Pregame: Illinois at Michigan State, Thursday, January 7th, 8:00pm CT, ESPN

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#27      

AEX

Danger Zone
And we'd be one of the older teams in recent memory. Four seniors and two sixth year seniors in the rotation.

We could name the season "The Redemption Tour."
 
#28      
Looking at the remaining schedule and the way we played today the optimist in me says we could go 11-7
@Msu W
Purdue L
Nebraska W
@Indiana L
@Minn W
OSU W
Wisconsin W
@Rutgers W
Iowa L
@Northwestern W
Rutgers W
@Wisconsin L
Indiana W
Minn W
@Maryland L
@Penn state W

Go I-L-L-I-N-I!!

If we can get Leron back, it could happen. If we don't get him back this season, then 9-9 is actually more realistic than most fans may think.
 
#29      
Another ring to remember: A lot people were discussing DJW as a likely red-shirt candidate. That got scuttled this year due to the amount of injuries.

I think it would be good for him to red shirt next year. You are looking at a starting line up next year of Abrams, Nunn, Hill, Finke, and Thorne with a second unit of Tate, JCL, Jordan, Black, Morgan. Where will he get minutes? Unless Groce plans on going 11 or 12 deep next year.

I just hope he doesn't transfer because he definitely has the highest ceiling of any of our freshman. Has the ability to play almost any position on the floor. I see a lot of similarities to former tOSU NPOY Evan Turner.
 
#30      
If we can get Leron back, it could happen. If we don't get him back this season, then 9-9 is actually more realistic than most fans may think.

Thorne is the key returnee for this season. If the news leaking out about him starting back late this week are true, it will be big for the teams sake.
 
#31      
For that question to be asked and for Groce to answer it in the manner in which he answered gives me hope that Black and Thorne will both be back at some point this season. My guess: early February.

I doubt Thorne wants to come back next season and forego making money playing hoops. He'll be able to make a decent living somewhere (not saying the NBA)

Leron will want to play this season too knowing that he could help this team on the boards, and he will still have two more years of eligibility remaining to improve his game for the next level. Not much incentive to redshirt imho.

If those two can just give us 30-40 combined minutes/game, we'll be a tough team to beat with all of our shooters.
 
#32      
I think it would be good for him to red shirt next year. You are looking at a starting line up next year of Abrams, Nunn, Hill, Finke, and Thorne with a second unit of Tate, JCL, Jordan, Black, Morgan. Where will he get minutes? Unless Groce plans on going 11 or 12 deep next year.

I just hope he doesn't transfer because he definitely has the highest ceiling of any of our freshman. Has the ability to play almost any position on the floor. I see a lot of similarities to former tOSU NPOY Evan Turner.

Do you really believe DJ has s higher ceiling than Finke Jordan and Lands?
 
#33      
Do you really believe DJ has s higher ceiling than Finke Jordan and Lands?

Yes he does. Because he has the height and length and skill set to play anywhere from the 1-3 at the next level. He just hasn't quite adjusted to the college game yet. Doesn't mean the skills and potential have gone away. Jordan and jcl are clearly 2 guards. Neither is overly athletic. We haven't seen it much yet but djw is a far better athlete than either. And jcl is very undersized for a 2 at the next level. Granted Finke has really come on and shows lots of potential to be great stretch big man at the next level.
 
#34      
Finke to me has the most pro potential, at 6-10 he is tall enough to be a pick and pop PF and possibly develop into a SF.
 
#35      
Yes he does. Because he has the height and length and skill set to play anywhere from the 1-3 at the next level. He just hasn't quite adjusted to the college game yet. Doesn't mean the skills and potential have gone away. Jordan and jcl are clearly 2 guards. Neither is overly athletic. We haven't seen it much yet but djw is a far better athlete than either. And jcl is very undersized for a 2 at the next level. Granted Finke has really come on and shows lots of potential to be great stretch big man at the next level.

So you would rather have DJ over JCL on this team if you had to choose just one?
 
#37      

blmillini

Bloomington, IL
Yes he does. Because he has the height and length and skill set to play anywhere from the 1-3 at the next level. He just hasn't quite adjusted to the college game yet. Doesn't mean the skills and potential have gone away. Jordan and jcl are clearly 2 guards. Neither is overly athletic. We haven't seen it much yet but djw is a far better athlete than either. And jcl is very undersized for a 2 at the next level. Granted Finke has really come on and shows lots of potential to be great stretch big man at the next level.

DJ doesn't have the mental makeup to make it at the next level. He may not even have it at this level. He is one of those guys with all the skill in the world and a huge upside but the key will be whether he ever figures out how to turn it on all the time. He disappeared far too often in high school and that is often a big red flag.
 
#38      

blmillini

Bloomington, IL
So you would rather have DJ over JCL on this team if you had to choose just one?

