OT: Illini botch Terrence Shannon jersey retirement ceremony 🤣
- Thread starter CappyNU
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The number isn’t retired. They’re just acknowledging him. He set the single season scoring record for the school (pts/gm, not absolute total since he missed a month).
They have objective criteria that establishes eligibility, including consensus 1st or 2nd team AA. He didn’t meet the criteria, but the AD announced last summer he was making an exception because Shannon Jr would have been 1st team AA if he hadn’t been suspended for a month due to a false rape accusation. It was an ongoing case during the season so voters understandably didn’t want to vote for him. But once the dust had settled and the case went to court, it was clear that he’d been railroaded by a false accusation and they didn’t want him to have to miss the honor of having his jersey hung in the rafters.
It’s a different era now. If you reserve the right for guys who play their entire careers at the school, few will ever have a chance. It’s fun to acknowledge great seasons and careers. Ayo, Kofi, and Shannon have all met the criteria in the past handful of years. It’s way more fun than having to wait 15 years for someone to meet the criteria (which I believe was the case from 2006-2021).
Illini are finding out it's tough to win against a lot of older guys even when you have a lot of young talent. Fifth year John Tonje lit them up last night for 31 points and Wisconsin is loaded with veterans on that team. They actually might be the best chance the BIG has to reach the final four this year ( To me, MSU doesn't have enough of a three point game but we will see). Despite a promising Frish class next year, CCC is going to have to pluck a couple gems from the transfer portal to be competitive.
The transfer portal can be very tricky, too. Kansas has fallen on its face (relatively speaking) despite a highly rated transfer group. AJ Storr who left Wisconsin is among their underachievers and to think Wisconsin basically traded him for Tonje . I've detailed the tale of the two Jalens NU was after. Leach turned out to be really good (and was a backbreaking loss for this team) while Blackmon has hardly played for a bad Miami team.
Character matters a ton. By character I mean
a) dedication to putting in the work
b) commitment to the other guys on the team
c) doing what the coaches ask
Collins has done an excellent job in identifying which portal guys have it and which guys don't.
And it probably helps that guys with character can see why Northwestern is a better option than most other places.
Greg Gard's selection and development of Tonje is really remarkable. AJ Storr, on the other hand, played no defense.
It is going to be difficult to do that.
Our transfer pool is
a) grad students who still have eligibility and ability (how many of them are there?)
b) freshmen and sophomores who are performing well at lesser programs - and also have good grades.
c) unhappy freshmen and sophomores who are sitting on the bench at Power 5 schools.
Tonje did not exactly come out of nowhere. He was a good player for a pretty good Colorado State team in 21-22 (led by David Roddy--remember him?). He would have helped Mizzou a lot last year, but he missed most of the year with a foot injury.
But, yes. He blew up this year.
I get what you’re saying. They have criteria for who can be eligible, and meeting it is difficult. My point was just that it doesn’t necessarily require you to be a four year player (for example, a one year transfer could be eligible if he was a consensus AA). Which I think is a reasonable approach, considering the game today.
Feel the same way but I'm just saying Wisconsin might have an outside chance, depending on seeding and matchups, of course. They bombed out in the first round last year, I think.
Could very well be all SEC teams. It is a damn good conference
Kentucky, #9 in the SEC, has wins over Duke and Gonzaga this year.
#6 Missouri has beaten Kansas (though they did lose to Illinois in December)
aTm, #4 has wins over Purdue, Creigthon and Ohio State
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It pains me to say I think IL has the best chance at a F4. Often teams just get hot, figure it out and go on a run. They have a ton of talent and late in season more of a chance they could mature enough.
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