First televised game last night. REALLY young team with a lot of raw talent. Future looks bright, but this is going to be one long season. Tons of turnovers and not many assists. Lots of talent on the floor, but no team leader and no go-to guy. Brandon Paul does not look like he will be able to take that step to be the star player at this point. Its a good thing Weber brought in Maniscalco from Bradley because there is no one else on the team that can run the point.

Some new things this year: full court press all game, using 10 players in the rotation, and, apparently, they have guys in the middle that aren't a bunch of pussies who can rebound and block shots. Leonard is much improved offensively and Egwu is going to be a beast.

Solid win against Gonzaga yesterday. If they can put together that type of play consistently, they will be a pretty tough team. Still have UNLV and Mizzou coming up.

They got in a shitload of foul trouble in the first half but still always looked in control. Meyers Leonard dominating in the paint. Transfer kid from Bradley has been much better than I anticipated.

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Back off, Warchild. Seriously.

Great game against Gonzaga but who is the designated 3 point guy for The Illini?
Didn't see him.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Watching this interview I just realized that Meyers Leonard wasn't even alive when Stephen Bardo played for the Illini.

I'm old.

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You know me like that.

UNLV up next. Showed up to play big time against the Zags, we'll see if they repeat that effort against the Rebs.

I hope they can. They didn't look very good in stretches last night against a short Coppin St. team. Those kids are going to take a flight back to Coppin thinking they let one get away.

I'll be taking Dr. Ken Jr. I and Dr. Ken Jr. II to their first Illini game this Saturday. They better win or I'll lose those kids forever, in a fandom sense. My only hope is to get them drunk on hot dogs and nachos so they don't notice on the slim chance that the Illini lose.

Ranked #19!!!

_________________
You know me like that.

My brother took his son to his first Illini game last year when they lost to UIC. Then during the football season, his son (age 4) told him to turn off the Illini game because he was sick of watching them lose.

So you better hope they win.

If not, it will help prepare them for life as Cub fans.

_________________
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

UNLV should be a decent measuring stick but I'm looking to the Missouri game as where we will see what kind of team this is.

_________________
Back off, Warchild. Seriously.

Huge game this weekend against UNLV. How do you think this is going to shake out for the Illini?
After a game against Cornell they have to take on Mizzou and an improved Minnesota Gophers
squad. I think if they can go 2-2 that might not be too bad, although I'd rather see 3-1.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Beat them last year in the tourney with those three bozos leading the lllini. I would say Illinois is a better/different team than last year. UNLV is a solid team and has showed their ability to play in big games with their win over UNC.

Both teams rely on the three ball. My guess is the team that shoots better from downtown will win the game.

UNLV hasn't played that well since the UNC game. They're 2-2 with 2OT win that they were lucky went into a second OT to begin with.

They are 1-2 on the road so far this year. I think it sets up pretty well for the Illini.

_________________
You know me like that.

Also, Lon Krueger is no longer UNLV's coach, so that is a detriment to them. I think Illinois can pull it out if they can shoot over 40% from the field.

Leonard has been impressive so far. If he can stay on the court, he is a difference maker. He's better offensively in the post than I originally thought at this point and the offense is much more efficient when he's on the court.

_________________
You know me like that.

UNLV has a UCLA transfer (Moser) who has been averaging 14 ppg, and 12 rpg this year. Also can hit the 3. Should be a good challenge inside for Griffey and Leonard.

Someone needs to teach them how to shoot. Embarrassing.

Jesus Christ that was bad. They were still in the 30s with about 6 minutes to go in the game. Team is young and a huge flameout was due at some point but it makes me worry for that Mizzou game. Shitty free throw shooting to go with shitty shooting from the field, including some open buckets.

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Back off, Warchild. Seriously.

Illinois looked horrible on Saturday. If they can't get the ball down to Leonard, they all just stand around.

Mizzou will likely kill them on Thursday. But, man, have they played a bunch of cupcakes. And they still haven't played a road game yet? In any event, Illinois probably loses by 20.

Illinois' problem, the same problem they've had the past few years, is they are unable to dictate the tempo of the game. They play these lesser talented teams that want to slow things down and Illinois can do nothing with them. They were lucky to beat Cornell last night.

Half the time, they don't know what tempo they want to play. They press and get burned. They slowdown and can't get the ball into the post. They are the most unimpressive 11-1 team you'll find.

_________________
You know me like that.

Yeah, their best win was Gonzaga and they appear to be the weakest Gonzaga squad they have had there
in a while. Their record is very deceiving as even the games they have won, many have not been convincing.
I am starting to get a little uneasy looking at that Big 10 schedule. Getting to 20 wins this year is gonna be
tough.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I'm a Bruce Weber fan, but he should probably be fired at the end of the year. No reason a team with this talent is this bad offensively. His offense is not working and he seems unwilling or unable to change it to try to improve things. Leonard should be on the block getting the ball pounded inside non-stop. The ball should be in the lane, whether it be through passes or drives, on every possession.

In 2005, Dee, Deron, and Luther ran that offense like a clinic, but he has not been able to teach anyone since then to run it that way. Its time to change.

Tyler Griffey is doing his best to make me long for the halcyon days of the Davis-Tisdale era.

_________________
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

Mizzou was lucky to win that game. HORRIBLE shot selection down the stretch.

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

It was an entertaining game. Weber has to figure out a way to take better advantage of his strongest asset- Leonard. It sounded like Knight wanted to coach that team. I'm sure they might have won easily if he had been.

_________________
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

Both of those teams would be better off with Knight coaching them.

Even tho they are undefeated right now, I am not impressed with the new coach for Mizzou.

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

If Illinois could play the way they did in the second half every game, they would be tough to beat in the Big Ten. I think everyone knows that will not be the case, unfortunately.

Yeah, they're going to be inconsistent. They're young. But I already think they're better than last season's team. At least I'm not as frustrated watching them, Tyler Griffey aside. Next year should be their year if Leonard doesn't leave. I don't think he's quite ready for the NBA, but from some of the stuff I've read I'm not sure he believes that.

Maniscalco provides something that last year's team lacked, but as the opponents get tougher you can see that he isn't really a major conference type player. I think his minutes need to go down during the Big Ten schedule.

Finally, the Chicago area is loaded with a group of players that you'd have to go back to the era of Aguirre, Cummings, McCoy, Thomas to equal. Weber can't have all of these guys leaving the state for Duke or Kansas, let alone other Big Ten teams.

_________________
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

Weber needs to change his offense so that Leonard does not leave the block. Gotta recognize a special talent and utilize it properly.

Crandall Head quit the team today. Will look to transfer.

I have to believe Weber's seat is getting a little warm.

_________________
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