lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Just as we all predicted, 4 of our top 5 players in PRPG are freshman:
Illini Basketball 2026-2027
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
It's been a long and winding road getting here, and we definitely hope for Mirk's return to complicate it, but for the first time since his much-ballyhooed big money transfer this is Andrej Stojakovic's team, he's the alpha dog, and is playing very well.
I know we have not been tested yet (though I thought Penn was a pretty good team with all of their returning players and some decent size), but I am amazed at a few things:
1) Most freshmen play like freshmen, even against teams like Penn. These freshmen don't, except for maybe Williams' first 3 minutes last night. When he returned, he was laser-focused.
2) The speed at which the Illini process on the offensive end is pretty incredible. They process stuff faster than I can watching it. It's kind of like me trying to play Madden against my grandsons (the grandsons being the Illini, of course). It also seems to me that same basketball IQ is just starting to show itself on the defensive end, which is a harder concept.
3) The unselfishness. It looks like to a man they take more pride in making a good pass (not flashy, just super effective) than scoring themselves.
4) Going from one of the slower-paced, high-efficiency offenses of last year to this pace with great efficiency is just mind-boggling. The more possessions in a game the better our chances to win, something that almost always holds true for a more talented team in a matchup.
We're going to lose some games, especially with our best player on the sidelines, but as these young guns gain experience, look out. And this is so much fun to watch you don't ever want to leave early because no matter who Brad puts in they play an exciting brand of basketball. Final thought: This has to raise our recruiting brand even more because this has to be a fun style to play...and everyone gets to play.
1) Most freshmen play like freshmen, even against teams like Penn. These freshmen don't, except for maybe Williams' first 3 minutes last night. When he returned, he was laser-focused.
2) The speed at which the Illini process on the offensive end is pretty incredible. They process stuff faster than I can watching it. It's kind of like me trying to play Madden against my grandsons (the grandsons being the Illini, of course). It also seems to me that same basketball IQ is just starting to show itself on the defensive end, which is a harder concept.
3) The unselfishness. It looks like to a man they take more pride in making a good pass (not flashy, just super effective) than scoring themselves.
4) Going from one of the slower-paced, high-efficiency offenses of last year to this pace with great efficiency is just mind-boggling. The more possessions in a game the better our chances to win, something that almost always holds true for a more talented team in a matchup.
We're going to lose some games, especially with our best player on the sidelines, but as these young guns gain experience, look out. And this is so much fun to watch you don't ever want to leave early because no matter who Brad puts in they play an exciting brand of basketball. Final thought: This has to raise our recruiting brand even more because this has to be a fun style to play...and everyone gets to play.
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
yeah, they're pretty good
blackdog
- Champaign
I would consider those exhibitions against Cincinnati and Baylor to be pretty good tests already. The offense looked pretty dang good in both of those too.
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
I think he's right:
First game chart:
Second game chart:
100% of shots are either threes OR paint twos below the FT circle.
Second game chart:
100% of shots are either threes OR paint twos below the FT circle.
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12 assists to 2 TOV is really good.
The reason the point guard discourse in the offseason feels so dumb — Brown, Coleman, Vaaks all look like point guards and pretty decent ones.
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OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
This still continues to just boggle my mind. You would think that in 80 minutes of basketball-particularly at the pace they are playing-someone would have one brain lock or be fatigued and let one go from 17 feet.
The coaching and discipline for this is extremely impressive.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Our farthest 2pt shot attempt against FDU:
7.1 feet by Andrej Stojakovic (made basket)
Our farthest 2pt shot attempt against Penn:
8.9 feet by Quentin Coleman (made basket)
Illinois:
Average shot distance on 2pt attempts is 3.0 feet, which is 5th in the country:
FG% on shots at the rim is 85.9%, which is 15th in the country:
FG% on shots in the paint is 76.9%, which is 6th in the country:
(yes, it’s very early)
I count 12. Zens, Jakstys, Morillo as the last 3.
L. Davis, Fagbeni, and McCoy are the three excluded.
Don't forget PG Tomi!!
Do not worry about that. It was the same thing last year for Alabama and all the tickets got scooped up in the week of the game. I live in Chicago and I’m still waiting to grab tickets. It’s going to be an insane environment again at the UC.
Gonna be so Interesting when Tomi and a rusty Mirk are starting.
This team is killing it with pace and space right now. It's definitely gonna be an adjustment. Andrej is playing the best ball of his career with this current lineup.
With how long Jake is gonna be out, gonna be interesting what role he comes back to if he's out 2-3 months & Brown/Zens continue to progress like they are. I don't see Zens just going away in this role....and he's a plus athlete that's already very well developed physically
Good problems to have
This team is killing it with pace and space right now. It's definitely gonna be an adjustment. Andrej is playing the best ball of his career with this current lineup.
With how long Jake is gonna be out, gonna be interesting what role he comes back to if he's out 2-3 months & Brown/Zens continue to progress like they are. I don't see Zens just going away in this role....and he's a plus athlete that's already very well developed physically
Good problems to have