Illini Basketball 2025-2026
- Status
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
But they don't get to raise a banner. I will take that tradeoff 100% of the time.I'm pissed we didn’t get best offense ever in CBB....effing purdont has that now as well fell to #2.
Just wasn’t our time, yet. Retain, get a pure PG and a knockdown shooter and we will be back carrying the experience of this past year. The players will be hungry to get back to the FF.
Not even sure where to put this.
The winning and being relevant is awesome. I'll never take for granted where we are based on what happened before Brad.
But listening to Mirk and Kylan and Dre. The amount of just rockstar people we've had come through here with Brad. It's not a given, man. I'm thankful for it.
The winning and being relevant is awesome. I'll never take for granted where we are based on what happened before Brad.
But listening to Mirk and Kylan and Dre. The amount of just rockstar people we've had come through here with Brad. It's not a given, man. I'm thankful for it.
Is the team back yet???
blackdog
- Champaign
I believe they arrived back in town this afternoon.
Well ILL let's go celebrate our boys because at the University of Illinois we do hang Final Four banners!!! !!!! Dan Hurley
Not a time to mourn my friends but a time to celebrate
INIWe do this because back in early 80s they used to play a consultation game for 3rd place... It used to be about being the last 4 teams... Hurley is too feral to have an understanding of history or sportsmanship
Living in NC and marrying into KY fans, we here have to decide what kind of program we want to be. The way the fans and programs see the end of years is completely different.
In Illinois we have been content with having arguably the most successful program to not win a national championship. We talk about 3 seasons where we fell short with the same nostalgia as championship teams talk about their titles. There is something to be said about enjoying the ride no matter the final destination. That is mostly where our fans and program have been. We watch old highlight videos of single moments or the Arizona game as a stand in for a championship. It's what we have. Our best chance for a single national title was in 04-05, while best chance for a run of them was our best years from 82-90 (part of me still dreams about what if with Ben Wilson). This was probably our 4th or 5th best team in my lifetime, with 3rd best results as far as tournament succes (not final ranking). So while improving, we all realize we were a full step behind Duke, Zona, and Michigan this year.
UNC, Duke, UCONN, and KY win championships because every season not finishing #1 is a failure. If you aint first your last. In life there's a healthy balance to be found between those two. I'm not so sure that's the case when chasing a championship in sports.
So we can reload as a top 10 team failing to win the national championship game or do whatever needed improve year to year until we bring it home. In my life the AD's have been happy with option #1. Hopefully before I kick the bucket they can at least kick the tires a bit on option 2.
If we are going to be successful in the NIL era I think the time is now. Soon the big money football schools will have a lot more money to buy championships once they get the hang of this. The way things are going it seems little resources will be waisted chasing anything but the 5 star high school recruits when you can just buy talent and experience of those already playing. Expecting a championship like Indiana in football is pretty unrealistic. Expecting one in Illinois basketball is not. I think we are now 2nd on final fours, 3rd on appearances, and 2nd on wins in the tournament without a championship. The time is now. Love that my Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, and Bears have all won Championships I've been able to enjoy. For my personal fandom championship desires 1 through 9 were always Illini basketball, then 10 Cubs. I hope the coaching staff and AD keep pushing forward.
I know people are excited that we can build on this, and I don't completely disagree. However with the NIL era you can both completely create and completely lose momentum in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure building on success means as much as it used to.
In Illinois we have been content with having arguably the most successful program to not win a national championship. We talk about 3 seasons where we fell short with the same nostalgia as championship teams talk about their titles. There is something to be said about enjoying the ride no matter the final destination. That is mostly where our fans and program have been. We watch old highlight videos of single moments or the Arizona game as a stand in for a championship. It's what we have. Our best chance for a single national title was in 04-05, while best chance for a run of them was our best years from 82-90 (part of me still dreams about what if with Ben Wilson). This was probably our 4th or 5th best team in my lifetime, with 3rd best results as far as tournament succes (not final ranking). So while improving, we all realize we were a full step behind Duke, Zona, and Michigan this year.
UNC, Duke, UCONN, and KY win championships because every season not finishing #1 is a failure. If you aint first your last. In life there's a healthy balance to be found between those two. I'm not so sure that's the case when chasing a championship in sports.
So we can reload as a top 10 team failing to win the national championship game or do whatever needed improve year to year until we bring it home. In my life the AD's have been happy with option #1. Hopefully before I kick the bucket they can at least kick the tires a bit on option 2.
If we are going to be successful in the NIL era I think the time is now. Soon the big money football schools will have a lot more money to buy championships once they get the hang of this. The way things are going it seems little resources will be waisted chasing anything but the 5 star high school recruits when you can just buy talent and experience of those already playing. Expecting a championship like Indiana in football is pretty unrealistic. Expecting one in Illinois basketball is not. I think we are now 2nd on final fours, 3rd on appearances, and 2nd on wins in the tournament without a championship. The time is now. Love that my Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, and Bears have all won Championships I've been able to enjoy. For my personal fandom championship desires 1 through 9 were always Illini basketball, then 10 Cubs. I hope the coaching staff and AD keep pushing forward.
I know people are excited that we can build on this, and I don't completely disagree. However with the NIL era you can both completely create and completely lose momentum in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure building on success means as much as it used to.
Who are you!? Time traveler?
Seth Davis' Never-Too-Early Preseason Top 25
Hoops HQ Editor-In-Chief Seth Davis shares his early Top 25 NCAA rankings for the 2026-27 college hoops season
www.hoopshq.com
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
This is going to be three straight years the Illini have a player go in the first round. I expect this run of success to continue. The staff is rolling in recruiting and postseason results are also improving. An elite 8 and final four in two of the last 3 seasons!
All that is left is win a natty.
All that is left is win a natty.
that dude knows defense
Btw, 102nd --> 30th in just 2 seasons pre-NIL/relaxed transfer portal rules is an underrated accomplishment.
Of the 3 that didn’t exceed expectations, 1 exactly met expectations, 1 came 2 spots short - which can’t be a statistically significant variance - and the third was 21-22, where the team missed its starting point guard for functionally the entire season.
Looking ahead to next season, here are the NCAA Tournament sites:
First/Second Round
Pittsburgh
Omaha
Fort Worth
Spokane
Charlotte
Minneapolis
Louisville
Sacramento
Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight
San Antonio
Los Angeles (Crypto.com Arena)
Kansas City
New York City (MSG)
Final Four
Detroit (Ford Field)
First/Second Round
Pittsburgh
Omaha
Fort Worth
Spokane
Charlotte
Minneapolis
Louisville
Sacramento
Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight
San Antonio
Los Angeles (Crypto.com Arena)
Kansas City
New York City (MSG)
Final Four
Detroit (Ford Field)
Perfect year for our team to take it all the way with our road warrior mentality, as the home advantage for a 1 seed will not even exist in theory with those sites.
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