Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#776      

Calvin

C
Calvin
Old Farm Illini said:
It was overhyped but the potential was there. We had a high ceiling and high floor which gave us a chance to make a run and compete against anyone on any given night. As the season went on, it became more clear that things just weren’t clicking well enough to meet the potential. Still, we lost to a team that made the Sweet 16 that lost to the eventual national champions. Given that we had a couple bad concussions, relied on so many underclassmen, lost our best shooter for most of the season, had a hot mess with the pg position, and an energy drink binge, the season on paper played out as well as most would have reasonably expected.
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I don't think the hype was any different than other years. I thought the team regressed overall. Torvik seems to agree. A LOT of things happened during the season to make it chaotic, which we don't need to rehash. And when it gets down to it, I think Underwood took some chances with personnel that were decent bets, but just didn't pan out. I'm ok with that --especially when the staff holds itself accountable and learns from their experience, which I think these guys are hungry, and do.
 
#778      

D1959

D
D1959
If Rodgers is the face and the future of the program, are you sure he’s OK with being a sixth man?
 
#779      

dgcrow

dgcrow
Kelso, WA
dgcrow
pruman91 said:
Hey Indyyyyyyyyyyyyyy , my buddyyyyyyyyyyyy , my palllllllllllllllllllllllll........

Does Self wear a toup ??............asking for myself and it stays just between us ,,,,,I promise !!!....I really really do ................
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Yes. He has for years.
 
#780      

WyattEarp

WyattEarp
WyattEarp
pruman91 said:
Hey Indyyyyyyyyyyyyyy , my buddyyyyyyyyyyyy , my palllllllllllllllllllllllll........

Does Self wear a toup ??............asking for myself and it stays just between us ,,,,,I promise !!!....I really really do ................
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The Big Lebowski Dude GIF by Working Title

If it is…that’s a damn good rug.
 
#781      

Gunner22

G
Gunner22
pruman91 said:
Hey Indyyyyyyyyyyyyyy , my buddyyyyyyyyyyyy , my palllllllllllllllllllllllll........

Does Self wear a toup ??............asking for myself and it stays just between us ,,,,,I promise !!!....I really really do ................
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Well the guy who supplied Self his "high end" toups I knew and was from Chicago. Has for years. Just watch him constantly flattening the back of his hair.
 
#782      

Kathy

K
Kathy
Noblesville Illini said:
I prefer talking about Krekel’s greaseburgers. I still remember watching Krekel grab the hamburger balls and smashing them flat on the grill on Water Street. This was back when MacArthur HS was still around. I went to Mt. Zion, but the MacArthur summer school kids would walk over and eat there for lunch. Grew up playing golf all summer at Nelson Park golf course and Fairies Park as well. Amazing how things change!
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I graduated from Eisenhower in Decatur, loved Krekel's
 
#783      

Stevegarbs

Stevegarbs
Mokena, IL
Stevegarbs
Gunner22 said:
Well the guy who supplied Self his "high end" toups I knew and was from Chicago. Has for years. Just watch him constantly flattening the back of his hair.
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Has anyone seen him with any different length hair in the past 20 years? He would have to be getting daily haircuts...
 
#784      

Big Jack

Big Jack
Decatur
Big Jack
WyattEarp said:
I

I LOVE Krekels. But I don’t think it has anything on the Maidrite in Quincy.
(Some consider it a bit of an acquired taste. I am not one of those people. It was love at first bite.)
View attachment 25200
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I know it is weird having consumed probably over 500 Krekel burgers in my many years but honestly I would rather eat a Butter burger from Culvers or a 5 Guys little Bacon Cheeseburger. However you can not beat a shake from Krekels.
 
#787      

Big Jack

Big Jack
Decatur
Big Jack
D1959 said:
If Rodgers is the face and the future of the program, are you sure he’s OK with being a sixth man?
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Who said he is the sixth man? Starting positions aren't given they are earned.. He will 100% have his chance to earn that starting spot. Just as Luke had before he broke his foot. Line ups are a mesh of players, not just scorers.. Some who does the dirty work and can clean the glass will earn his minutes and a starting spot.
 
#789      

chrisRunner7

chrisRunner7
Spokane, WA
chrisRunner7
oldman said:
If you are going to participate in Illini pre-season prognostication, there are a few simple rules you should be familiar with.

