BruceDouglas

Unbalanced schedules getting more unbalanced. Conference title gets even more meaningless.

19 hours ago, Stlboiler23 said:

I know I’m biased but Braden Smith not making this list is laughable. 

Did this get cut off? I don't see Ty Rodgers.

So without Ware and Reneau, we barely won. Brutal.

I can't wait for that Wednesday evening BTT game sometime down the road between Rutgers and Washington at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.

Probably a very entertaining game for those not invested in who wins. Collins is a good coach and made some nice adjustments from the first meeting. Brad....not so much. Boo is tough and kills us just like his brother used to do at Penn St. On to the next....

2 hours ago, 13th&Jackson said:

This confirms what I was saying. It’s based on average net ranking. B1G doesn’t have a Louisville or a DePaul. But B1G only has three good teams, WI, PU and IL. 

No, actually it refutes what you're saying in comparison to the P12 and ACC which again are well below the B1G. Whether you want to compare the top teams or the entire league. Has been the case for quite a few seasons now. ACC has UNC and Duke and then....not much. P12 has Arizona. Unfortunately several of their dregs will be in the B1G next year.

4 hours ago, 13th&Jackson said:

Just scroll through the NET rankings sorted by conference. The B1G looks a bit better by composite because it doesn’t have any 150+ teams, but it has very few good teams 

https://bracketologists.com/conferences/

The Big Ten has 4 in the top 25. SEC has 4. Big East 3.

ACC has 2

P12 has 2

Others like T-Rank have a similar order for conferences

41 minutes ago, 13th&Jackson said:

B1G has 6 teams higher than NET 90 and only 7 of 14 below NET 70. Big East 9 of 11 below NET 66. Big 12, 12 of 14 below NET 71. ACC 9 of 15 below NET 69. SEC 9 of 14 below NET 70. Pac 12 6 of 12 below NET 76. Mountain West 6 of 11 below NET 54.

Pac 12, Big Ten and ACC by far the weakest major conferences.

P12 and ACC are way below the Big Ten. Big Ten is in the group with the SEC and Big East behind the B12.

On 1/21/2024 at 1:30 PM, IUFLA said:

I think if it's not Shannon, it'll be Domask...He's legit...Not the best 3 point shooter, but he'll back you down and he has a great fadeaway once he gets you down there...Good dribble drive game as well...

Coleman I've always described as a billion dollar airport with a $5 control tower  

And maddingly inconsistent... 

Coleman's been great and pretty consistent this year. Should be B1G DPOTY but Edey will probably win it. The defensive efficiency numbers with/without him are ridiculous. And he's limited his 30' heat check 3 pointers to 1 per game. 🤣

20 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

 

What's up with Ware, injury?

Illini should have freshman big man Amani Hansberry back, he's dressing for Wednesday's game after missing a couple of weeks with back spasms. Fits the system better than Dainja but not sure he'll play much.

3 hours ago, Stlboiler23 said:

No but there’s a pretty big difference between a mass shunning and a standing ovation IMO. It felt like folks were just glad he’s back playing basketball and just kind of forgot about the fact that he’s still pending a trial. Even if it’s true that he’s innocent, I think it’s a bad look and if he played for Purdue and we gave him a standing ovation, I wouldn’t be happy. 
 

It came off very Michigan State-esque to me tbh. 

Yeah I'm sure the reaction was more about having him back vs some kind of show of "support". On TV (and from what people who were there told me) it didn't sound like some huge reaction. And people who were not cheering or even booing wouldn't be heard obviously.

I'm not going to judge people how they want to react to the situation. And I'm not one to judge people off which school team they cheer for, my take is that people are people and most react the same give the same circumstances. YMMV.

On 1/17/2024 at 11:25 AM, KoB2011 said:

Good time to revisit now that we are more than halfway through the regular season. 

Yeah, some good ones to go back and laugh about.

On 9/27/2023 at 11:18 AM, NotIThatLives said:

No.  But if you want to give money away, put it on Illinois.  

Can you explain why they are getting so much love?  You know them more than anyone.   I love your 2 guard.  But that's a pretty flawed roster.  

Very flawed! 🤣

On 9/27/2023 at 9:06 PM, NotIThatLives said:

 I am utterly confused on the Hawkins love.  So what he's 6'10", he shoots 28% from 3. 

Is your transfer class one of the best in the nation?  Doesn't look like clear cut high end B1G talent but 2 maybe 3 solid pieces.  

😂

On 9/27/2023 at 9:16 PM, FKIM01 said:

Never much impressed with Coleman Hawkins.  Seems like a fair amount of hype without much to back it up.  Maybe I missed all his good games, but meh from what I saw.

On 9/29/2023 at 7:52 AM, IUFLA said:

 

Also, the fact that they're vying with powerhouses like Colorado Stae, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal State Fullerton for a 2024 3 star combo guard (Jase Butler) tells me the word is getting around that Underwood might not be the coach for talented, high end guards...

Even the recruiting takes were gold! 🤣

On 10/10/2023 at 9:04 AM, Hoosier987 said:

I expect us to finish in the top 4 maybe higher.

On 10/10/2023 at 9:31 AM, IUFLA said:

I've read every prediction column that's been posted in this thread, and I come to one conclusion...

The thing all of the writers are really underestimating is Mike Woodson... We have as much raw talent with potential as we've ever had... and the doubts I see are all on whether the talent can be maximized and mesh...

So, as Woody always says, he has to get them "over the hump."

I think we're gonna surprise a lot of people this year... 

