Watch for Illinois. 20-5 with 9 wins in a row now. Dee Brown is finally stepping up to his preseason Big 10 player of the year prediction and Deron Williams is very impressive. Great backcourt and strong defense is a good tourney formula. Augustine, Head and Powell are very good too. Bruce Weber took less talented teams deep in the tourney and they seem to be peaking at the right time. With a couple Big 10 tourney wins they may even be snag 3 seed.
agree with d2 that illinois is playing their best basketball right now. i think that the big ten teams that do get in (illinois, michigan st and wisconsin) can really make some noise. mostly because no one expects them to.
i also like oklahoma state. my dark horse is nc-charlotte. got $20 on them at 200-1 to win the whole show. they get to the sweet 16 and i start to hedge it.
i also like oklahoma state. my dark horse is nc-charlotte. got $20 on them at 200-1 to win the whole show. they get to the sweet 16 and i start to hedge it.
buzz, that's pretty much the problem. Brown is easily the quickest guard in the big ten, and one of the quickest in the country. I'm really not sure why, but he limits himself to playing a perimeter game.
I realize more and more opponents have gone to playing zone against the Illini, and Brown doesn't see one-on-one matchups often anymore, but it wouldn't hurt if he took the ball to the basket ONCE a game from the half-court set.
It seems a few of the young Illini players have regressed under Weber. Personally, I think Weber is a bum. But then that's just my opinion.
I realize more and more opponents have gone to playing zone against the Illini, and Brown doesn't see one-on-one matchups often anymore, but it wouldn't hurt if he took the ball to the basket ONCE a game from the half-court set.
It seems a few of the young Illini players have regressed under Weber. Personally, I think Weber is a bum. But then that's just my opinion.
pja, Deron Williams and also I think James Augustine have thrived this year. Roger Powell has definitely taken a lesser role and Nick Smith, who knows, much of the same. Luther Head has been up and down but he made a lot of the problems himself. Was sorry to see Self go of course, but I think Weber is a good coach.
Here in Illini country, we're all still crushed that Bill Self left. Probably would've won a national title with him, and I think he made the biggest mistake of his life. I met 2 Kansas fans in Vegas a couple months ago, and they told me we can have him back. He's never going to be good enough there, considering who he came after. He was already secured of having the next Illinois arena named after him, but he threw it all away.
Illini, Self is a good coach, but he's proven to be much too stubborn this season. Kansas is NOT a half-court team. I repeat, NOT a half-court team.
If he wants to be considered one of the elite in the country, he's going to have to learn how to adjust his system to the players he's putting on the floor.
If he wants to be considered one of the elite in the country, he's going to have to learn how to adjust his system to the players he's putting on the floor.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Illini:
Here in Illini country, we're all still crushed that Bill Self left. Probably would've won a national title with him<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
lmao. that guy had the talent to make at least two final fours and he choked. good coaches get the most out of their players in march. i'll take bruce weber over bill self any day.
Here in Illini country, we're all still crushed that Bill Self left. Probably would've won a national title with him<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
lmao. that guy had the talent to make at least two final fours and he choked. good coaches get the most out of their players in march. i'll take bruce weber over bill self any day.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by blue edwards:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Illini:
Here in Illini country, we're all still crushed that Bill Self left. Probably would've won a national title with him<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
lmao. that guy had the talent to make at least two final fours and he choked. good coaches get the most out of their players in march. i'll take bruce weber over bill self any day.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Lay off the crack pipe. An Elite Eight close loss the runner-up AZ, and a Sweet Sixteen close loss to a very good Kansas team don't qualify as a choke in 2 out of 3 years. They got beat last year earlier than they should have. But that's what happens when a team shoots 65% from 3-point range, and your point guard missed 5 layups in the second half.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Illini:
Here in Illini country, we're all still crushed that Bill Self left. Probably would've won a national title with him<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
lmao. that guy had the talent to make at least two final fours and he choked. good coaches get the most out of their players in march. i'll take bruce weber over bill self any day.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Lay off the crack pipe. An Elite Eight close loss the runner-up AZ, and a Sweet Sixteen close loss to a very good Kansas team don't qualify as a choke in 2 out of 3 years. They got beat last year earlier than they should have. But that's what happens when a team shoots 65% from 3-point range, and your point guard missed 5 layups in the second half.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by blue edwards:
d2, we are starting to agree on things...things are getting weird dude. by the way, i take it that you live in or near chicago...am i right?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yep, nw burbs. As long as we avoid politics and the Cubbies then I think we're on the same page.
d2, we are starting to agree on things...things are getting weird dude. by the way, i take it that you live in or near chicago...am i right?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yep, nw burbs. As long as we avoid politics and the Cubbies then I think we're on the same page.
