Illini Basketball 2026-2027

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#151      
ptgrd23
Curbelo Fanboy said:
So on the replay of that Anderson shot you are one of the 20 people in the building that can be heard yelling!! What a moment. On the replay there is a split second right as the ball is going thru the net where there is a dead silence in that building such that the TV picks up the sound of the swish of the ball. And then you hear the few Illini fans & team going nuts. An ALL TIMER.
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Drove from CU to Bloomington with girl friend. Surrounded by IU fans good seats near mid court. Back then $75 could get you great seats from scalpers. Crowd went crazy when Jay Edwards hit the corner jumper with 3 second left to tie the game. Lou called the baseline pick play to free up Steve Bardos baseball pass to Nick near half court. The Assembly Hall went dead silent when it went in. We walked out cheering. Great drive home thru a wet snow. Got home in time to watch it again. Girl friends father had taped it.

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124K views · 624 reactions | 3⃣0⃣ years ago today, Illinois and Indiana combined for one of the greatest finishes in B1G history. When the clock hit zero, it was Nick Anderson and the Illini celebrating. #OTD | Big Ten Network

3⃣0⃣ years ago today, Illinois and Indiana combined for one of the greatest finishes in B1G history. When the clock hit zero, it was Nick Anderson and the Illini celebrating. #OTD
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#153      
IlliniWu
LvilleILL1 said:
Continue to think Mirk is on track for November 2nd.

Expecting a big year from Andrej Stojakovic. Think he could end up being the 2nd most impactful player on the team.

The Ethan Brown buzz has gotten louder the last couple weeks. Think he can get spot minutes this year if needed. Sounds like Stefan Vaaks has really started to come on strong in practice as well.
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There's a lot of talented players here. Some seem to downplay or just flat out ignore but personally I think Stojakovic is a NPOY candidate as well. We all talk about Mirk, Vaaks, the twins and even Coleman as the best/best NBA prospect or most impactful player on the team right now.

The way he played down the stretch, the pedigree, the combine buzz, etc. all lead me to believe it will be a big year. Definitely waiting to see the Illini basketball team but I'm also not rushing due to the football team trying to make its way to the CFP right now.
 
#155      
Illwinsagain
IlliniWu said:
There's a lot of talented players here. Some seem to downplay or just flat out ignore but personally I think Stojakovic is a NPOY candidate as well. We all talk about Mirk, Vaaks, the twins and even Coleman as the best/best NBA prospect or most impactful player on the team right now.

The way he played down the stretch, the pedigree, the combine buzz, etc. all lead me to believe it will be a big year. Definitely waiting to see the Illini basketball team but I'm also not rushing due to the football team trying to make its way to the CFP right now.
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Someone had an extra shot of orange Kool-Aid today. I appreciate your optimism.
 
#156      
Curbelo Fanboy
ptgrd23 said:
Drove from CU to Bloomington with girl friend. Surrounded by IU fans good seats near mid court. Back then $75 could get you great seats from scalpers. Crowd went crazy when Jay Edwards hit the corner jumper with 3 second left to tie the game. Lou called the baseline pick play to free up Steve Bardos baseball pass to Nick near half court. The Assembly Hall went dead silent when it went in. We walked out cheering. Great drive home thru a wet snow. Got home in time to watch it again. Girl friends father had taped it.

www.facebook.com

124K views · 624 reactions | 3⃣0⃣ years ago today, Illinois and Indiana combined for one of the greatest finishes in B1G history. When the clock hit zero, it was Nick Anderson and the Illini celebrating. #OTD | Big Ten Network

3⃣0⃣ years ago today, Illinois and Indiana combined for one of the greatest finishes in B1G history. When the clock hit zero, it was Nick Anderson and the Illini celebrating. #OTD
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
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What a moment. That was an absurd shot by Jay Edwards to set it up. Keith Jackson & Dickie V on the call on a Sunday afternoon.
 
#157      
hoopsfan47
Illwinsagain said:
Someone had an extra shot of orange Kool-Aid today. I appreciate your optimism.
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LOL...it is PRE-SEASON of course and we are all on par with the hype.

And yet, when posters are defining where weaknesses exist, you can rest assured that other highly paid and experienced staffs fully understand. And yet, to exploit those weaknesses in defense, shooting, foot speed, a coach has to have the players who can exploit/slow down this offensively talented Illini crew.

And yes, the ability to defend well against high level opponents does exist also. I have no doubt our guys will be motivated on defense....but we cannot make them faster or quicker.

To me, the biggest key to a great season, IMHO, is not the ability of this Illini team. The critical determining factor will undoubtedly be availability. If our guys are all available, and the Illini get a bit of luck with the calls and bounces, the sky is the limit. But when has that happened? We don't know, but it keeps us on the edge of our seats and tuned in for every dribble and shot...and waiting for the other shoe to drop.
 
