Good for the both of you. Be excited and be proud. Even when other people won't "get" the accomplishment and signifcance, just smile and cherish it for yourself. I speak from experience. Congratulations and enjoy!
Illinois 61, Wisconsin 51 Postgame
He needs to
A win a national championship
B make at least 3 final fours but would need solid regular seasons
I wasn’t around for Henson. 97 to 06 was a good 10 years to be an Illini fan but 42 to 52 had to be better even though it was a smaller tournament (elite 8, 2 final fours, 5 conference championships)
Purdue would be Ohio State without Edey.
At best.
That IU game might have been a blessing in disguise. We have really turned the defense up a notch. Coleman and RJ have really stood out on that end of the court IMO.
Offense is still a work in progress. However, we are starting to see a solid offensive core of Mayer, TSJ, Dain, and Epps.
Offense is still a work in progress. However, we are starting to see a solid offensive core of Mayer, TSJ, Dain, and Epps.
Final tally... there is one other B1G team besides Illinois that has won three games in a row at the Kohl Center -- Ohio State from 1998-2000.
In its 26 seasons, Kohl has been a house of horrors for many teams -- most notably Indiana (1 win) and Penn State (0 wins).
B1G win totals at Kohl -- 1998-2023
Michigan State -- 9 wins
Illinois -- 7 wins
Ohio State -- 7 wins
Purdue -- 5 wins
Iowa -- 5 wins
Michigan -- 4 wins
Northwestern -- 3 wins
Nebraska -- 2 wins
Maryland -- 2 wins
Minnestoa -- 2 wins
Rutgers -- 1 win
Indiana -- 1 win
Penn State - 0 wins
That Illinois is tied for second most wins is pretty impressive considering our 15 game losing streak to the Badgers. There were four seasons where we were their only B1G loss at home for the season -- 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2020.
Brad travels
Offensively I would include Hawkins (though I didn’t see today’s game). Even though he’s streaky as a scorer, he’s a great passer for a big man.
Definitely. He doesn't show up a ton on the scoresheet, but he's the engine on offense and defense.
GallopingGhost
- Denver, CO
He probably has increased his defense to Sencires level. Plus he is a rebound hound.
GallopingGhost
- Denver, CO
I hate to say it but dude is gonna be NPOY. It can’t be anyone else, right? At least without someone going nuclear in February and March.
Brandon Miller from Bama or Keyonte George from Baylor, maaaaybe Armando Bacot
Special insight? Where did I say anything about that? Jeesh. Look, my opinion is that this team still hasn't fully gelled, maximized its potential, call it whatever you want; and that is taking much longer than many expected. Hopefully they will do so before the season ends and we can all look back at these struggles as necessary to steel the team for a great tournament run. They are fantastically fun to watch when playing well, and extremely frustrating to watch when not - often in the same game all season long. Simple as that.
I think we’re really missing 1 more “key” offensive piece who can score at will to really feel more comfortable on that end of the floor. Too many times our offense goes stagnant when only 3 of the 4 guys you mentioned above are on the court. I think it could be Goode when he comes back, but if RJ, could find his stroke, that’d be massive. Feel for the kid… he’s been in quite the slump, but we know he’s a good shooter. Hoping that dunk today can get him going. He can be such a good basketball player and has really stepped up on the defensive side of things.
Was thinking about what we look like when he gets some reversion to the mean on his 3s and how the driving lanes will open up more for him. Love that he has played tenacious d through his struggles. Some forget what a high ceiling this kid has.
Yep, I think the real RJ is yet to arrive.
Then there’s base 2.
Wahl has earned the title to “most punchable face” on the buzzcuts, IMO.
Hawkins had him absolutely blanketed. Gave him a lesson. The hook and hold was completely out of frustration.( I have no clue what angle the refs reviewed.)
The interior defense was stellar all around, but Hawkins’ effort on Wahl was special.
You poor unfortunate sunuvabitch.Unless you pay tuition for your daughter to go there and you’re forced to wear a Michigan Dad shirt
Well, I actually agree with your opinion on this team. Pretty much mine.
Here's what you said that I disagree with "My point is that after the Mizzou game we were no closer to that goal than we were 5 years before. "
That's just absurd. Combined with your disparaging "wise one" in the same post, I just thought you believed you had insights that others didn't. I'm happy to know that you don't, especially since the one "special" insight you presented that I quoted above is ridiculous.
I told my daughter she could go to any big 10 school,,,, but the tuition was going to IllinoisUnless you pay tuition for your daughter to go there and you’re forced to wear a Michigan Dad shirt
Being completely serious, to be the best Illini coach of all time, he probably needs to win a National Championship. I'm not saying that to diminish him say that only winning matters, it's just that when looking through our storied history, Ralph Jones coached an undefeated season and got us a Helms, Douglas Mills led us to the Final Four with a 1 loss season got promoted to AD and then hired Harry Combes who took us to 3 Final Fours in 4 years. And then there's Lou Henson who held his own in an incredibly tough B10 and took us to a Final Four. And even though many will scoff, Bruce Weber brought us a hair-width away from a National Championship and quite frankly may have been our best x's and o's coach in at least the modern era.
We are known for not winning it all, but overall we've had some pretty great coaches who have gotten us as close as we can get to the promised land (and something Ralph Jones actually did though it was over 100 years ago). To be the best Illinois coach ever he needs to surpass that history and the only way that I see him doing it is either winning a National Championship or getting us to Final Fours on a regular basis. And yes, that's a crazy high standard but it'd be pretty tough to call him the best without him attaining that level of success.
You want someone that can score at will? So does every team in the nation. Those guys are extremely rare. You probably mean someone that can get their own shot.
While those guys are also extremely valuable, I'll settle for someone who can make an open 3. Someone that can shoot over 40% overall preferably. Right now our top guy is Mayer at 36.7%. Epps at 35.4% is the only other guy better than 1 of 3 on the team. As a Fr. last year Goode was 37.2%. Hopefully his injury has given him a lot of time to improve that shot and he can be that shooter we need when he gets back.
sacraig
- The desert
Nice way to flip around the epic losing streak that preceded that.