This is also reflected in the NBA draft - outside of Michigan, the Big 10 has not had a lot of players drafted over the past few years, which is indicative of a lack of talent relative to other conferences. Kofi has been a beast inside for us, but outside that we have been below average in terms of athleticism the past few years. Assuming AC, RJ and Hawkins come back and our freshmen play as expected, this dynamic will change for us starting next year
Illini Basketball
- Status
Perfect photo.Well said, brother. I already turned the page to next season, and am excited about what's to come. The photo below is how I'll remember this past season's team, and it's going up on the tack board above my desk to enjoy all spring and summer long. Remember, in this photo DMW's out of sight in the far right corner, having flung himself at two Iowa shooters within five seconds, picking himself off the floor in between, to secure a title for us:
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Sidenote - There is no way Big Ten schedules Iowa at Illinois again to end the 2022-23 season? Can't beat the last two.
I would say dainja won’t be leaving
Count me in as someone who really wants Curbelo back next year. He had awful luck this year with concussion and sickness issues that had a massive effect on his game. He's taken a lot of flack on social media from much of our fanbase for his uneven play this year and still has kept an awesome attitude.
We've complained for years about our lack of point guard play...then we finally get one of the best guys around- a terrific ball handler and passer, who while erratic
at times, is simply phenomenal when at his best. He's also a great kid with a giant personality. Now a segment of fans don't care if he stays or transfers. I'll be extremely disappointed if he's not around to lead this talented group of players/recruits in the next few years. Hopefully the rest of us can show him a lot of love in the coming days. Go Illini!
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
This might be recency bias given Curbelo was on the bench in the second half yesterday. I could understand why people might look at that as a sign he's not coming back. I don't buy it, but I get the logic.
I'm curious about the exchange he had with coaches in the locker room that kept him on the bench. On the one hand, I do admire BU for sticking to his guns and not letting an athlete dictate what happens in his locker room, but on the other I can't help but wonder if Belo, with his ability to create for others and nose for rebounds, wouldn't have been helpful. Make it clear he's getting pulled if he takes another bogus 3-pt. attempt, but put him out there.
Belo REALLY needs to be more consistent and hone his judgment out there. He may be the most talented PG in college basketball, but there is a lot of room for growth.
That's the greatest feeling of loss I felt after the Houston game.
It was 2020 and 2022... It just felt like the last two years because 2021 had no fans
First of all. Sorry coach but The BIG is NOT the best conference in the country when it comes to TOURNAMENT TIME. As has been mentioned there are a lot of individual stars but not a lot of great teams that can compete for a championship. One more thing, I like our trajectory but I do believe that Underwood needs to grab his clubs and go golfing with IZZO this summer. Nothing against Brad but IZZO gets the most out of his players during tourney time. That's why he has been so successful. M. State plays loose and they execute well. That was not the case in both games for the Illini. We can talk personnel and x's and o's but from a coaching standpoint, once you have done something a few times, it may not be easier, but it is less stressful and easier to manage.
I have my doubts that he was told not to take any wide open threes.
Buy him a Harley Roadster with a helmet. He would look BAD on that.
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It all depends what was done/said. We can always question the decision, but no way to know for sure WHY without being there.
Who is MSU playing next weekend? Who could forget their memorable run to losing in the First 4 last season? We can only aspire to similar results....
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
I know. The teacher in me respects it more than anything. Managing a group of strong personalities takes a lot, including some tough calls. The fan in me wishes it hadn't been like that
I would argue that we have pretty good teams in the big ten, but LACK star power. It’s been noted several times - draft picks out of the big 10 are substantially lower compared to the rest of the power 5. When playing against other top competition, size and athleticism stick out and can take over.
With the drop defense, it came into play yesterday in the second half.
Just seconding the support for our point guard. I can't totally explain his erratic play this year. My guess has been that he was just pressing too much to try to make up for lost time. But I do know what I saw from him last year. And for that reason, I'll always believe in him.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
That Houston guard who torched us in the 2nd half hit a bunch of really tough shots, sagging off of him was the right play since we wasn't as lethal from 3. Watching the game I had the feeling Houston would hit every shot they took, same couldn't be said about Illinois.
I wonder if it was something completely trivial, like he said he wasn’t 100% or something.
Certainly the facts fit that narrative to date, but still have a really small sample size that is even smaller than it needs to be due to the lost COVID tournament.
Years 1-2 were part of a tear down/rebuild. So looking at years 3-5 my question is are we playing our best basketball at the end of the year? 2020 we were surging but lost the tournament. 2021 we were surging but was a goofy with all the BIG teams spending an extra week in bubble isolation. This year is the first year I don’t feel like we were peaking, but we had so many injuries we just didn’t have a lot of practice time to properly gel. Throw in a sprained shoulder and a bad case of pinkeye (really?) and we were essentially down 1.5 starters for the tourney, so not surprising we weren’t at our best.
I do feel like Brad is making adjustments in the roster and is prioritizing length, athleticism and shooting so we have a more versatile team than we’ve had. The tournament is so fluky now it’s hard to really extrapolate anything. I think the biggest key is to 1. Put together a roster with no obvious mismatches and 2. Get to the tourney consistently. We look to be doing # 1 and I am reasonably confident in #2. Our program is due for a year where we get hot at the right time and make a run as an 8 or 11 or whatever. Just gotta get there every year.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Can't imagine it would be. I know he got into it with the refs before the game about something. If he was just generally testy, and the staff was testy with them trailing by 4, it could have just been a recipe for disaster
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Not trying to be difficult, but what does this mean? There is no one "style of play" in the B1G. Iowa plays very differently from Wisconsin. Both play very differently from us. All of us play differently than MSU. We're all equally at home now.
The tournament is luck and chaos. There's no "one weird trick" to solve it. You just have to keep getting there as often as you can to get on the right said of said luck.
BIG had 3 first team all Americans. Isn’t that star power? We seem to be the only conference that features dominate old style centers, is that a detriment in the tourney? The two teams that did make sweet sixteen had them. They also had big physical guards. Was that a critical factor?
Do think being able to make the 10-15 ft shot is necessary. Hawk has those available all day and Ayo lived on them. Would like Hawk, RJ, and Kofi if he returns shooting those when open as they open up the lane.
Sorry, to clarify, I mean NBA star power, ie lottery picks.
Yes. Big ten produces some of the best college players.
sacraig
- The desert
- Status