top 40, 2025 guard. this is going to become like football a commitment doesn't mean anything until they show up on campus.
Fears decommits from Illini
- Thread starter kurt cloverdales
- Start date
weird situation. IL got commitments for 2 portal guards and was still recruiting a third more highly rated PG in his class. Then he wanted to reclassify, but he's super thin and probably not ready for B10 ball this year. Sounded almost like IL didn't really want him anymore for some reason. Sleepers has a couple of videos about him.
To a neutral fan, the Illinois program is pretty interesting. They have had a lot of additions and departures, includes a couple foreign players. Nine new players this year -- who knows how they all come together? They need some stability on that roster...
In general they're a pretty serious program. Their athletic dept spends a lot of bball, and their NIL seems pretty good. I'd be curious where their NIL comes from.
In general they're a pretty serious program. Their athletic dept spends a lot of bball, and their NIL seems pretty good. I'd be curious where their NIL comes from.
Illinois has more NIL than us on average if you count all three years. They are a serious player.
Illinois has always paid players and has never won shit.
Sometimes they even go so far as to show up on campus and it’s still not a commitment until season opening tipoff. ~ Larry Joe Bird
Yea. They’re serious in terms of effort, but not so great results. Pretty funny.
Their fans also seem frustrated no other teams in the B1G see them as a rival/care about them much.
Found this article specifically.
Illini Insider | Alumni climbing the Forbes 400
UI alumni make the list among the richest people in America.
Except for a few years with White as coach in the '70s(?) they haven't won squat in football either since Butkis left. For years they were viewed as a 'sleeper' program in the sport, but they seem to settled into bottom 8 status in the BT long-term.
That squad was loaded and Lou couldn't deliver.
two words. Glen Rice.
B1G was loaded that year between IU, ILL and UM. Great season to watch, lots of memories. (damn you Nick Anderson)
people don't realize how impactful the Nick Anderson half courter to beat IU really was. If IU wins that game, they split with ILL (after already sweeping UM), IU wins the B1G by 2 full games, and probably snags the final #1 seed while ILL gets the highest 2 seed. I checked the tourney brackets and the other three #1 seeds (OK, G-town and AZ, were solid). With IU as the #1 and ILL getting a 2 seed, that would have changed the matchups and entire construction of the tourney. Not saying that leads to a F4 appearance by IU...but that one shot basically flipped the #1/#2 seed argument. No way ILL gets the #1 over IU with a season split and IU winning the B1G by 2 full games.
College basketball is professional basketball-get used to a player moving to the higher paying gigs at the drop of a hat as there is no loyalty now.
You could lump Iowa in there too. Armstrong and Gamble. They could put up 90 plus a night.
Horton was on that team too. He was a second rounder that summer. Jepsen and Bullard were drafted the following year.
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa in the Top 15 to end the year.
I can remember listening to the end of the Seton Hall game, riding in the back of my dad's Oldsmobile on our way home from dinner. I was 10, going on 11...pretty sure I cried a little bit. Seton Hall wasn't exactly a household name, I remember being confused on how it could happen. I remember the Australian or New Zealand guy Gaze hitting big shot after big shot. One of my more painful loss memories. Up there with the 93 teams loss to Kansas, Teddy V FF game in 92, and Cody/Vic's Syracuse loss.
That year doesn't get enough pub as one of our great teams. I think that team had just as good a shot at a Natty as any of the Cheaney teams did.
agreed, except for the 92 team. We were loaded and on a roll, demolished UCLA in the E8, and were outplaying the dookies until the refs took over.
If Hurley hadn't been shooting out of his ass in the first half, IU might have been up 20 in the locker room at halftime.
But yeah, the 88-89 team went on a crazy run after a rough start and won something like 22 out of 23 games in the middle of the season, including the B1G. Jay turns into superman, frosh Eric Anderson (RIP) played like an upperclassman. Problem was that Jay got into foul trouble against SHall, and the Hall was a very hot team at that point (they dismantled Duke in the F4, so there were no fluke). Kinda seems like the forgotten great IU season in our history.
I was at the IU/UM game in the Hall when Jay hit the shot with 0 on the clock. Still remember it like yesterday. Keith Jackson, Dick Vitale, the ABC Sunday afternoon game of the week.
Me too. Up in the balcony. I was in the balcony on the other side for the Illini game. What a post-game emotional swing from those two.
Almost got in a fight in the balcony with an Illini fan at the end
Fears is reclassifying to 2024. Despite not getting a lot of attention, Illinois has a loaded roster this year. The rumor is Fears wanted guarantees of playing time and Illinois wouldn't give any.
I'd assume Jerry Colangelo is involved. But there's a ton of Illinois alumni that it could be.
Jags/Fulham FC owner Shahid Khan is an Illinois alum. I don’t know how much he supports the university, though.
UI applicants submit to a lottery for admittance … kids with straight A’s get turned down.
They should have plenty of donors. The talent seldom gets over the hump.
Branch campuses don’t, to my experience, have “Illini Fever”
UIC Flames languish behind Bulls Bears Blackhawks, Cubs and Sox.
Pacers and Colts are upstarts in Indy.
UI has no instate equivalent competition to Purdue and Notre Dame …
NU’s recent relevancy was built on decades of mediocre teams.
They should have plenty of donors. The talent seldom gets over the hump.
Branch campuses don’t, to my experience, have “Illini Fever”
UIC Flames languish behind Bulls Bears Blackhawks, Cubs and Sox.
Pacers and Colts are upstarts in Indy.
UI has no instate equivalent competition to Purdue and Notre Dame …
NU’s recent relevancy was built on decades of mediocre teams.
I was actually down in Orlando with my family (dad had biz trip and rolled it into an early spring break) and watched the IL game in the hotel. After the Anderson shot, I had to go walk around in circles outside in the parking lot, sweating my ass of (was 90F and humid in March) and try to calm down. Was like a punch to the balls.
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