This year was average.
Illini Basketball
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We've had 20 or more wins and winning records in conference 4 seasons in a row.
Last time that happened was 1999-2006, before that? 1982-1991.
Yes, we all want better success in March but let's appreciate what BU is doing here
I guess that's all we can hope for and better than being in the bottom 3, but weren't we prognosticated similarly prior to this season? I think you are saying that you like the talent we have staying / coming in...and thank you for that, that's nice to know. I hope we can learn to play smart and unselfishly, otherwise, that talent gets us right back to where we were this year.
This year was a disappointment. Period. All I read and heard all summer was how talented a roster we had and how great this team would be. Multiple NBA draft picks, etc. Nope. Not even close. They need dudes. Studs. I don't see any on the roster for next year either. I saw someone say top 3 in the B1G next year. In what sport?
It can't be understated how little in-game experience this team had starting the season. The guys who had played quite a bit, did it somewhere else. I think this team wanted to play fast, but often got sped up to the point of rushing. You've got to play to get used to the game. You've got to play together to develop chemistry and brotherhood.
Most of the teams that will play this weekend are OLD or have multiple 5 star freshmen. (ARK, ALA) If you watched the Tennesse/Duke game you saw what a bunch of grown men can do to a bunch of uber-talented freshmen.
There is no teacher like experience, and these guys learned a lot of lessons the hard way this year. Hopefully most of them stick around, get stronger, get smarter, and learn to play together.
I mean, both can be true. Every team needs some semblance of star power to win games. In this scenario, we would certainly need Shannon and Hawkins to be stars and leaders. I think it's undeniable that the times this year when we actually looked engaged and focused, the talk was about Hawkins, Harris & Rodgers. Defense, rebounding, toughness. That is the culture and it comes from that bunch.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Okay, I am a big fan of that, haha. I think we are all braced for this new era of NIL/portal offseason carnivals, but in an IDEAL world you would want your fans and teammates to be able to assume you are at least likely to come back if you have remaining eligibility. In other words, assume a player returns until you have reason to believe otherwise, rather than entering each offseason with the sinking feeling that every player must be re-recruited - even if that has a component of truth to it.
When a freshman like Harris has a surprisingly good year, it's arguably not a good look for it not to be assumed he'll be back. I support the move.Also, this is as good of a thread as any ... any possibility we get the United Center game back? I know some will get jitters about it, but I honestly believe it's a good recruiting pitch for the program, a cool perk for the players (especially instate recruits), a good marketing opportunity (casual/other fans subconsciously associating the Illini with Chicago), a good gesture to the many fans in the Chicago area and good to get our guys experience playing in another neutral court gym that also very well might be the site of the BTT many years. Additionally, I think it would be really foolish to associate the UC game's attendance prospects with the last couple of years we did it. That was arguably the absolute lowest our program has ever been.
We JUST drew over 16,000 for the PSU game on a Thursday night, and if you were in that arena you knew there were hardly any PSU/Maryland/Minnesota fans; it was all orange. From 2000 through Groce's second year, we averaged over 17,000 for our United Center games, and even the UIC games averaged about 14,500. Just eyeballing the games, our "halfway decent matchups" averaged about 19,600, and the more exciting matchups with decent Illini teams (e.g., Gonzaga in 2010) drew over 20,000.
I think with the program AT LEAST back on somewhat solid footing and given that we just drew 16,000 for a Thursday night BTT game, you'd be all but guaranteed an attendance well over the capacity of State Farm Center for a Saturday home game vs. a decent opponent next year. Personally, I would love more of the types of series' we had with Gonzaga several years ago, with some interesting examples below (especially now that the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is history) ... matchups that don't give a program like Duke too much exposure in Chicago, provide us exposure in another talent hotbed and draw a nice crowd in Chicago:
Syracuse: Chicago, New York City (MSG), Champaign, Syracuse
Virginia: Chicago, Washington DC, Champaign, Charlottesville
Tennessee: Chicago, Nashville, Champaign, Knoxville
Texas: Chicago, Dallas (Houston?), Champaign, Austin
Kansas State: Chicago, Kansas City, Champaign, Manhattan
Florida: Chicago, Tampa (Orlando?), Champaign, Gainesville
It would be nice to get in the Bay Area or Atlanta, as well, but I am not sure how big of a draw Cal/Stanford or Georgia would be at the UC.
Big Jack
- Decatur
We've had 20 or more wins and winning records in conference 4 seasons in a row.
Last time that happened was 1999-2006, before that? 1982-1991.
Yes, we all want better success in March but let's appreciate what BU is doing here
Bigtex
- DFW
Not sure I could summarize 2023-2024 any better.
A few additional thoughts...
IMO we need an alpha personality (might be a young player on the team).
