Illini start the season just outside of the Top 25. I thought they would be in but feel like it will just be a matter of time before they break through. Will be a very interesting squad with a lot of talent on paper but may take some time before they gel and start playing well as a unit. A lot of talent in from the portal as well as Morez Johnson Jr, who was one of the top high school seniors last year. Very young team with one 5th year senior and 4 juniors with the rest being underclassmen.

Schedule shapes up similarly to most preseasons with many midwestern cupcakes. They play preseason #2 Alabama on the road November 20th and Thanksgiving game in Kansas City vs. preseason #16 Arkansas which should be interesting. Also a game in Madison Square Garden on Feb 22nd against a likely highly ranked Duke squad could be huge for any possible NCAA seeding.


Short article about some of the new faces that are ranking in the top 100 NBA prospects list.

Expectations are high for the Illinois basketball team in 2024-25. The Fighting Illini are coming off a trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and the media recently picked coach Brad Underwood's team to finish fourth in the Big Ten Conference.

It's easy to see why. The Illini used the transfer portal and international recruiting to reload their roster, including the addition of four players selected recently by ESPN as top prospects for the "2025 NBA draft big board."

Kasparas Jakucionis plays in the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championships for Lithuania in July 2023. He has committed to play for the Illinois basketball team in 2024-25, according to ESPN.

The 18-year-old 6-foot-6 Lithauanian point guard is No. 15 on the most recent ESPN list, lauded for his "level of feel, size and maturity," writes Woo, going on to wonder how his game will translate vs. the longer and more athletic players he'll face in college. "Jakucionis isn't especially explosive or long, and the speed of that adjustment will be an excellent litmus test for his NBA prospects," writes Woo.

Will Riley
The18-year-old 6-foot-8 Canadian wing is an elite shooter with good size, but Woo says he falls short defensively, but could be mitigated by adding strength. Illinois is deep, which could limit growth, but the "shooting prowess makes him a player to monitor closely long term," Woo writes.

Kylan Boswell
The 19-year-old 6-foot-2 point guard is a transfer from Arizona, ranked No. 75 in the newest ESPN list. He started 36 of 37 games this season for the Wildcats while averaging career-high numbers with 9.5 points, 3.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. He was the No. 22 ranked transfer in the portal this season by 247Sports.

Ben Humrichous
The 22-year-old power forward is a transfer from Evansville of the Missouri Valley Conference, ranked No. 79 in the newest ESPN list. He was sixth in the Valley in shooting (48.4%), and his 14.7 points per game were 12th in the MVC.

Other Big Ten players on the ESPN NBA Draft big board
2. Airious Bailey, SG-SF, Rutgers
3. Dylan Harper, PG-SG, Rutgers
25. Derik Queen, C, Maryland
39. Kwame Evans Jr., PF, Oregon
43. Kanaan Carlyle, PG-SG, Indiana
52. Sam Walters, SF-PF, Michigan
56. Saint Thomas, F, USC
58. Payton Sandfort, SF, Iowa
64. Kobe Johnson, SG-SF, UCLA
92. Danny Wolf, C, Michigan

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Illini appeared to get beaten pretty soundly in an exhibition game last weekend vs #24 Ole Miss. Looks like everyone got a little playing time and no real stand out performances by the Illini. Concerning statistics that we've seen from them before include, 52% free throw percentage and 22 turnovers. yuck. Hope to see some improvement during the next 3 games at home before taking the court on Nov 20th at Alabama.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I didn't see any of the game, but it sounds like they got blitzed from the start and never made a run.

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112-67 win against Eastern Illinois. Biggest news coming out before this game was the fact that Ty Rodgers decided to redshirt for the season. A lot of speculation he is going to transfer out for next season a lot like Sincere Harris did. Kind of a big loss for the team as he had a lot of experience but certainly seemed like he was being pushed out for time on the court.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Riley is probably gone to the NBA after this year. Maybe Johnson too depending on how he develops.

I'm sure a lot of these guys will eventually transfer out. There's just too much talent and not enough minutes. Underwood's toughest challenge is establishing a rotation.

