illiniguy

maybe chet can be a doug gottlieb-type this season. he doesn't appear to be turning the ball over and he's racking up some assists. he's always been a demon on defense. i don't want him with the ball in his hands at the end of games, but it's very possible that he can fill a vital role as it appears he's going to get a ton of minutes. Agreed, Sulley who's minutes does Legion take? I am hoping it's Brock and Frazier.

So do I and everyone assumes Aviles is going to be the second baseman now that Grudz is gone.

Watched the UI game and came away impressed with the team. DMac is awesome. Frazier played pretty well, I know he still wasn't good, but for him he played a good game. Shot the open shot and didn't kill the offense too much. I know he can't shoot, but he has to be a threat and let it rip to keep the other teams honest. Otherwise they can play a spot shooter the whole game and let him not guard anyone. Davis played well, that was a big team that he went up against and he had about 4 shots go in and out. Oh and we made free throws.

Well it went 5. But, otherwise spot on.

Tyrese Rice is pretty good, I don't think the rest of the team is though.

Good get for you guys, I wonder if Chris wishes he would have been a little quicker with his decision though? that's what i was thinking. believe it or not, colvin's tale will be good for illini recruiting. Agreed, it is a nice problem compared to what we had the last three classes of not being able to fill schollys.

Good get for you guys, I wonder if Chris wishes he would have been a little quicker with his decision though?

Maybe, but that's a really good CF platoon. DeJesus OPS'ed .875 vs. RHP last year and Johnson OPS'ed .848 vs. LHP last year DeJesus is 3 years younger and isn't he a pretty good defensive CF? Of course that leaves us with the question of what to do with Fukudome, not to mention Pie, because I'm assuming if DeJesus were to be acquired then he would be a CF. Not really, KC traded for a center fielder to move DeJesus off of center field.

No. Teahen can actually play outfield as well as others positions Hoffpauir can't. I don't want him though, unless it's for scraps and he's used as a bench player And the other positions that Teahen plays are positions he won't be playing for the Cubs, thus he really has no more value than a guy we already have that can only play corner outfield positions. Guys who can lay multiple positions always have more value even if those positions are filled. Felixibility is always welcome and needed over the course of a fukll season. My point is that I don't get the comparison between Teahen and Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir is a first baseman and can't play the outfield every day. Teahen can, as well as other positions Hoffpauir can't. How much value does Teahan have playing anywhere other then pitcher with his .715 OPS or 91 OPS+? He has had one year as an acceptable big league hitter. I would hate to see us give up anything good to get him. You're completely missing the point. I'm just saying that I don't get the comparison between him and Hoffpauir. I don't want Teahan. My point about positions was that a guy who can play multiple positions has a bit extra value because you can plug him in late in games after double switches or when guys need a day off, blah blah. The only reason I brought it up was because that's something Hoffpauir is not. I don't want Teahen. Yeah I get that point. I just don't like it the guy who can play multiples can't hit at all and the one who can't can hit a bit. Neifi Perez could play a lot of spots, but I wouldn't want him on my team over Darryl Ward.

Except for you would probably lose. Hansbrough plays there is no probably to it. They are so far and away better than anyone else this year. I don't know about far and away. Freshman make such a huge impact now that we're going to see if one or more reaches the Oden/Rose/Durant level before proclaiming anyone the best team. Also: Kentucky can barely get the ball over half court. I don't think there are any frosh this year near the level of any of those guys.

So who do you think is coaching Kentucky next year?

Except for you would probably lose. Hansbrough plays there is no probably to it. They are so far and away better than anyone else this year.

No. Teahen can actually play outfield as well as others positions Hoffpauir can't. I don't want him though, unless it's for scraps and he's used as a bench player And the other positions that Teahen plays are positions he won't be playing for the Cubs, thus he really has no more value than a guy we already have that can only play corner outfield positions. Guys who can lay multiple positions always have more value even if those positions are filled. Felixibility is always welcome and needed over the course of a fukll season. My point is that I don't get the comparison between Teahen and Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir is a first baseman and can't play the outfield every day. Teahen can, as well as other positions Hoffpauir can't. How much value does Teahan have playing anywhere other then pitcher with his .715 OPS or 91 OPS+? He has had one year as an acceptable big league hitter. I would hate to see us give up anything good to get him.

No. Teahen can actually play outfield as well as others positions Hoffpauir can't. I don't want him though, unless it's for scraps and he's used as a bench player What did Teahan slug last year, .390? No thanks.

Not really a suprise. All me buddies here new this was coming. Wanted to play with his brother. They are still hoping for Wall.

an i will be at the game...can't wait to see them lose, heh. I think we win that. hell we throttled ASU last year. We won't start to suck until conference time. i'm hoping that's the case...i think the defense will keep it somewhat close even if they don't pull out the win...do the illini have an answer for ogilvy though? Only a ton of fouls to run at him. No we don't, but I imagine we will be able to keep it close. Plus we have the added bonus of not having Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle to piss away a late lead at the free throw line this year.

an i will be at the game...can't wait to see them lose, heh. I think we win that game. Hell we throttled ASU last year, who was a lot better than this Vandy team. We won't start to suck until conference time.

