is precisely why I feel like I owe TU an apology. The idea that the players we were losing were bad or defective or insufficient was always 100% pathetic garbage peddled by people who believed they were being supportive and positive about the program by shamelessly propagandizing clear falsehoods. But it created this illusion that this was just some neutral organic process for getting better players, and so where's the coaching in that? This is just what anyone would have done, right?
The reality is, we massively sacrificed to make this transition. We took huge risks in allowing terrific players to slip through our grasp. And the courage to see that through has paid dividends, so huge credit has to go to the leadership that took a chance on a new strategy.
And as for all of our guys who were innocent bystanders in us changing the kind of basketball we want to play, I am thrilled to see the success so many of them are having. And I hope now that we're on the other side of our overhaul that we can regain some semblance of roster stability.
I was thinking about our team's sickness/injury bug over the past few seasons, and whether we're truly snake-bitten or if this level of injury is somewhat par for the course.
Below, I've taken the top 10 KenPom teams of the past two seasons (2026 current & 2025 final) and listed out any starter injuries (sicknesses, etc.) throughout the season alongside total games missed.
We're on the upper end both seasons obviously. This season doesn't consider if Ty Rodgers would have been a starter (I'm thinking no, but worth noting). When it's all said and done, we'll have 11 total games missed by starters, if Boswell is back for Indiana and we have no other significant injuries. With that said, it would be difficult to say it's anomalous, and we're incredibly lucky to have a great staff that can respond and rehab these sicknesses/injuries quickly.
I have no intention of bringing on bad juju for the team, for anyone that's superstitious; I was purely curious about what is typical in terms of total injuries throughout a season for teams that perform in the upper echelon of CBB.
Below, I've taken the top 10 KenPom teams of the past two seasons (2026 current & 2025 final) and listed out any starter injuries (sicknesses, etc.) throughout the season alongside total games missed.
We're on the upper end both seasons obviously. This season doesn't consider if Ty Rodgers would have been a starter (I'm thinking no, but worth noting). When it's all said and done, we'll have 11 total games missed by starters, if Boswell is back for Indiana and we have no other significant injuries. With that said, it would be difficult to say it's anomalous, and we're incredibly lucky to have a great staff that can respond and rehab these sicknesses/injuries quickly.
I have no intention of bringing on bad juju for the team, for anyone that's superstitious; I was purely curious about what is typical in terms of total injuries throughout a season for teams that perform in the upper echelon of CBB.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
I'm really curious to see just how much we miss Boz as we continue down the schedule without him. I wonder if our offense might be better without him from a spacing perspective. It may just put more pressure on the defense to cover more shooters. He obviously is important on defense though.
Same deal with Ty. How does he fit in this offense? If they can dork him on the offensive side, then is his defense and rebounding worth it?
I'm way more curious about how Ty would fit into the offense. I just envision his guy sagging into the lane and messing up the spacing.
Same deal with Ty. How does he fit in this offense? If they can dork him on the offensive side, then is his defense and rebounding worth it?
I'm way more curious about how Ty would fit into the offense. I just envision his guy sagging into the lane and messing up the spacing.
They would just put Ty in the dunkers spot
Safe to say the Ty discussions are moot at this point, right? I find it hard to believe they'd work him into the rotation at this point even if he were fully cleared.
Dunker's Spot sounds like a bar ran by Vince Carter.
Or a donut shop
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
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