Shannon & Hawkins if they return will be go to guys
If Rodgers develops a jump shot he will also be a go to guy.
IMO Goode, RJ, Harris will be role players which are necessary and important.
Rounding out roster with ball handlers, shooters and a big. might come from current roster or portal.
A few additional thoughts...
IMO we need an alpha personality (might be a young player on the team).
Shannon & Hawkins if they return will be go to guys
If Rodgers develops a jump shot he will also be a go to guy.
IMO Goode, RJ, Harris will be role players which are necessary and important.
Rounding out roster with ball handlers, shooters and a big. might come from current roster or portal.
Could be. Wondering if he hit a wall or if we find out he was dealing with injuries.
Not sure what you are saying here. BU's best team got beat by in state Loyola in the NCAA tournament. The next game Oregon St took out the Ramblers because they threw a zone at them in the 2nd half.. Hence no more back door cuts. BU never could figure it out.
The team this year got gradually worse. Turnovers were a mess and the half court offense was not good. That's coaching.
The blow hard act is beyond old and the Bob Knight era is waaaay past it's prime. It's almost like some of you are happy with a few Big 10 titles. Tell me the last NCAA Champion from the Big 10? It's been 22 years?
Cmon look at Purdue this year. Illinois should be held to a higher standard than a few top Big 10 conference finishes.
He was probably my favorite player. I like a lot of players on the team, but watching how much this team struggled with poor shooting, TSJ seemed like the one guy who could force things driving in the paint. Just hope that the team buy-in is a lot higher next season --that seems like the biggest issue.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I don't know how much we're really disagreeing here, but I still stand by the notion that your culture flows from your leaders. It isn't going to be Harris and Rodgers and Goode's team, even though there's something appeal about that prospect given how scrappy they all are.
It's going to be Shannon and Hawkins' team, and Shannon is a guy who drifts in and out of games, and Hawkins is a guy who is sometimes a real problem on offense with his passivity, and both of them are pretty low-key personalities.
Both for what he was as a player and a person wouldn't it be great if we could magically put Alfonso Plummer back on the team?
Yes, I am happy with B1G titles. Those are nice.
And you want to hold us to a higher standard than the team that was ranked 1st in the nation for much of the season?
Sorry. Can't get on board with you.
TJ is not even close to the conversation on NPOY.
Ranked #1 and got beat by in state Loyola in the tournament. Good times!! lol The man has done nothing in the big dance. More good times!!
Talent leaving in the portal. Team this year got worse as the season went on. More goody good times!!
On the one hand, I'd agree that the BIG has been measurably down for a few seasons, and it's even worse looking at the NCAA tournament. But using the Champion is a bit of a cherry pick IMHO. Think the Big has been in the Championship game many times over that span (Michigan, Wiscy, Illinois, Indy, tOSU, MSU).
We lost all 5 starters and 90% of our statistical production, had our starting PG quit the team mid-year, among other things. What did you expect this year?
We won 20 games and made the tournament. If that's a down year for us, I'm okay with it.
Cherry picking for 22-23 years produces a lot of cherries. The big 10 is not even close to as athletic as the SEC, ACC, Pac 12, Big 12 and it's obvious.
BU's best team got beat by in-state Loyola and the game wasn't even close. #12 Oregon St adjusts, plays zone and beats Loyola. Tell me a legit 2nd round NCAA tourney game by BU/Illinois that was close. lol
He's not a good coach
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Unless you are willing to say a solution, you are just whining for no other reason than to try to get us to join in on your misery and give it some company. Do you suggest firing Underwood in the coming weeks, or should we all just complain more while we keep him? If the former, who are some realistic candidates you are considering to replace him?
If you don't have a real answer to any of that, I think you should get some fresh air and really ask yourself why you posted this in the first place. Like, you think we aren't all upset not making it to the Sweet Sixteen or further or with how this season went? Scroll through ANY thread, and you'll very clearly see that's not true. One can feel both of those things and still think Underwood is the best man for the job, so if you don't ... enlighten us!
EDIT: Ah, I see now - four posts.
I'm not ok with a down year. This is not Illinois football. The pieces were in place, the team started good and beat legit teams. Then they got worse. Why? Coaching yes 100%. Losing more talent at guard to the portal? Why? Don't call a timeout in a NCAA tourney game with a player on 1 shoe for about 2 minutes? Why?
Thankfully, all of the people who actually get paid to assess things like this disagree with you.
Assessing Brad Underwood After Year 6
Assessing Brad Underwood after Year 6
Much like the 2023 season, it’s a bit of a complex topic.www.thechampaignroom.com
That seems fair. In some ways he's a victim of his success, getting consistently to the tournament and having expectations ratcheted up. OTOH, a slew of early tournament exits is going to get a lot of grumbling, especially when you add the late slide this team had.
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