It will never end. After the Gordon debacle things will never be the same. If you don't think an Illini fan can hold a grudge just ask an Iowa fan. Welcome to at least thirty years of hatred and pissing matches. If we ever win a title I think that will fade away too. Indiana took just one player. Iowa tried to railroad our program. By taking that one player, IU did railroad our program. Luckily it appears we have recovered, and they came out of the whole situation with a whole lot of egg on their place. Anyone know when the NCAA ruling is due? Yeah they hurt us, but still why did we have all of our eggs in one guy? The fact that we missed out on everyone else hurt as as much if not way more than missing EJ. Plus it caused Bruce to change how he handles recruiting for the better. As for the ruling, who knows. They still are one of the sacred cows, I imagine the NCAA will wait as long as they can and hope that people forget.

It will never end. After the Gordon debacle things will never be the same. If you don't think an Illini fan can hold a grudge just ask an Iowa fan. Welcome to at least thirty years of hatred and pissing matches. If we ever win a title I think that will fade away too. Indiana took just one player. Iowa tried to railroad our program.

It has, I think you guys did a great job with your recruiting this year. Crean should get a medal for that. How is your '10 shaping up. Oh and apparently Bill Self isn't recruiting for Illinois anymore. I did not know that, but will be talking to him about it the next time I drive to lawerence.

How shocking, an Illini fan with a negative view on Indiana basketball. Bruce Weber is still coaching Ilinois right? Just making sure. You do realize he doesn't have any Bill Self recruits left to lean on. they lost every single player they had and are going to have to depend upon freshmen next year, i think it's a pretty fair assessment, actually. and weber's 2010 class is the best class in the history of the program. Whatever, typical Illinois fan response. Indiana invented basketball. Oh and Jereme Richmond and Crandal Head can't play basketball, they are horrible at it. Those are their tennis rankings, also they are visiting IU this fall so that recruiting isn't over. Let Kelvin get them to Yogi's. GRrRR.. IU IU IU IU. I also imagine IU goes 36-1 this year. Tom Crean!!1!!

touche, I meant to say. Have you guys made any progress on Barnes? Is UCLA recruiting him Raisin? Yeah, definitely. He and Josh Smith are the big pie in the sky targets for UCLA in 2010. i love the fact that our 2010 is done and we have 3 top 30 players already. that's got to be the best recruiting class in illini history--although i think barnes is better than richmond. He is right now. Richmond looks more like a kid still though, not that it means a lot. As for the class it has to be our best. Our other good ones were littered with guys who were very underrated. Gill wasn't highly thought of at all and Deron Williams was what in the 50's? Have you seen Meyers play?

touche, I meant to say. Have you guys made any progress on Barnes? Is UCLA recruiting him Raisin?

He's a white, less athletic version of Tyler Smith. Matt is a solid athlete but not on Smith's level although Gatens may be a little better outside shooter. But what makes Tyler special is his feel for the game, unselfishness and ability to make the "right" play so often. He's going to start every game for 4 years barring injury and will be an all Big Ten player as a veteran. I agree with the Illinois fans in this discussion though. I think Lick is a hell of a coach and is bringing in players who can move the ball, shoot, play smart and defend. With that said, the Big Ten has a great collection of coaches who are bringing in some studs. You can't just consistently beat that with system guys. I think that collection can get you top 5 finishes and trips to the NCAA's but to break into the top of the league you need to add a few top 100 guys every couple years. That's what Bo has done at Wisky. Solid core of 3-star guys who fit in well with some studs sprinkled in. Gatens is one and Creekmur in 2010 has a decent chance of being another. We need more. This team is improved and will finish above .500. I say 9-4 non-conference, 8-10 in the Big Ten this year. Gatens is a stud. You guys in on Harrison Barnes?

i just don't see iowa being relevant in any big ten discussion. if it happens, i'll be extremely surprised. there are just other teams that have more going for themselves. I really think that it will be OSU and Illinois going for it in a few years. They are both going to be loaded. But, I also think that Purdue, Wisky, MSU, and even Minnesota will be pretty goodd again.s exciting to have the big ten getting good again. i think purdue is there to stay, i think msu is going nowhere, osu gets every single good player on earth, wisco will continue to contend with whomever they bring in and they're fairly loaded with incoming players, and minnesota is absolutely on their way back up in terms of recruiting. there just isn't any room for iowa at the table, although it would be good for the big ten. I don't get how Thad does it. He just looks at the top 25 list and goes. I want you,you, you, and you. Then he gets them. It's amazing. makes me wish we would have hired him when we had the chance, but oh well. We probably would have lost him to IU though when they hired Sampson. At least that's what I tell myself to stay sane.