Cook
- Richmond, VA
Yep, plus Ivey 2nd and Liddell 3rd too.
Illini Basketball
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Coach said the refs didn't like something he was wearing. He wore "it" on Friday with no issue, but Sunday refs didn't like it? smh
illiniCA
- DC Area
The only consistent thing that I have ever seen win a tournament game is a great player. Similar to what Ayo could do and what Ivey did last night.
It was about gear he had worn Friday but was told he couldn’t wear Sunday. Not sure how that would result in sitting a half unless if truly was a life lesson moment or his head was completely out of it
Big Ten teams are geared to playing ‘Big Ten’ basketball. Spirited, tough, defensive-minded. Other teams are built to play Big Dance ball. Flashier and more flowing. Generally more athletic.
Yes, Big Ten teams have had success in the past in the tournament. But not really enough (lately) given how highly some B1G programs think of themselves.
The big name-plate programs still remain Gonzaga, Duke, Baylor, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona... based upon their body of work the past ten years or so.
Generally, they attract the high-star guys due to their program’s prominent status and wide media exposure. UCLA has made strides to get back up into that group again. Some SEC teams are getting close to the upper reaches now that the word is out it’s not just a football conference any more. Some Texas schools besides Baylor are getting good.
Other programs like Marquette and De Paul and Louisville who used to live high in the rankings have slipped from that perch and haven’t been able to get back up there. Georgetown, too.
Illinois right now is stuck one notch below the high Blue Bloods. The Orange has elevated up from the middle pack and into the upper solid program level. But the past two years has proven that one more big step up must be taken.
The big name coaches and big name programs will remain where they are until someone else can break through and join the party. Illini Nation knows who we want to see break through the glass ceiling and join the most high perches.
Coaches can get caught up in the day-to-day concerns of running the team and providing for the well-being of these young men. The off season gives the coaching staff a chance to take a step back and evaluate where the program is and what it needs to do to build from the foundation they have laid down.
Yes, Illini Nation. We are hungry. But we can’t let our eagerness for success just add to the pressure that the Illini roundball program already feels. They feel the pressure and our hopes and they want badly to give us what we all want.
Just play ball, guys. Put the best team on the floor every night and guys that will give it their all and we can live with the results. Continue to make the program a place where top guys want to come and where they know they will succeed. That’s what they want. And that’s what we want.
For me, the bar this year was set at Sweet Sixteen at least. It remains there for next season even with all the Illini roster changes. And maybe Elite Eight. That would be a solid step to the Promised Land.
Those would be the three I feel best about for sure.
thank you for all you do Dan!As today marks the end of the current season & beginning of the new, please use this thread to look ahead to 2022-2023 or reflect back.
Thanks again to everyone who joined us here to share in the glory & heartbreak
Go Illini
Updated Scholarship Grid (3/21/2022)
I do know his dad was in attendance, and given the distance involved, that's pretty rare.
I wonder if it was the shooting sleeve I've seen him wear in the past that sparked the dust up with the officials.
Different players. I think Trent was severely limited during these two games. Plummer has never been much of a driver. Damonte gets sagged off on coverage a lot so it makes it hard for his drives to be effective.
Haven't had time to look at their roster but I noticed how TCU seemed to switch everything against AZ. Even their "bigs" switched on pick and rolls. Seems like building a roster with more mobile (maybe smaller) bigs and longer guards and wings would improve our defense along with the offense. Positionless basketball anyone?
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Again, what does this mean? When you hear Baylor and Virginia - the last two national champions - are "flashy" and "flowing" the words that come to mind? Those teams ate you up with defense and were ruthlessly efficient at the offensive end.
All of this is just feelings in search of a unifying theory. There isn't one. The B1G hasn't won a title since 2000 because the tournament is weird and random and that stat is more coincidence than anything else. It's unsatisfying. Sorry.
RoundBalconies
- Chicago
Plummer took it to the rim on occasion throughout the season. It was his drive that won the Chatt game.
