This is the best Illini team in a long time. The Big Ten seems extra tough this year though.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Talent.

_________________
You know me like that.

Just got done face-timing with a college basketball coach whom you have all heard of (which rhymes with Chayefsky) and who keeps his ear close to the ground when it comes to Big Ten basketball. Anyway, this coach said that many Midwesterners are "shaking in their boots" and "sweating in their stockings" at the prospect of facing the Cockburning Illini. When I suggested that he was exaggerating, he looked back at me with a blank terror and just sort of stammered. And when I asked him what the Illini should be ranked, he submitted that they should take Michigan's place at # 5. "Tell those boys to go easy on us in the tournament," he said. We talked about other stuff, too, but it was mostly him talking about how David Hogg has a punchable face and whether or not we should drop the bomb on Sweden and stuff like that.

They should be 9-1 with a road win against Maryland and this Michigan win. Two top 5 wins.

They should be #2 in the country.

But they’re young. No one can handle Kofi. And he doesn’t even know what he’s doing yet.

_________________
You know me like that.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Well it’s true.

Miami was a bad loss that they nearly still won.

They had Maryland beat and got some horrible road calls.

Arizona beat them in AZ.

How many 1 loss teams would have 2 wins against top 5 teams and a loss to a top 15 team.

Hell, they might be #1. OSU has a signature win against a 3-loss UNC.

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You know me like that.

after this win they should probly be ranked around 24 or 25. Unless they lay an egg this weekend.

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no, not "anyway".

Why so coy? Why cant you just say who it is? Whats with the dumb hints? Why cant u just say it's Duke's coach?

And who the fuck are YOU to be talkin' to him?

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Yep. This team reminds me of DePaul in 1979. That Arizona loss was like when DePaul got pasted by UCLA in Pauley Pavilion but Aguirre really made a statement by dunking over David Greenwood. I can't wait to get another crack at Arizona in the round of eight!

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

That's exactly what my guy said. And most Big Ten Fans--on both sides of the great Mississippi River--agree.

I didn't say it was Duke's coach--it could be--but I am totally serious that whomever the person is, I know them (their pronouns are they/them/coach) quite well.

See this is what gets me about Illini fans. You cant just be happy with how things are now. You have a nice team. But no you think you should be top 5

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Well, they obviously shouldn't be.

But they are about 5 points away from it.

_________________
You know me like that.

True, but he takes a giant leap forward each game. We'll be lucky if he stays another year. Gotta make hay while the sun shines.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I have never watched an Illini game and thought that Ayo was an NBA ready talent. He obviously isn't even the best player on the court for a decently talented team. He has an NBA body and athleticism. So do about 50 other players who enter the draft each year. He really seems to me like a guy who has to play 4 years of college basketball and maybe catch someone's eye when the team succeeds.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Sounds like someone is feeling the Cockburn.

Too bad Illinois is perpetually scared to play DePaul. Would've been an interesting game this year.

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I've never seen an official hit as hard as that guy who got creamed by Cockburn's forarm. He's lucky he got hit with the fleshy part of trhe arm and not the elbow or else there would've been a lot of blood on the court.

I've seen a lot of those come close to hitting a ref or another player, but never seen one land like that.

_________________

I haven't watched a lot of games so far, but it looks like this is the best Illini team since 2004-05.

_________________

Interesting to see DePaul lose by 20.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Cockburn's lucky he didn't break his hand.

They are the most talented since then. But their weakness is that their guards are not good passers. They are all pretty good at creating their own shot and pushing the ball on the break but half-court set offense will ultimately cost them. It already has in their losses so far.

But, they should put a pretty good run together.

_________________
You know me like that.

There are probably about three guys in the country who would be the most talented guy on the court if they were playing in a game with Kofi Cockburn.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

come on man.

Dude is a real nice player....but lets slow down a little before we proclaim him this good

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I'll admit that I don't follow every conference religiously, but who are the guys you think are legit better?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

There is a reason why he is considered a 2nd round NBA draft guy.

Wiseman
Edwards
Mannion
McDaniels
Anthony
Carey
Stewart
Maxey

And I am sure there are more. He is not even a top 3 player in the big 10 right now.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

He is a real nice player and if he played for Duke and was averaging 16/11 after his first 10 games, I think ESPN would be losing their shit about the guy.

_________________
You know me like that.

Would you like to make a small wager that he isn't a first round pick?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Clearly things can change. I was speaking about right now. And the reality is that he is not a top 3 player in the big 10 right now.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Oh, okay.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don