MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
Pretty, pretty good.
Illinois 92, Arkansas State 53 Postgame
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Some of the biggest "Illini talent leaps" (from one year to the next) I can recall off the top of my head:
1. Kendall Gill
2. Ken Norman
3. Kevin Turner
It certainly appears that C. Hawkins will get added to this list. Watching it happen is one of the things I enjoy most about Illini basketball.
texillwek
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GallopingGhost
- Denver, CO
More extended highlights (aka shows most of the points scored) here: although it cuts off the first 6-8 minutes for some reason.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Illini get top guards back, roll to win over Arkansas State
Illinois wins 92-53 for 2-0 start to season.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ā Coleman Hawkins had 17 points on Friday night and No. 11 Illinois overwhelmed Arkansas State in a 92-53 blowout.
Illinois welcomed guards Andre Curbelo and Trent Frazier back into the lineup. Curbelo finished with eight points, seven assists and four rebounds for Illinois (2-0), while Frazier, who returned from a shoulder injury, added 12 points and four rebounds.
Hawkins also had a career-high 12 rebounds and dished out four assists for Illinois, while Jacob Grandison finished with 15 points.
āIāve always been very positive about Coleman,ā Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. āI think heās ready to take that next step. I think weāre starting to see that. Now heās got another step (to take).ā
Trash talk
Curbelo got into a few testy exchanges with the Arkansas State bench, and both Underwood and Arkansas State coach Mike Balado received technical fouls.After making a layup with 6:33 to go in the first half, Curbelo blew a kiss toward the Red Wolvesā bench, right in front of one of the officials, and was given a technical foul.
Curbelo said afterward that someone on the bench was swearing at him in Spanish and insulting his mother.
āInstead of talking trash, I made that nice layup and then blew them a kiss,ā Curbelo said. āThatās it.ā
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That explains the kiss blown and I don't blame him one bit....maybe we need all refs to be fluent in Spanish from now on.....................
Our 38 free throws didnāt make the cut.
Probably cuz they didnāt want to show 15 misses.
I love that a lot of guys are getting to play and that Coleman Hawkins and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk have played so well, but we haven't played a good team yet and all our games have been at home. We need to see what happens against better competition and on the road, and how we adjust when Kofi returns. Looking forward to it.
The challenge for Hawkins when Kofi returns is to be part of a team that can handle whatever the opponent throws at them. He can do whatever he wants against the Ark. and Jackson States of the world, but when he has to do what is needed against the Gonzagas and Michigans....well he has the talent and skill to get done whatever needs doing.
Point is, you can eliminate a big scorer who is 6' to 6'5" by putting a guy like Hutch or DFW on him...someone a little quicker who can sky and tough enough to eliminate all open shots and make the scorer take shots from places where he is not comfortable. But who the heck can do that to a guy like CoHawk? Hawkins simply needs to get better at hitting shots wherever they are, getting the ball to open teammates (who can all score), grabbing (and holding on to) every rebound he can touch, and playing confounding defense without fouling. But what we have learned through two games is that he can do all those things!!! The challenge will be doing them every night...and the staff, I am certain, knows this and is in his ear every day about it. Good news is that he is a bright kid, humbled by the game, and eager to learn. But we knew all that a year ago and Underwood keeps telling us that. It is why I expected to see what we have seen from CoHawk through the first two games. But, in all honesty, I did not expect quite the level of confidence he has shown, which is the catalyst to becoming an elite player.
I do not expect 15-10-4 from CoHawk every night. Other coaches can blatantly see what he can do and try to take away some things....but they cannot ever take away all of them with a single defender and this team has so many scorers that such and effort should be welcomed.
Bottom line is the biggest threat to beat this team is themselves....which is almost always the case with elite teams. It will be riveting to see if this bunch can become legendary and join the Whiz Kids, the Flyin' Illini, and the '05 teams in Illini lore. They have three elite players unlike any ever on an Illini roster joined by a handful of players capable of elite play on any given night.
But I am not going to make any predictions...just join the rest of Illini Nation in pulling for these kids to be the best they can be. BU and staff will do the rest.
Finally, as a hardwood fanatic since my first birthday when my grandfather gave me a tiny basketball and a hoop that dinged a bell when the ball went through, when attending my first home basketball game as a freshman at the University of Arizona, I never imagined that the Wildcats would ever be considered a threat to beat my beloved Illini. In those days, the Cats played in front of about 3500 fans in an old PE facility (called Bear Down Gym) with no permanent seating (most of the fans sat in bleachers erected for games at each end). But things have changed, huh? Nevertheless, I will look forward to the Cats hoopsters playing in what I will always call the Assembly Hall and heading back to Tucson after a beatdown...I hope the kind the Illini handed Wake Forest back in '05. Its the only time I pull against an Arizona team...but Illini basketball will always be first in my heart.
This is Illinois' deepest team since 2000-2001 when we regularly played 10-12 guys.
A big X factor this year is Trent getting back to the scoring assertiveness he had earlier in his career.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
It may take a 10-game sample size to solidify that observation.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Fair point , but it seems like his body is centered more this year than the last 2 years and his release point and follow through is better this year.........
Hopefully his shoulder is ok and he won't have to miss any more games because of a re-injury going forward........I worry about him fighting through the screens and somebody laying a hard body on him that way.....
Mady Sissoko - Men's Basketball - Michigan State University Athletics
Mady Sissoko (22) C - THE WORD Enters his junior year with the opportunity for a larger role and expanded opportunity ā¢ A big and strong rebounder ā¢ A well-conditioned
msuspartans.com
Keep mentally comparing him to Franz Wagner. The only thing he hasnāt shown is a consistent three point shot and maybe defending BIG 4ās. Think he can do both.
I have watched all these. Is there a full replay on btn at any point that anyone has noticed?
You went to the Illinois men's basketball game right? In the flying saucer looking thingie?
orange100
time to hop on the wife
lol- yes. I knew that would not be a popular observation but, I stand by it.
I'm bullish on Cohawk...but I also remember Miller with like 28 in one of his first couple outings and "B10 Freshman of year" talk.
I could see Cohawk in running for maybe B10 6th man of yr (i.e Curbelo last yr). Grandison and Hutch could both serve in that role also...
The Cohawk energy blitz off bench could be similar to ACs last year.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Itās still early, and we havenāt seen him play like that yet against high major competition, but I think itās gonnaā be tough to keep him out of the starting lineup.
Excited to see how he does tomorrow night.
I imagine by mid-season, weāll be looking at a starting lineup of:
Belo
Trent
Grandy
Hawkins
Kofi
With Plummer, DMW, & Hutch getting a lot of minutes off the bench and Payne and BBV giving Kofi a breather as needed.