RoundBalconies
- Chicago
This whole situation reminds me of Super Bowl 52 when BB benched Malcolm Butler for a similar "coaches decision" that never really got explained. They proceeded to give up 41pts and lost
I agree with illinois needing more guys who could attack a close-out all season. RJ seemed like the only guy capable at times, puzzling he couldn't find many minutes
I'd agree that the BIG has had fewer truly elite teams when compared to the richest programs that get multiple burger boys / one-n-dones year after year. (e.g. Kentucky/Duke/North Car). But if you consider those as outliers, the BIG stacks up pretty well. And you do see multiple lottery picks and other NBA players each year.
Underwood is going to get second-guessed as managing too tightly given the last 2 tournaments. I don't have a strong opinion, but it is concerning to see several guys seeming to play tight in the dance. He's shown a willingness to adapt though, so hopefully next year looks more focused come tournament time.
Anyone who doesn’t view Curbelo as a massive piece to the puzzle next year is just wrong. It’s hard to understate how difficult this season was for him from a injury/illness perspective. To come back and only play the last fourth of the season on a top 20 team is going to be challenging for every single player let alone a guy who not a starter.
I don’t think you throw his results out for this year, but a mountain sized grain of salt should be taken with them. At bare minimum, as of right now, he’s the only experienced ball handler on this team. If that doesn’t scare you, please watch some Khalid Lewis and Jalon Tate led Illinois basketball from less than a decade ago. That isn’t even factoring in his other qualities.
I don’t think you throw his results out for this year, but a mountain sized grain of salt should be taken with them. At bare minimum, as of right now, he’s the only experienced ball handler on this team. If that doesn’t scare you, please watch some Khalid Lewis and Jalon Tate led Illinois basketball from less than a decade ago. That isn’t even factoring in his other qualities.
I hope that you are right. It's not me that I'm worried about, it's the "others". Like Podz, his parents, people in his ear, tampering coaches from all over the country. He is obviously talented, and at times he could have helped. He should have had a few minutes every game. Even yesterday fresh legs and a different attitude may have helped, but we will never know. Goode and RJ didn't hurt us.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
+ go back to late Feb / early March 2021 for a reminder of his transformative power when on floor, and the Mike LaTulip 247 video breakdown of him in the IU BTT game 10 days ago, which Dan posted last week. He's a rare PG talent.
In 40 minutes of Tournament playing time Belo went 1 for 11 from the field and turned the ball over 8 times.
I guess I’m not getting what other people are not getting on why he didn’t play in the second half.
I love the kid and don’t blame him at all for how this year went for him. It’s just one of those things. A lost season. I want nothing more for him to get healthy and ready to go for next year because I still think he’s going to be a star.
I guess I’m not getting what other people are not getting on why he didn’t play in the second half.
I love the kid and don’t blame him at all for how this year went for him. It’s just one of those things. A lost season. I want nothing more for him to get healthy and ready to go for next year because I still think he’s going to be a star.
So the Big 10 has gotten unlucky 22 years in a row?
I really think the key to success in the Tournament is hitting open shots. Almost every high seed that lost shot WAY below their season average.
If we are of a mind that our coach is deficient because of his results in the tournament the last two seasons, shouldn't we use the same sample to judge others?
Izzo's record as a HC is unimpeachable. They guy has had phenomenal success. I'm just not convinced the sample size in which people are judging BU is sufficient enough to say he obviously doesn't know how to prepare a team for March. The original post was insinuating that Izzo's teams are "always" peaking at the right time.
If Izzo, a HOF coach, can struggle in march the last two years, anyone can.
I think we have a heck of a coach. There is a reason others have talked about trying to lure him away.
Unfortunately, Brad can't hit open three pointers himself.
Basically. Since MSU last won it, no conference has more Final Four appearances. The conference has four Finals losses by single digits during that time. A little different luck and any single one of those games could have gone the other way.
I'm not sure exactly who will be on next year's roster, but it should be the most versatile roster BU has ever had. There is an awful lot to be excited about.
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