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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, Kash, and Don

Didn't get to watch but apparently a very lackluster performance last night against Oakland. A 12 point victory hopefully is a big time wake up call. Lots of work to do in order not to get run out of the gym next week against #2 Alabama. Game on the SEC Network so not sure yet how I will watch that one. Not expecting a win but if they can keep it to single digits I'd probably consider it a moral victory. Just too many unanswered questions on this roster and no chemistry yet.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I do happen to get the game at home tonight so hope to tune in for at least half of it. Purdue knocked off Alabama last week and then Marquette completely dismantled Purdue last night so welcome to early season college hoops I guess. Tide are currently 8.5 point favorites and a 60% chance of winning according to ESPN. Interestingly or not, both teams were knocked out of the NCAA tournament last year but eventual champ UConn. All the usual stuff will pertain to the Illini. They are going to have to shoot relatively well, limit turnovers and make their free throws. I've very interested to see the current squad with my own eyes for the first time this season. Playing in Alabama but in Birmingham, not in Tuscaloosa.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Thanks for the reminder. I just checked, and I'll be damned, I have the ACC Network so I'll be able to watch.

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This Illini team seems to have plenty of scoring options, but going into tonight's game I worry about a lack of physicality. It has been hard to judge against their competition so far, but I am not sure this team has the willingness to crash the offensive boards as they have the last couple of years, and losing Ty Rogers doesn't help that. I also worry about this team defensively, there was a lot of turnstyling going on against Oakland, a lot of easy baskets surrendered. Tonight a lot of questions will be answered that haven't really been asked of these guys yet.

Youtube TV tells me it will be on ESPN

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

WTF? Women's volleyball is on the SEC network and they said the game is starting on the ESPN app?

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Luckily I have the app. Watched most of the first half and then finished part of 2nd half this morning. They got behind early and never were able to claw back. Fast paced game and both teams shot over 30 three pointers. Jackucionis is a very interesting player and the straw that stirs the drink for this team. Gets out of control a bit too much and too many turnovers but definitely talented. A lot of good young talent on the roster. Disappointed that Morez didn’t play more than 9 minutes but he was in foul trouble. Awful free throw shooting, too many turnovers and poor defense on the perimeter did them in. Hopefully they can start to gel a bit more and maybe it won’t look like such a free for all out there. Very different team than the past few seasons.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

They shot horribly in the first half and a free for all is a good way to describe what their offense looked like. It's obviously going to take a while for this team to gel with so many new players.

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This team really has no identity offensively or defensively. I actually liked when they made an effort to get the ball down low to ivisic, he seems to have some nice finishing moves. Riley is definitely a scorer, but he needs 20 more pounds of muscle, he was getting bullied around pretty badly. Kid can shoot though, he started heating up down the stretch. I will give them credit for continuing to fight, but they looked completely out-classed last night.

They will have a few games to try to fine tune things but looking ahead to the next month sprinkled in amongst the cupcakes are games at Arkansas on Thanksgiving, and then a stretch between Dec 10th until the 22nd where they play 3 in a row hosting the Badgers and Tennessee, and then the border battle with Mizzou. That stretch will tell us a lot before they really dive into Big Ten play. I think they need to at the very least split those four games which will not be easy.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Obviously the Illini got off to an excellent start vs Arkansas and the game was never really in question. A bit more organized offensively. I didn’t realize that the Illini shoot the 4th most three pointers in the country. They will live and die by the long ball all year. They have a lot of guys who can shoot it well but it’s tough when you are a one trick pony. They controlled the ball better with only 11 turnovers but typically you want that number in the single digits.

Offensively they were stroking the three but I didn’t think they hit the offensive boards as hard as they need to. Another thing I noticed with these guys is they often get caught up in the air with nowhere to go and either throw the ball away or cause a chaotic situation. They have a couple guys who can drive to the hoop but don’t use it enough. They are going to need this to open up shots on the perimeter. Defensively they were ok, they switch a lot and an experienced team will take advantage. Arkansas really exposed them in the paint with drives. I couldn’t find a shot chart but they scored a majority of their points near the basket. Overall a nice win on the road but plenty to work on. When they shoot near 50% from three and over that number from the field in total they are going to win a lot more games than they lose.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

This is obviously a tournament team. It just comes down to whether or not they're clicking on all cylinders come March. If they are, they will run deep into the tournament. Is there a more talented team in the country? There may be four lottery picks on this team.

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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, Kash, and Don