I agree...
There's no team in the country that would reach its apex down 2 starters. Even if it's removing 2 of the "worst" starters from the equation.
It's just frustrating because if we just held serve 1 more flippin game.
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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I agree...
There's no team in the country that would reach its apex down 2 starters. Even if it's removing 2 of the "worst" starters from the equation.
It's just frustrating because if we just held serve 1 more flippin game.
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
Without Kylan and Andre, we had only Keaton able to really attack off the dribble. Mirk is serviceable at that, but teams have really started to double him when the ball hits the floor. Andre and Kylan raise our "athletic" factor a LOT. Without them, on both O and D, we have a hard time dealing with quicker athletes. No surprise, I guess.
Yup. Very hard to be any division 1 team down two starters. And I don't think Kylan and Andrej are our worst starters.
Kilgore Trout
- Driftless Region
What's happening with Fagbemi? After all the great athlete talk by Brad I expected to see him at least in some games. Does he have good potential or just not ever going to be good enough to play much?
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
he's a good player, but probably not good enough to crack the rotation. if he sticks around, maybe as an upperclassman.
great athlete though, no doubt. kinda like the Vonnegut of writers
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They are starting now.
It was BS. And a certain % of fans talk that BS at the start of every season.
I think most of us thought Petro would play a lot of minutes and Lee was further along.
We are one decent backup guard from being deep!
or a heathy Ty.
Black Eye...wasn't it Pink Eye? Almost swollen shut?
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
I mean:
Ty
Boswell
Andrej
Are all hurt.
We currently have a 6 man rotation. With all 3 healthy, we’d have a solid 9 man rotation. Z, one of the leading shot blockers in the country, would have been our 9th(!!) man. That’s pretty deep.
How many teams have a 10th guy who can play good minutes on a top 5 team?
With 3 starters missing, this is still a top 25 team. Oregon, on the other hand, has had 3 starters missing much of the season. They’re 8-16 and outside of the top 100. That’s what a lack of depth looks like.
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I disagree. We are talented enough and I believe have good enough coaching to beat Wisconsin at home (though the advantage of that last part is pathetically marginal at this point…) without Kylan or Andrej. We put ourselves in a position to not just win but pull away for an EASY win.
Was it certainly hardER to win without both of them? 110% for sure. But let’s not act like we were some David vs. some Goliath … we shot ourselves in the foot plenty.
Exactly.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Fatigue a major factor.
With Petro borderline unplayable and Lee not ready yet, when Kylan got hurt, Brad shrunk down to a 7 man rotation. Then those 7 guys played games every 3 days including top 5 Purdue on the road, top 5 Nebraska on the road, top 10 Michigan State on the road.
Robert tweeted quite a bit during the second half of the MSU game that the guys looked exhausted. Then after the emotional overtime loss, there was a two day turnaround before Wisconsin in front of a dead crowd without our current best on ball defender (and our previous best on ball defender also hurt), which shrunk the rotation down to 6.
And it’s easy to say, “Brad should’ve played Petro more sooner just to save their legs!”, but that could’ve cost us another game along the way.
I honestly think Brad’s biggest lineup mismanagement was the Northwestern game. I don’t care if we give up that entire lead and only win by 10 (metrics be damned), Wagler shouldn’t have played more than 25 minutes that game, which would have kept him better rested for both MSU and Wisconsin.
Last year against Maryland was a game we had guys out, and were completely overmatched physically.
That was FAR from the case against Wisconsin. Make a few free throws, or have a decently officiated final 5min for once, and we win. Actually kind of impressive with the players we had out, only playing six guys.
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Don't you bring your rational and well-reasoned takes around here!
And I disagree with that. Playing all game with 1 true guard and 1 guy that is sort of a guard (Davis), you're going to have a hard time beating any major conference team. IMO it's quite an achievement that we were close to winning.
That’s been a theme with this team. In every loss, despite major adversity or a bad night, we’ve still had a real shot to win. It's a stark contrast to games last year like Maryland where we just didn't have the horses. PLEASE be healthy come March...we’re going to be REALLY hard to beat
viking6888
Greeley, Colorado
Big Jack
- Decatur
Ok I got to ask this because I have been away but what the heck is the status with Ty? I have not seen or read anything since they said he hurt his hammy a month ago. Any updates? @LvilleILL1 @Indy Illini Fan or @illini0440
Before he pulled a muscle I heard he could return in mid feb. I haven't heard anything different since he pulled a muscle but I also haven't checked around as it happened way earlier than what the return date I was told.
Getting Ty back, if he is willing to sacrifice a year of eligibility to try for a national title, would be such a huge lift. Even if he could only go for 8-10 minutes a game, what he brings defensively and on the boards (at both ends) would give Brad lots of different buttons to push given the matchups in each game. With Ty on the court late in the last two games, no way Wisconsin storms back and I'm pretty confident the Illini would have held off MSU. Of course, that presumes he has improved his FT percentage; otherwise, he'd have to be a defense only switch near the end of games. Love how hard he plays
Anyone have knowledge about why Z is wearing the mask and for how long? I presume he broke his nose in the mizzou game ( if memory serves). It’s been almost two months since then it would seem like he could stop wearing it soon.
If we have all our 8 top guys at full strength (obviously a big if), he wouldn't play a lot.
Dan
Admin
The stoic assassin: Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler's monster first year on pace with Magic Johnson
Wagler keeps his emotions in check on the court, but his monstrous play has landed him center stage in the college basketball world
www.cbssports.com
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