Mark Smith looking good for Illini
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He may already be their best player. Know that this is not saying much given the lolIllini talent level this season, but still impressive for a frosh. Need to know that his team needs him and that he needs to stay on the floor, too many fouls...
saw him play against one of the other state teams and he looks very tough...strong and determined
Also saw the HS senior Finke who NU briefly recruited chose Grand Canyon (Dan Marjle (sp) is coach) over Illinois. Finke was the plan B to THT.
Also saw the HS senior Finke who NU briefly recruited chose Grand Canyon (Dan Marjle (sp) is coach) over Illinois. Finke was the plan B to THT.
Thick that he was NU's #1 guard target and can see why. Cats also lost Nichols to the illini and he also has had a couple of very good games. Thought that Nichols was set to come to NU but they didn't have a spot open, thanks to the Vassar saga.
Had to get that last little dig in, didn't you? News flash... We went to the NCAAs this year, and Illinois is terribad. The Vassar issue was never a saga instead of in the imaginations of InsideNU reporters, and now it is over. Time to move on.
Illinois' interest fell off long ago. He chose Grand Canyon over Illinois as much as he chose Grand Canyon over NW.
Facts are facts. NU recruited Smith hard and he is a very nice player, true? They were going to offer Nichols but the spot never opened because of the Vassar problem. It was a problem, correct?
Nope was not a problem, since we made the NCAAs and Illinois was bad and is worse this year. Problems are thing that are actually well, problematic-- even potholes in the West lot can damage a car. This damaged nothing.
Finke hasn’t had an Illinois offer in months. The kid had a bad summer and lost his offers from Vandy and several other power 5 schools, too. Hence, GCSt.
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Illinois is better this year than the 20 win team from last year (that beat NU twice). Illinois is just very young. Smith, Frazier and Da’Monte Williams are all four star guards. Black is playing well (16 PPG) and Kipper Nichols is very good these days. 17 and 11 today after 16 against DePaul. Finke is playing well. And Aaron Jordan has been shockingly good. Talent is not as bad as you indicate. 7 four star players in the rotation and Underwood can coach.
Have you even seen Illinois play? You better get Illinois this year or it may be awhile. Only one senior on the team and add Ayo Dosunmu at the point. Ayo, Smith and Da’Monte with Lucas and Frazier off the bench will be a handful at guard.
I seen Illinois play, Hard to tell how they are from seeing them play, since the 4 teams they have played are flat-out terrible (DePaul, at KenPom 127, is the best, by far, the others were in the 200s-300s).
As far as what we do know, they played badly enough to get their coach fired, lost their top-6 scorers and are predicted by those who know more than me to be a bottom-feeder in then BIG. correct? Perhaps that is not the case, but until they play a team with an actual pulse, I will not be able to confirm how bad they are.
It's definitely true. The Finke kid's offer list collapsed. I don't think you can end up at Grand Canyon any other way.
I'm not saying a thing about our chances right now vs Illini. If CCC and the Cats don't figure something out quickly, the Illini will roll us, as would ETHS if they were on the schedule.
Too much talk, too much positive press,... get back to being "blue collar", work hard on both ends, and bring back "toughness".
Meanwhile, Illini look hungry, athletic, and much tougher at the guard spots than last year. There's an attitude there right now.
Too much talk, too much positive press,... get back to being "blue collar", work hard on both ends, and bring back "toughness".
Meanwhile, Illini look hungry, athletic, and much tougher at the guard spots than last year. There's an attitude there right now.
Illini are super young and haven't played anybody, plus they lost Hill, which will show more in conference.
Hill and their other top 6 scorers! It would absolutely shock the world if they are a decent team this year
To be honest, if we somehow lose to them (they are #98 in KenPom) it will be more of a statement of how bad we are than how good they are.
You say tomato, I say tom-AH-toe......losing twice to them last year didn't show how bad NU was.....
Well, according to Ayo himself, he’s a one and done, so looks like we only have to worry about him for one season.
Black and Finke were #4 and #6 in scoring last season. Not really worried too much about the offense, the defense is going to be the challenge this year as we're very thin in the front court.
Uh? We're definitely an unknown... not sure it would "shock the world." We are talented, very young and have a brand new coach. It's anyone's guess how we'll be playing come Big Ten time.
Illini have a group of decent juniors....Kipper is a third-year soph...and Smith is tough as nails frosh guard. If Underwood is a game coach (no idea if he is or isn't) then Illinois can beat some teams. They needed bodies, but not sure Alstork (sp?) was the best add. Have always liked what Finke brings.
After checking Grand Canyon’s roster, things being said here are confusing. There’s no Finke on it.
Here is a link to the GCU Verbal Commits page...they rely pretty heavily on JUCOs.....and their head coach is former NBA star Dan Majerli.....
http://verbalcommits.com/schools/grand-canyon
Thanks for the link. I’ll be in Phoenix during the Christmas holidays. Even though Finke isn’t enrolled, I might catch a game. Majerli could be a future major college head coach in the making from what I observed the last two winters.
You're predicted to finish 12th in the conference, ahead of only Nebby, (a team in total disarray) and lolRutgers, your KenPom is 97, and basically everyone from last year either graduated or transferred out. If you turn out to be good, what word would you use to describe it other than shocking? Stunning? Unicorn-like?
Forgive me, hard to keep track with all the players who graduated and transferred out
Not even certain if Minny lost 70 percent of their scoring from the prior year, but if so, that would be the proper analogy. Doesn't happen often in any case.
I, too, despise the Illini... but I'm not prepared to talk any smack about their team right now. We have a whole load of problems in our own house to worry about. Illini will finish ahead of NU this season if things don't turn around quickly. Our team just doesn't look right at the moment.
Nope, nothing like last season. We took you lightly in one game and got beat, and played one game without a key starter and got beat. Barring any last-minute injuries, neither of those scenarios will take place this year. Also, you lost 70 percent (70 percent!) of your scoring from last year, including an NBA player from a team that was bad enough to get your coach fired. Us....well not so much; did you catch that Gonzaga game?
Amazing how all of you guys have flocked to this board after our slow start and your mega-cupcake schedule. Pro tip: dance cards are not punched in November, particularly in Illinois, where your schedulers have a knack for finding the teams that are among the nut worst in the country to play. North Carolina Central? Southern U.?Tennessee Martin? Seriously, where do you find these teams? Good luck with using those to prep for Wake Forest and us.
