Agree. Maybe that’s the way we should go with things. Just pay him $10-$15,000 to get the decision made. It’s pretty dumb at this point.
Illini Basketball 2024-2025
- Status
Love the talent on this team but looking realistically at replacing 23 yr olds with four frosh in the rotation tells me we are a year away. Think the ceiling is higher if we can keep them together but TSJ will go down as one of the greatest Illini ever so doubtful if any reach his level. Depth greater but we can only play 5 at a time so not sure on the end effect. Can imagine KJ matching Marcus but a high bar. Corey has a lot of Hawk’s talents but don’t see it matched until 26 or 27.Will and Morez probably the difference makers as more talented than any on last year’s roster but still frosh. Still believe we will be competitive for BIG title as I am not a believer in Purdue without Edey. Admit I don’t like losing any games but logic prevails between games.
Side comment but believe Morez with KJ in that competition would have made them unbeatable.
Side comment but believe Morez with KJ in that competition would have made them unbeatable.
Just because they are freshman, it doesn’t mean much as they are super and ultra talented. Not unlike the fab five at the University of Michigan. They went pretty far with those freshmen, didn’t they?
In addition, KJ & TI aren't reallllllly 'freshmen'......
Not a remotely analogous situation. We have really good newcomers, but not 5 of the top 10 ranked newcomers in the country like the Fab Five were, including perhaps the consensus best newcomer in the country in Chris Webber. The Fab Five didn't compare to any group of newcomers that year, and everybody knew it going into that season. That doesn't mean our group won't exceed expectations. What it means is that it just doesn't fit to mention our group of newcomers in the same breath as the Fab Five.
FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
Still too soon
I love who Brad's brought in, but they're not at the level of those guys. That group had four of the top 10 recruits in the country, including the #1 ranked guy.
I agree with the previous poster. It will take time to sort things out for this team. But if most of them stay together (not very likely these days), the following season could be special.
Obligatory response, see Kentucky....... What 'was', is no longer the case. I don't recall Euro Pros being able to play back in the Fab 5 days.... So yeah, as in most things, comparing anything at all once the boundaries have changed, is folly...
See Egor Demin, Cooper Flagg, AJ Storr, Khaman Malauch, VJ Edgecombe, and the many other transfers and incoming freshmen both American and international who are more highly heralded than our guys. Comparing our newcomers to the best newcomer group of all time doesn't do our guys any favors. It just sets them up to fail. Why set expectations for our guys that are completely unreasonable? Why not let them carve their own path?
Which 2 of those are on the same team and have the likes of Morez, Riley, etc...... I'm not necessarily comparing them, but simply stating the difference is maybe not as vast as you imply.
I think a game between our group and the 1991 Fab 5 might be a pretty damned good game.
I think a game between our group and the 1991 Fab 5 might be a pretty damned good game.
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As much as I despise Michigan
Chris Webber #1
Juwan Howard #3
Jalen Rose #6
Jimmy King #9
Ray Jackson #84
You're correct that talent can overcome youth, but the comp that 1991 MI class is absurd. As big of a clown show as that program/school is....until a class of all freshmen live up to their billing and win that last game, that group is the platinum standard. I'm glad that they got everything taken from them, but that's still legendary status.
We're going to have a good, fun group, but let's keep our eyes on the ball. This year is going to be a work in progress. After replacing 86% of last year's minutes, if we have a top 5 conference finish and a solid NCAA seed.....that would be a hell of a job from coach Brad.
This post should be pinned. Spot on.
Meh, methinks some folks are taking that comment all too seriously. We Illini fans are like suppositories, we like pull things our of our arses on occasion. It generates discussion, posts, what-ifs, etc..... Not to mention, clicks for Dan, woot!!! I want to talk about it.... we got a few days until kick-off. Let's fill the void! #illini-love
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Can it be posted in a part of the board where it's only seen by the people who come here to be aggressively correct about everything all the time, but out of sight of the people who come here to have fun and even fantasize?
