Several random uniform thoughts this morning in a somewhat random list that both touch on recent comments in this thread and add some new ones of my own.
1. I definitely think there is an element of the players liking the
1LL1NO1S uniforms. Given my theory that Brad couldn't care less, the only explanation is either (A) Nike mandates that we wear them every so often or (B) the players like them. Since I cannot wrap my mind around anyone with eyes actually liking them over the throwbacks, my hunch theory is that maybe they fit more comfortably?
2. I definitely agree that the navy
F1GHT1NG 1LL1N1 is easily the best of the current defaults, precisely because it actually utilizes both orange and navy. It still sucks, lol, but it avoids the issue of having orange-on-white or white-on-orange font with no outlines.
3. I also don't get the complaint that the Script isn't part of our tradition. Lou Henson arriving here IS our modern basketball program! The Script was worn during the years we slowly laid the foundation for the great stretch of the 1980s, and the FIGHTING ILLINI jerseys were worn during arguably our most or second most successful decade ever. I very much agree with
@altgeld88 that these two uniforms are "us" in a way that is far and away above any set besides the 2000s ones, and they are DEFINITELY cooler than any other, IMO.
4. I actually love that rendering just posted by
@21ChampaignSt! It would be a cool way to bridge the Flyin' Illini era look with the 2005 look, where we had a different colored number than the team name font. I've said this a lot, but our current orange Flyin' Illini set is N-O-T the same as any previously worn uniform. The trim design on the jerseys is actually different from even the white Flyin' Illini throwbacks we wore during the Groce years, and it's certainly different from the actual 1980s ones ... and that's good! I think the ultimate goal is to find a "look" and alter it in subtle ways that are respectful to the source material over time. I've also harped on this, but Duke / Kansas / Indiana / UCLA don't have the exact same jerseys as they always have; they are constantly updating them. However, the updates don't throw out the baby with the bath water like our post-1991 jerseys have.
5.
@altgeld88 also touched on this, but this is one of my favorite rebuttals to any defense of the current
1LL1NO1S uniforms being associated with the current run of success ... they aren't any more associated with them than the throwbacks! So the throwbacks are both better looking AND equally associated with the current run of success?? Checkmate, lol. For reference, these are what I would subjectively consider "massive" wins over the past five years ... I admit these are subjective, but I tried to pick games I TRULY thought fans would remember for years to come or that fundamentally changed the trajectory of the program ... so something like beating UCLA last year in what WAS a "big game" won't be making the cut, and neither will beating a low-seed team in the First Round of the NCAAs.
White Script Throwback | 5 Games
2022 - W 74-72 vs. #24 Iowa (first Big Ten championship since 2005)
2021 - W 91-88 in OT vs. #9 Ohio State (BTT Championship Game; first BTT championship since 2005)
2024 - W 93-87 vs. Wisconsin (BTT Championship Game)
2021 - W 82-71 vs. #5 Iowa (BTT Semifinals)
2024 - W 98-89 vs. #11 FAU at MSG (TSJ and Domask 30-point games)
Orange Flyin' Illini Throwback | 4 Games
2021 - W 76-53 at #2 Michigan (without Ayo
2023 - W 85-78 in OT vs. #2 Texas in New York, NY
2025 - W 109-77 at #9 Oregon (record-breaking win for being on the road vs. top 10 team)
2025 - W 94-69 at Indiana (worst home loss in Indiana basketball history)
Orange 1LL1NO1S Default | 3 Games
2024 - W 72-69 vs. #4 Iowa State in Boston, MA (NCAAT Sweet Sixteen; first Elite Eight since 2005)
2021 - W 73-68 at #7 Ohio State (Ayo mask game to close out the year)
2023 - W 79-70 vs. #8 UCLA in Las Vegas, NV (TSJ coming out party)
White 1LL1NO1S Default | 1 Game
2024 - W 89-63 vs. Duquesne in Des Moines, IA (NCAAT Second Round; finally broke through to the Second Weekend)
Navy 1LL1NO1S Default | 0 Games
N/A ... Honorable mention to the 2020 win at Wisconsin that was sort of our "we're back" game!
So the totals are 9 for the throwbacks and 4 for the defaults ... though I will admit that arguably the single greatest memory (beating ISU in the 2024 Sweet Sixteen) was in the orange defaults. It's also worth noting that some unfortunate losses but that were also on objectively big stages (i.e., these games were seen by tons of fans and therefore associated with this era) such as the 2021 Loyola loss or the 2022 Houston loss were in either throwback, too. The point is, this current era is equally associated with the Script and Flyin' Illini uniforms as it is with the
1LL1NO1S uniforms, and I would even argue that if your average Illini fan visualizes any of our star players from the past few years, 9/10 are going to picture them in one of the two throwback jerseys. With that said, last year was a clear (and incredibly unfortunate) move away from the throwbacks, especially in big games.
6. This made me want to see what our current uniform "droughts" were.
Orange 1LL1NO1S Default: 0 Games ... last worn on November 7, 2025 vs. FGCU
White 1LL1NO1S Default: 1 Game ... last worn on November 3, 2025 vs. Jackson State
White Script Throwback: 3 Games ... last worn on March 21, 2025 vs. Xavier (NCAAT First Round)
Orange Flyin' Illini Throwbacks: 9 Games ... last worn on February 22, 2025 vs. Duke at MSG
Navy 1LL1NO1S Default: 49 Games
... last worn on February 21, 2024at Penn State
Really hope no one in the program now thinks the Flyin' Illini set is "bad luck" because we wore it in that Duke game.
Because that same logic should apply to wearing the orange
1LL1NO1S uniform in our humiliating defeat vs. Maryland in last year's BTT (and then we wore it two games later, lmao).