Or not

On 10/19/2023 at 6:22 PM, IUFLA said:

Welcome to Bob Knight's world... of course it was a bit more acceptable then...except to Lou Henson 🙂

But I think Underwood is screwing up with the public stuff... he doesn't get the bad press RMK did because he hasn't made that many enemies in the press (which in RMK's day was everyone in media, save Bob Hammel)... 

Funny thing after the Rutgers game they asked Guerrier if being older helped him deal with Brad yelling at him. His answer was that "Boeheim was much worse". 😂

15 hours ago, Stlboiler23 said:

Curious to hear what you all think of Shannon getting a standing ovation today. I thought it was pretty cringeworthy tbh. Something just doesn’t feel right about a standing ovation for a guy who hasn’t been cleared of anything but maybe that’s just me. 

There's mixed feelings on this for sure, but not really sure what you expected, some kind of mass shunning?

Whether it proves wrong or not, there's definitely a feeling within the program and DIA that the charges are not valid but until there's resolution the questions will remain. And the truth is we may never find out what actually happened.

I've also noticed the team social media accounts have been avoiding any mention of him. If he has a big game at some point, it'll be even more obvious.

I will say this, if he's guilty then Shannon is some kind of true sociopath by the way he's acted throughout this ordeal. Playing at an All-America level, then suing the school to get back on the court? Undoubtedly there are probably many cases where people have done stuff like this but it would be way out of character.

9 hours ago, 13th&Jackson said:

If Doyle said that Woodson hired Matta, he’s wrong. Dolson hired Matta and he worked for Dolson. This is from an Indy Star article. 
 

“The job was the creation of IU athletic director Scott Dolson, who said he came up with it after his discussion with Woodson in New York when he approached Woodson about the job. Woodson called himself a collaborator and indicated he wanted to have a relationship with Dolson similar to the one he had with Glenn Grunwald who was his teammate at IU and then the general manager when Woodson was head coach of the New York Knicks. Dolson realized he couldn't work with Woodson on that constant of a basis because of his responsibilities to the rest of the department, but decided Matta would be the perfect fit for the role.”

OK, that was probably my error is remembering exactly what Doyel said. Thanks for the background, explains quite a bit IMO.

Just now, NotIThatLives said:

Share so I don't have to look up this crazy person.  

She's mad because he's not playing. Least surprising event ever.

3 hours ago, Stlboiler23 said:

Thoughts on DGL’s mom’s recent posts?

Just now, KoB2011 said:

I do think you’re correct, but devils advocate…

DNP - coaches decision would be pretty dang hard to sue someone for. It isn’t like Illinois hasn’t been playing great without him, so it would be pretty hard to rule against the school doing what is best to win games. 

Like I said, it's a moot point because he's going to play. 

And I've heard he may be planning to sue the school anyway, so....?

Was listening to Greg Doyle from the Indy Star and he mentioned how Woodson had hired Matta to help him out as a resource on the college game. He obviously moved on to Coach Butler, is that part of the problem? Was he ever replaced with another guy with more of a college background?

10 hours ago, Kdug said:

There’s no way a coach would lose a lawsuit for not playing a player. He will play him because he’ll help him win and now the school isn’t suspending him, but he could not play him if he really wanted to. Not saying he should or shot play him.

Well it wouldn't be the coach but the school. The court ruled the school had denied him due process which was causing him irreparable harm (NIL/NBA chances) by not being allowed to play. So not playing him would be effectively furthering that "harm". Anyway, he's going to play because they think the allegations are flimsy at best.

17 minutes ago, Stlboiler23 said:

Will Underwood actually play him? Can’t imagine the fans at road games yikes. 

Of course he will. Unless he wants to piss off a federal judge and lose another lawsuit.

2 hours ago, Hoosierfan1901 said:

TSJ has been granted his preliminary injunction and is pretty much will play immediately for Illinois

Very surprised at this ruling.

Rodney Terry tells Tim Anderson, "hold my beer"

2 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

Ball screen D has been an issue for years going back to the Loyola game. You would think it's something they would focus on.

In terms of Dainja...and again I don't watch your games....but this is like the 2nd or 3rd time this year where my buddies have said more minutes for him. What's your take on the limited minutes?

The main problem is they have to change everything on defense when he's playing. With Hawkins at the 5, they can swtich everything on screens. When Dainja's in there they have to play drop coverage and he really struggles. So he does add some offensive firepower but gives a lot of it back on the other end.

Dain's a fan favorite because he's a likeable dude and Coleman...well...he tries fans patience with the constant complaining and terrible body language. But he's been great this season except for yesterday.

1 hour ago, FKIM01 said:

Pathetic for an adult to act that way.  He'd been better off simply not participating in the handshake line.  Hard telling what Reese said or did to elicit that response, but the better response is whipping his ass next time you meet.

The only thing I've read is Reese was yapping at the Krush but that doesn't justify Anderson acting like a child.

3 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

I didn't watch any of the game. My Illini buddies are getting more and more frustrated with Underwood only playing Dainja about 10 minutes a game. They said Maryland was pounding the ball down low to take advantage of Hawkins interior D and no changes were made.

As we know every team has about 1-2 games a year where you just go what the heck was that? They are hoping that was yesterday and move along.

Dainja wasn't the answer, the problem was with the ball screen defense and continuing to let Young go to his strong hand instead of forcing him right. And constantly going over screens against a team that struggles to make 3s. Hawkins getting in foul trouble was a problem. Also the refs declined to call what would have been a 2nd foul on Reese when he landed on top of Danja after a pump fake. Ref told Brad there was no contact which is hilarious if you watch the replay.

The 2nd half shooting was definitely a "what was that" moment with 9-40 shooting, 1-14 from 3. And on the night, 9 for 23 on layups. But the lack of changes on D was more troubling. No blitzing the screens, not much of an attempt at post traps, etc.