#158      
Fighter of the Nightman
Bummed we let that game at UCLA slip away last year, because Underwood has now won at every single Big Ten arena at least once besides UCLA ... and we won't get the chance this year. Anyway, here is when he first got a win at each arena, with the subsequent wins after that!

Rutgers - 2018, 2024
Ohio State - 2019
Wisconsin - 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
Purdue - 2020, 2026
Michigan - 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Penn State - 2020, 2021, 2026
Northwestern - 2020, 2021, 2022, 2026
Indiana - 2021, 2022, 2025
Nebraska - 2021, 2022, 2023, 2026
Minnesota - 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
Ohio State - 2021, 2024, 2026
Iowa - 2022, 2024, 2026
Michigan State - 2022
Maryland - 2024, 2026
Oregon - 2025
Washington - 2025
USC - 2026
 
#159      
March2TheArch
armchairillini.com

Jake Davis Gives Illinois Basketball Another Dangerous 3-Point Shooter

It is easy to forget just how good Jake Davis is. That might sound strange considering Illinois is coming off a Final Four season and returns a ridiculous amount of talent, but Davis has quietly become one of the most efficient players on Brad Underwood’s roster. In fact, Davis may be one of...
armchairillini.com armchairillini.com

Davis shot 40.6 percent from three on 133 attempts last season, including 36-for-90 in Big Ten play.
 
#161      
Fly Illini Fly!
March2TheArch said:
armchairillini.com

Jake Davis Gives Illinois Basketball Another Dangerous 3-Point Shooter

It is easy to forget just how good Jake Davis is. That might sound strange considering Illinois is coming off a Final Four season and returns a ridiculous amount of talent, but Davis has quietly become one of the most efficient players on Brad Underwood’s roster. In fact, Davis may be one of...
armchairillini.com armchairillini.com

Davis shot 40.6 percent from three on 133 attempts last season, including 36-for-90 in Big Ten play.
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1st in the entire country in Offensive Rating:

IMG_1770.jpeg


3rd in the entire country in lowest turnover rate:

IMG_1771.jpeg


Perfect role player.
 
#162      
PepeSilvia
IlliniWu said:
There's a lot of talented players here. Some seem to downplay or just flat out ignore but personally I think Stojakovic is a NPOY candidate as well. We all talk about Mirk, Vaaks, the twins and even Coleman as the best/best NBA prospect or most impactful player on the team right now.

The way he played down the stretch, the pedigree, the combine buzz, etc. all lead me to believe it will be a big year. Definitely waiting to see the Illini basketball team but I'm also not rushing due to the football team trying to make its way to the CFP right now.
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I honestly don't really think any of our guys are legitimate nPOY candidates just because I think there is too much talent that none of them will put up the counting stats to win it.
 
#163      
NarrowJ
PepeSilvia said:
I honestly don't really think any of our guys are legitimate nPOY candidates just because I think there is too much talent that none of them will put up the counting stats to win it.
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Wasn't Yaxel considered a finalist last season? Surely somebody could average 15 & 7

I think Anthony Davis won it averaging like 13 & 10

Saying its possible is different than saying its likely though, typical Naismith winners are averaging between 18 and 24 PPG
 
#169      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
March2TheArch said:
I feel like if Mike puts up 18pts/8reb/4ast. We beat one of Duke or UConn. Win an outright B1G title going 17-3 or better. He’s confirmed 1st team AA and likely PoY frontrunner.
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Even Keaton didn’t average 18 a game.

Mirk wasn’t even the second best scorer (Stojakovic).

The expectations have just been way over the top.
 
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#173      
lstewart53x3
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Even Keaton didn’t average 18 a game.

Mirk wasn’t even the second best scorer (Stojakovic).

The expectations have just been way over the top.
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There have been multiple national outlets that have tagged Mirk as their potential player of the year. He's 4th in betting odds for the player of the year. But yes, the a message board poster who said if Mirk averages a whopping 0.1 more points per game than Keaton, he would then be considered a possible NPOY, is way over the top.
 
#175      
hoopsfan47
LvilleILL1 said:
Continue to think Mirk is on track for November 2nd.

Expecting a big year from Andrej Stojakovic. Think he could end up being the 2nd most impactful player on the team.

The Ethan Brown buzz has gotten louder the last couple weeks. Think he can get spot minutes this year if needed. Sounds like Stefan Vaaks has really started to come on strong in practice as well.
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Having professed to hoping that Brown proves to be a reliable diamond in the rough team player with passing, handle, and shooting skills valuable enough to be trusted when needed, I am happy to hear this "buzz".

However, after seeing tape of his play against a St. Louis team in his sr season, it was painfully obvious to me that his body was not sufficient to compete without some big time help from Adam Fletcher.

But a most recent tape shows maybe as much as 20 lbs. of muscle present that was not there before...and good for Ethan. We don't know much about his foot speed and movement in regard to defending B1G caliber guards though. Maybe he can hold his own in that regard at times which would certainly cause some "buzz".
 
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