Detached retinas.
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
- Status
Dan posted this at the beginning of this thread for last year releases:
Last year
Non-conference schedule released on August 18th
Big Ten schedule released on September 18th
Time & TV info released on October 7th
Apparently Illinois vs Houston isnt happening anymore?
give us one more blue blod!
Mirkovic:
“Mirković was one of my favorite players in the country last season and one of the best freshmen who did not declare for the draft. I’m expecting the Illini to run even more of their offense through the multi-skilled four-man who has tremendous dribble, pass and shoot skills at his size. He averaged over 13 points and eight rebounds per game while also dishing out 2.6 assists. He drilled 38 percent of his four 3-point attempts per game, too, and I think he has room for growth as he gets more comfortable with the speed of the game.
Mirković’s athleticism and defensive play will certainly create concern among NBA teams, but I think he’s too talented not to make it at some point. I’m expecting a first-team All-Big Ten season for the Montenegrin forward.”
Kooleymon:
“It surprised me that it took so long for Coleman to spike up the recruiting rankings. He was largely considered a solid four-star, top-100 prospect in his class up until the last three months, when he rose into the consensus top-20.
Coleman is a great shooter from distance who won all-tournament honors at the Under-18 FIBA AmeriCup tournament in Mexico. He plays hard, crashing the glass with impunity. His frame is also filling out, allowing him to absorb contact better on his drives. He knocks down shots off the catch and off pull-up situations and has shown he can play both on and off the ball. He’ll be a tremendous fit in Illinois’ scheme next season, partially replacing what Keaton Wagler brought to the fold.“
I actually watched most of his games at Providence last season, and while I don't want to argue that he's even close to being a plus defender, the team's schemes on both sides of the court were questionable to say the least. And I also agree with the criticism that his leash was way too long on defense, but this is sort of explained by the extent to which the offense relied on his involvement as both a distributor and a scorer. It'll be a different story next season under a structured gameplan employed at Illinois, although I would be certain that he won't turn into a lockdown defender. Still, in the interview, he said that over the summer, the focus is on his weaker characteristics and physical conditioning, which he already attested by confirming the increase in muscle mass. I think after having adapted to the NCAA style of play last season and seeing where he can improve, he won't be such a liability as predicted by some commentators. I'm so damn excited to see how the season unfolds next year - Go Illini!So freaking cool. Thank you. He will be flying high this year with our not so Flying fighting Illini. You should have asked him about playing defense.
I think not seeing Coleman as a top 20 is just wishful thinking at this point. We have been developing guards at a high rate and getting them to the league, especially top ranked guys. I expect the same to happen with Coleman.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Thanks I really want to go to m the Duke game so fingers crossed
Hi Illini fans, an Estonian member here. Thought I’d share some excerpts from Stefan Vaaks’ interview with our media before the national team’s upcoming matches to satisfy post-draft boredom. I’ll skip posting the original link since after a direct translation error and some unintended drama with some Providence fans last year, I figured it’s safer if I just translate the relevant parts myselfD
"I've gained some muscle. At one point, I weighed around 220lbs, atm 215. That's ok, before leaving, they told me to eat a lot"
"His height was measured as 199 cm barefoot. With sneakers, he is 202 cm."
"Vaaks will return to the US on July 10th"
"Before committing to Illinois, I said that I wanted to represent my country's national team. They didn't have anything against it - if that was my wish, it would be respected, they were all for it. And they added that if I found a good offensive motion, I could bring it there."
"I am very happy with the decision, and so far, I can say that the situation is much, much better than in Providence"
"We have six or seven more experienced players and many young players who are fighting for the eighth or ninth place on the team"
"I got along really well with everyone, they're down to earth. Everyone is out there for a common goal - we want to win. Especially after last season, when they reached the Final Four."
Quentin Coleman #18
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Glad to hear Josh seems to be 100% now.
That treatment process had to be one of the worst things imaginable. I get it’s not chemo or anything that is physically damaging, but the mental stress of just laying there face down not being able to see sounds like a form of torture.
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
2 years ago Riley and KJ were weak defenders. Tomas got abused in paint and did not block shots. Morez was a foul machine. Ben was not strong or quick. Kylan and Tre(?) were our best defenders.
Last year. BigZ shot blocking was huge. BenH got in shape and worked hard as defender. Wagler had size and stayed in front of his man. Boswell was good again. Andrej athleticism size and effort was plus. Tomas was better in less minutes. David was solid strong despite lack of shot blocking. The stupid fouls disappeared. Our scheme was much improved and we even played some zone. Brandon Lee tried was too small 6'4" and not that quick.
We have good size at guard - Vaaks 6-7" Quentin 6'-4" Lucas 6'-7" Lincoln 6'4" plus some athleticism. I think we will be Vaaks will buy in like Andrej once he sees the effort of the rest of the team. Plus he wont have to carry the team on offense so he should have the energy.
USA today mock has Mirkovic 24 to the Thunder
On3 has Vaaks at 20
www.on3.com
On3 has Vaaks at 20
2027 NBA Mock Draft: Way-too-early projections for next year's class
Take a way-too-early look at the 2026 NBA Draft class and the order projected from AJ Dybantsa to Darryn Peterson.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Vaaks is gonna be a stud
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
His ability to drill threes coming off of a high ball screen is truly elite.
If that big isn't far enough up, he's just gonna drill it.
It's a super rare skill to be able to do it at that level.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yes, shooting percentage is obviously important, but there’s a giant difference between the type of 3s Jake (as an example) takes and Vaaks takes.
A bit Keaton-esque in that regard. Keaton hit some ridiculous threes last year.
I would guess that that's too high, but in his favor, he'll likely get a lot of playing time. He has no realistic competition to start from day one at SG.
I still think Vaaks is our most likely 1st-rounder. He's close to an ideal fit for what we want at PG.
Is it crazy to say Vaaks and Coleman are 2 of the top 4 guards Brad has had in terms of shooting ability?
1. Plummer
2. Keaton
3. Vaaks
4. Coleman
1. Plummer
2. Keaton
3. Vaaks
4. Coleman
- Status