1. Freshmen will exceed expectations; veterans will have break-out seasons.
2. There will not be any injuries; Fletch will improve all measurables.
3. No one on our roster will enter the transfer portal; we will get a transfer who can play multiple positions and effectively play the point in a pinch.
4. Team toughness will improve and we will win the last 10 minutes of every game; leadership will develop so that we are always ready to play at the tipoff.
5. Weaknesses will magically be resolved.
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And because we will have no injuries and no transfers, we need to worry about whether each player is going to get enough minutes per game (y)
 
#791      

Nuke Dukem

Nuke Dukem
Nuke Dukem
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Seriously ... like, we underperformed in the NCAA Tournament ONE time and played to our seed twice, and it's as if we didn't just hang TWO Big Ten banners (and what should have been a third) for the first time in 17 frickin' years.
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I get you bro. I am obviously disappointed in our recent NCAA tourney record but it wasn’t that long ago that I was wondering if the Illini would ever be relevant again. And then we were. Then COVID happened. Then Ayo got his face smashed. Then Trent was nearly blind in one eye and NIL and the transfer rules happened. I know it sounds like I am making excuses and maybe I am but it seems to me that BU has earned some time to adjust to the new landscape. Has he made some mistakes? Yes. But luck hasn’t exactly been on his side either. That being said, just win Baby.
 
#794      

Mobi

M
Mobi
21ChampaignSt said:
This is an interesting tension that Illinois and a bunch of other schools are dealing with.

Fans and DIA want to build something that can be sustained for decades. This might mean grinding through a down year with a young team in order to be better for the next 2 or 3 years.

But Brad and other coaches want to win now. They don't want to "take their medicine", to steal a golf phrase. And they're compensated and evaluated on what they achieved this year.

Meanwhile, the players are becoming less and less motivated by team outcomes and multi-year outlooks. How can Brad stake his career on anything but the current season when players don't commit to coaches or schools anymore. They commit to checks that Brad doesn't write.
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The risk of developing young players are much higher these days. See Skyy and Epps. Patience won't necessarily lead to success anymore.
 
#796      

D1959

D
D1959
Big Jack said:
Who said he is the sixth man? Starting positions aren't given they are earned.. He will 100% have his chance to earn that starting spot. Just as Luke had before he broke his foot. Line ups are a mesh of players, not just scorers.. Some who does the dirty work and can clean the glass will earn his minutes and a starting spot.
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About six or eight post back it was suggested that if Guerrier commits here that it’s highly likely, Rodgers will be coming off the bench
 
#797      

RabidDawgClassic

RabidDawgClassic
RabidDawgClassic
Big Jack said:
I know it is weird having consumed probably over 500 Krekel burgers in my many years but honestly I would rather eat a Butter burger from Culvers or a 5 Guys little Bacon Cheeseburger. However you can not beat a shake from Krekels.
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Well, since this has become a recruiting/best burgers thread, should anybody venture out her to Southern California for an upcoming Illini vs UCLA/USC game, I recommend that you forego In n Out and go directly to The Habit. I recommend the Double Char with Cheese and an order of onion rings.

D090F014-5B26-4F52-BFB9-9768D4B3BD87-5926-0000043977B114CC.jpeg
 
#800      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
Nuke Dukem said:
I get you bro. I am obviously disappointed in our recent NCAA tourney record but it wasn’t that long ago that I was wondering if the Illini would ever be relevant again. And then we were. Then COVID happened. Then Ayo got his face smashed. Then Trent was nearly blind in one eye and NIL and the transfer rules happened. I know it sounds like I am making excuses and maybe I am but it seems to me that BU has earned some time to adjust to the new landscape. Has he made some mistakes? Yes. But luck hasn’t exactly been on his side either. That being said, just win Baby.
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I think we are on the same page. The Underwood Era has been an emotional roller coaster ... on one hand, during our BTT run in 2021 on the way to a #1 seed, that MIGHT have been the best any Illini team has looked in history for a short stretch other than 1989, 2005 and maybe a few select other teams. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but we honestly looked unstoppable. Then the Loyola gut punch absolutely devastated our fan base while we felt like we just got back on top of the mountain. The Kofi transfer drama plus the shaky start to 2021-22 had us down in the dumps, and then we fought back to win our first Big Ten championship in 17 years, avenging the screw job from the prior year (and let's not forget the emotions just during that one day of watching Nebraska squeak out a win in Madison and then winning an all-time classic vs. Iowa!). Then the drama of seeming like this past season was going to be a rebuilding year only to RELOAD with a vengeance, look AMAZING in November and early December, come crashing down circa the Skyy departure and then pretty much go up-and-down-etc. for the rest of the year.

We have been through a lot just in the last three seasons, and that isn't even looking at the shltshow that was COVID and the rebuilding years before that. It's hard to keep perspective, but looking at our lack of recent NCAAT success another way ... we haven't made it back to where we were circa 2006 yet, and we cannot hold Underwood the standard like we have. He's in the MIDDLE of building up our program again. The beginning ended when we were "back" in 2021, and we are now in the middle part where we need to keep recruiting up and keep getting back to the NCAAs and keep giving it our best shot. He has us back in the conversation where we will almost always be a threat to be a top 25 team the following year depending on transfer pickups ... that is about as good as you can ask for in this new college hoops world!
 
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