Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#104      
Noblesville Illini
skyIdub said:
I’ve seen enough of Ethan Brown to be completely at ease. Hate it for Jake, love that dude, but this is going to end up being huge for EB. Huge.
Kid is ready for prime time. 🧡
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Unlike last year, we have a high level of quality 3 point shooters to fill in until Jake returns.

2026. 2027
Mirk. Mirk
Jake. Stef
Keaton. Q
Ben. Tomi
Tomi, ok, good late. Ethan
Kylan, ok. Zavier
Z, below avg Morillo
Stoj, below average. Stoj, ok
Lincoln, ok
Z, ok
Jake, injured
Sport Celebrate GIF by OKC Thunder

Apologies for the formatting
 
#107      
NarrowJ
lstewart53x3 said:
Illinois fans: let’s pump the breaks on our offense.
National media: Illinois had the best offense last year and this year’s could be better.

View attachment 52392
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Are we sure? I learned yesterday that we're probably not that much better than Butler.

On a more serious note, replacing Jake Davis with some combination of Lincoln/Zavier/Lucas M. is something I'll be watching the next few games.
 
#108      
Illiniguy13
NarrowJ said:
Are we sure? I learned yesterday that we're probably not that much better than Butler.

On a more serious note, replacing Jake Davis with some combination of Lincoln/Zavier/Lucas M. is something I'll be watching the next few games.
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I'm sure it'll ultimately come down to matchups, but I've been thinking about which of the three would be best for the team to pop off in Jake's absence. I think I'd lean LW. The offensive upside and shooting Zens and Morillo bring is certainly appealing, but LW with some confidence can be a menace on D and in transition
 
#109      
I-L-L 1318
Illiniguy13 said:
I'm sure it'll ultimately come down to matchups, but I've been thinking about which of the three would be best for the team to pop off in Jake's absence. I think I'd lean LW. The offensive upside and shooting Zens and Morillo bring is certainly appealing, but LW with some confidence can be a menace on D and in transition
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Assuming it will be Zens to start just as he is probably the most similar to Jake. I am guessing staff will not want LW and Andrej on the floor much together from a shooting standpoint.
 
#112      
wc_illini
Fly Illini Fly! said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2118358899208392741
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This is not directed at you, Fly, I'm just responding to the breakdown of our new offense:

I'm cracking up because there was some discussion during the offseason that our offense sometimes got stagnant last year and might benefit from some wrinkles involving more off-ball movement. The response was essentially "You don't fix what isn't broken" and/or "Oh, so you think you're smarter than Brad?"

If the response had been "We did what we did last year because of our personnel, and this year may/will look different with different personnel- not because it would have been better last year", then it would be one thing. But to flat out ridicule the idea, then do a 180 and jump on board once the staff implements it (way beyond anything that was ever suggested) is pretty funny to watch. It also further convinces me that some of the spirited debate here is motivated by an idea of defending the honor of our coaching staff, but without really knowing what the staff is actually thinking.
 
#113      
RollChief
wc_illini said:
This is not directed at you, Fly, I'm just responding to the breakdown of our new offense:

I'm cracking up because there was some discussion during the offseason that our offense sometimes got stagnant last year and might benefit from some wrinkles involving more off-ball movement. The response was essentially "You don't fix what isn't broken" and/or "Oh, so you think you're smarter than Brad?"

If the response had been "We did what we did last year because of our personnel, and this year may/will look different with different personnel- not because it would have been better last year", then it would be one thing. But to flat out ridicule the idea, then do a 180 and jump on board once the staff implements it (way beyond anything that was ever suggested) is pretty funny to watch. It also further convinces me that some of the spirited debate here is motivated by an idea of defending the honor of our coaching staff, but without really knowing what the staff is actually thinking.
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Agree with you for the most part - I will say that I think you may be overemphasizing the far ends of the discussion spectrum, and I'd definitely say there's a good amount of analytically driven discussion from both sides of the supportive/speculative aisle that falls in between the full-on sycophantic comments and the full detractive ones....

In terms of supporting, I typically take the side of "I and most others don't know 97% of the conversation and game plan that happens behind closed doors, so it feels more tangible to debate what you do know (like the coaching staff is really good)"
 
#114      
wc_illini
RollChief said:
Agree with you for the most part - I will say that I think you may be overemphasizing the far ends of the discussion spectrum, and I'd definitely say there's a good amount of analytically driven discussion from both sides of the supportive/speculative aisle that falls in between the full-on sycophantic comments and the full detractive ones....

In terms of supporting, I typically take the side of "I and most others don't know 97% of the conversation and game plan that happens behind closed doors, so it feels more tangible to debate what you do know (like the coaching staff is really good)"
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Yep, you're probably right about that. Squeaky wheels...
 
#115      
Fly Illini Fly!
Illinois and Stephen F. Austin are the two teams that attempted 50 threes in their season debut.

2023-24: 2 D1 teams attempted 50 threes in a game

2024-25: 12 D1 teams attempted 50 threes in a game

2025-26: 14 D1 teams attempted 50 threes in a game
 
#116      
NarrowJ
wc_illini said:
This is not directed at you, Fly, I'm just responding to the breakdown of our new offense:

I'm cracking up because there was some discussion during the offseason that our offense sometimes got stagnant last year and might benefit from some wrinkles involving more off-ball movement. The response was essentially "You don't fix what isn't broken" and/or "Oh, so you think you're smarter than Brad?"

If the response had been "We did what we did last year because of our personnel, and this year may/will look different with different personnel- not because it would have been better last year", then it would be one thing. But to flat out ridicule the idea, then do a 180 and jump on board once the staff implements it (way beyond anything that was ever suggested) is pretty funny to watch. It also further convinces me that some of the spirited debate here is motivated by an idea of defending the honor of our coaching staff, but without really knowing what the staff is actually thinking.
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I don't think what we're seeing is "fixing what's broken".

What we are seeing is "adapting to our personnel".

Laughing at people doing 180s is fun, but I don't see it here.
 
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