JCL is going to be a great college player! I don't know if he has enough to make it at the next level but I have no doubt he will be among the all time 3 point shooting leaders at Illinois.
 
#40      
DJ doesn't have the mental makeup to make it at the next level. He may not even have it at this level. He is one of those guys with all the skill in the world and a huge upside but the key will be whether he ever figures out how to turn it on all the time. He disappeared far too often in high school and that is often a big red flag.



He did disappear in games in hs but I don't think it's fair to make a judgement on his mental makeup so soon. As for his ceiling, if I knew both JCL and djw would reach their potential when it's all said and done here I'd think long and hard about who id rather have. DJW could be a mismatch nightmare and be an awesome defender with that length. And yes he's a much better athlete than the other freshman. I really really hope he can put it all together.
 
#42      
Line is MSU -13.5, seems like we're getting no respect here. I don't think MSU without Valentine is much better than OSU.

Also if Thorne's gonna return this season, I hope it happens soon. I don't want him to return when there's no postseason hope left only for him to lose the chance to play next year when we could really be great.
 
#43      
Also if Thorne's gonna return this season, I hope it happens soon. I don't want him to return when there's no postseason hope left only for him to lose the chance to play next year when we could really be great.

If Thorne does indeed return this year, it would be a pretty good indication that the staff is not feeling very confident he will get a sixth year from the NCAA. JMO.
 
#44      
If Thorne does indeed return this year, it would be a pretty good indication that the staff is not feeling very confident he will get a sixth year from the NCAA. JMO.

Not necessarily. It could be an indication that Thorne has let them know he's not interested in staying on for another year.

In fact, Loren Tate recently mentioned the staff is feeling more certain of the 6th year if they do go that way.
 
#45      

illynifan34

That's a winner!!
OH
Line is MSU -13.5, seems like we're getting no respect here. I don't think MSU without Valentine is much better than OSU.

Also if Thorne's gonna return this season, I hope it happens soon. I don't want him to return when there's no postseason hope left only for him to lose the chance to play next year when we could really be great.

What have we done to earn respect against a top 5 team, even with their star player out?
 
#46      

BlindLoyalty

FartNoiseMotivation
Good news for Thorne and the team.

As the UI medical staff stated via Groce (on 10/08/15), the standard meniscus timetable is 4-6 weeks. Thorne is about at week 5. Black is about at about week 13.

Hopefully Black gets on the court soon as well. “Fortunately for us, it’ll be a pretty quick deal (Black's recovery and return to action). Leron is one of those guys who’s pretty thorough in everything that he does,” Groce said. “He’ll have a sense of urgency, do the right things, listen to the team trainers, the doctors, a lot like (Jalen Coleman-Lands).”
 
#47      
What have we done to earn respect against a top 5 team, even with their star player out?

Considering all of our losses have been close, including games against teams that are probably better than MSU without Valentine (Providence, Iowa State, maybe Michigan), I just think the line should be a little closer. 7 or 8 sounds about right to me.
 
#48      
If Thorne does indeed return this year, it would be a pretty good indication that the staff is not feeling very confident he will get a sixth year from the NCAA. JMO.

It could also be self awareness of their shaky standing. The only thing resembling a guarantee at having this job for another season would be an NCAA berth, and I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where they pull that off without Thorne. He can't save their jobs next year if they don't have them.

Plus with the prevalence of transfers, they probably feel pretty good at being able to bring in a quality player next year even if he's not as good as Thorne.
 
#49      

Dan

Admin
John Groce teleconference

https://twitter.com/DPiperScout

Groce: Khalid Lewis is going to go vs. MSU

Groce: Have to continue to strive for consistency. Thought we got contributions from a lot of guys vs. OSU.

Groce: We've practiced well here two days in a row. Guys have given good effort & made progress.

Groce on MSU: Physical, great depth, good on the glass, push the ball in transition.

Groce: We're preparing as if Denzel Valentine is playing. Have a contingency plan for if he doesn't. Prepared regardless.

Groce: Lewis is progressively getting better. Lost some weight but starting to get some of it back. Looked good today.

Groce: Mike Thorne Jr. is still doing treatment and rehab. That includes some cardio. Gained quite a bit of weight while out.

Groce: Right now, Thorne has done nothing on the court. He won't until he is ready to do so. Black the same way.
 
#50      

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Considering all of our losses have been close, including games against teams that are probably better than MSU without Valentine (Providence, Iowa State, maybe Michigan), I just think the line should be a little closer. 7 or 8 sounds about right to me.

:confused:

We've lost 3 games by 10 or more points. On paper I'd say that MSU is going to have us for dinner, with or without an injured player. I'm hoping the effort that showed up in Columbus made the trip to East Lansing to keep this one within a dozen.
 
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