Yeah, anyone who thinks for a single second that the opinions of any of us on this board, will actually, realllllyy, set the team up to fail..... is wellllll.... I'll just say this, living in a world different than mine. Been on this board since it's inception. NEVER seen anything posted on here, even wayyyy out of leftfield stuff, make 1 iota of a difference. This place exists SOLELY for entertainment purposes. And because of that, most any opinion, regardless of how reasoned OR outlandish it is, can be lauded, lampooned, ignored, lambasted, or maybe even discussed in a civil manner (God forbid). I love this place!!!
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Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
was there ever disclosure as to how much money these guys got from Martin or other boosters ?
More to the point, we are actually really really talented. No need for hyperbole when reality looks so good.
I'm not sure if Ed Martin died before the details came out and the 30:30 was vague. My guess is that it was about 10% of what guys are getting to day. Whatever the under the table version of NIL money was flying around.....I'm sure they got a good piece. What that was as compared to Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, us, etc....who knows.
This is an Illinois basketball discussion board. Not an Illinois basketball fantasy board. There are folks here who have watched a lot of Illinois basketball and college basketball in general for 5 or more decades. If you post "fantasy" here, someone is going to call it out, whether it's me or someone else. And I think you'll find that the vast majority of commenters here feel that our discussions ought to be based upon what's correct.
Case in point. I posted something incorrect about Kenny Battle's pro career. Heck, you go back into my posting history, you many be able to find it. I was called out by around 10 commenters in a row about that LOL. I gave "likes" to at least the first 5 of those comments. That's how it goes over here. If you would prefer a community that doesn't value the truth so much or if you view that value as "aggressive"...well hey. It's a free internet. You might have some luck starting your own Illini message board where fantasizing is the norm and posting a correction in response to inaccuracies or hyperbole is forbidden.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
so likely somewhere between $50,000 - $100,000 ? per guy in the top 10 ?
in those days it was all cash and it’s pretty safe to assume the players & families never reported any of it as income
Is anybody else finding the fun of college b-ball fading? We have a roster of talented players, but who knows which of them will be on our roster next year? It seems like a free agent carousel from one year to the next. It seems as if talented guys are highly paid mercenaries. I'm an old fart, so I hope I'll find a way to adapt.
The more I look at it the more difficult I find it to compare this year’s team to 24 team. The pieces are quite different. +7’ center vs Hawk, no comp to TJ. True PG to Ty, etc. upon thinking about Brad’s comment about UConn after the game (That’s what a National championship team looks like.) I thought about comparing this year’s team to that team.
Clingon vs Ivisic
Karaban vs Humrichous
Castle vs White/Riley
Spencer vs Jakucionis
Newton vs Boswell
Johnson vs Johnson
These comparisons seem to be more valid in terms of style and physical attributes. Clingon obviously outclasses Ivisic but I can see some equivalence in the other players with only slightly tinted orange glasses. Betting on Brad’s vision as he learns and adapts.
Clingon vs Ivisic
Karaban vs Humrichous
Castle vs White/Riley
Spencer vs Jakucionis
Newton vs Boswell
Johnson vs Johnson
These comparisons seem to be more valid in terms of style and physical attributes. Clingon obviously outclasses Ivisic but I can see some equivalence in the other players with only slightly tinted orange glasses. Betting on Brad’s vision as he learns and adapts.
That's fine but the problem is you set yourself up to be disappointed. And then there's always the segment of the fandom ready to scream "The coach blew it" if we don't make the Final Four. This team is indeed talented (and very inexperienced). But there are teams out there that are even more talented.
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People should have fun and think the best, but it's usually the same people that want the coach fired because we started the season, given the schedule, at 7-3 or make personal attacks on our guys during a game thread, then on a post game thread.
The poster's point is that when comparing Morez to Webber, KJ to Jalen Rose and Ivisic to Juwan Howard and they don't meet that ridiculous fantasy....they're set up to fail and he's right.
So, my comment was that post should be pinned as a reminder come November. Let these guys do their thing.
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