"I feel like we're a Final Four championship team"
Tourney not about ‘best team’ it’s about ‘best team that day’...
*Illini hoops get a three-seed Eastern regional NCAA tournament (defending national champ UConn top seed in the region)….play Thursday vs. 14h-seed Morehead State in Omaha…….Eagles head man Preston Spradlin rumored to be the next Southern Illinois Salukis coach….win that game likely to play 6th-seed ‘if you are going to bring em’ Brigham Young on Saturday.
Two teams didn’t want to see in the Illini’s bracket Iowa State Cyclones /Houston Cougars…both play tough physical ‘D’ (which Illinois hasn’t seen much of this season) excellent point guards who know how to run the game (Lipsey for the Cyclones)….at the bottom of their bracket….two-seed Iowa State…..Sweet Sixteen matchup….confident Underwood’s team can beat UConn but Iowa State? Can’t wait for the hoops.
*"I feel like we're a Final Four championship team"-Brad Underwood.
-Yes head coach has a bad habit of over-hyping his team....if he can't get to the 2nd weekend of the NCAA tournament with a talented junior/senior team?…...this is the year hoops make a tourney run has to be…..why?….after last month’s awful loss at Penn State….thought, ‘typical’ Illini will limp to the end of the regular season….instead team went 4-1 two road W’s/won Big Ten tournament finishing strong….peaking at the right time with a veteran team.
To me need three dependable players to make NCAA tourney run....Illini have two in Marcus Domask, T. Shannon and....third should be Coleman Hawkins….always the question do we get 'good Coleman' or 'bad Coleman'? drinking the Orange Kool-Aid get 'good Coleman' tourney time…coaches cliche’…NCAA tourney not about ‘best team’ it’s about ‘best team that day’.
*Remembering another Illini NCAA tournament run…
-Looking back at Lou Henson's 1989 team....some similarities to this year's squad....junior/senior led team....struggled previous years in NCAA's....1986 Winters-Douglas senior season don't make it out of the first weekend...1987 first round loss to Austin Peay...1988 fuckin' missed free throws losing 2nd round to Villanova....89' going to be any different?
First round vs. McNeese State Indianapolis Illini top seed....16th-seed Cowboys 16-14 won the Southland Tournament to get into the tournament....Illini two scoring droughts but lead at half 26-21....big run last 20 minutes...'Illinois enjoyed its largest lead at 73-51 after a Larry Smith layup with 1:51 to play, but the Cowboys outscored the Illini reserves 20-4 the rest of the way.' (Courtesy UPI)........remember yelling at the TV as they made that final run...'Put the starters back in'....so high-strung those days….77-71 W.
2nd round vs. Ball State....'Before an NCAA-record second-round crowd of 37,444, top-seeded Illinois (29-4) overwhelmed Ball State from the start with its press, forcing 12 first-half turnovers. And the Fighting Illini never looked back. The Cardinals shot 39 percent and turned the ball over 17 times. In one stretch of the first half, the team from Muncie, Ind., turned the ball over on seven of nine possessions as Illinois, the Big Ten runner-up, built a 14-point lead. Ball State Coach Rick Majerus, who called a second practice on Friday night in a hotel ballroom to prepare for the press, was impressed. "It looked a lot more difficult on the court today than in the ballroom last night," he said. "It's hard to simulate something like that with your substitutes. Those are some world-class athletes they have out there. I'm just awestruck by them." (Courtesy Knight-Ridder).....that was a tough Ball State team built by Majerus.....Cardinals full of power five transfers cept' didn't have a point guard to handle the Illini pressure.....72-60 W.
Regional semi-final vs. Louisville in Minneapolis....Cardinals with Hall of Fame head coach Denny Crum....'Never Nervous' Pervis Ellison...the 'next Jordan' LaBradford Smith (he wasn't)...Kenny Payne (recently fired Cardinals head coach)....Kenny Battle sprained knee had slipped on water of the Metrodome floor during practice limited vs. the Cardinals....Lowell Hamilton sprained an ankle early in game....Never Nervous Pervis injured knee 1st half played not effective after getting hurt.....Up and down the court kind of game perfect for Illinois....Nick Anderson with help from Marcus Liberty led the way...Henson's team took control final ten minutes ......83-69 W.
Regional final vs. Syracuse...what a team the Orange had...All-time greats like Sherman Douglas.….Derrick Coleman...Billy Owens...Stephen Thompson.....those days players stayed in college at least three years....so many stacked rosters then......watched the game at my grandmother's house think it was an Easter Sunday?....'Syracuse led 46-39 at halftime, but the Illini got hot in the second half. Illinois made 20 out of 27 field goal attempts (74 percent shooting) in the second half. Syracuse had one last chance to tie the game and force overtime, but Thompson’s last-second 3-point attempt missed the mark.' (Courtesy Syracuse.com) can watch the game on YouTube a classic......once Illini took the lead stayed in the exact same place on the couch didn’t move/jinx the play on the court…..again high-strung watching games then.......when Thompson missed the shot....dancing around like a fuckin' idiot....thank god he missed cause Illini out of gas/no ‘MO’….overtime might have been ugly.......Illinois 89 Syracuse 86….next stop Seattle.
Final Four semi-final vs. Michigan.....we all know how it turned out....so much pushing off by the Wolverines that game....now I sound like the message board fever swamp types ranting against the refs......Glen Rice one-man gang we remember....sidenote-cracks me up 'Fab Five' get more glory it seems than 1989 Michigan team that actually won the championship...game ended when it was dark...so upset walked around till 2AM...couldn't sleep...rooted hard for Seton Hall championship game to no avail...another sleepless night so pissed having to see Bo holding that trophy fuck me...still haven't gotten over it....1989 helluva year for Illini fans...Final Four in the spring next fall Jeff George tipped pass away from the Rose Bowl.
When I think of the Flyin' Illini...reminded of what a Chicago Illini booster said, 'only the 85’ Bears lived off that one season more than those guys from the Flyin' Illini'...made me laugh...hell seems every other Big Ten game Stephen Bardo does broadcast has some mention of him being a member of the Flyin’ Illini.
When Illini get out of the first weekend....will go thru the 2005 Final Four run next week.
*Fighting Illini football get a pair of 2025 verbal commitments...
-Xanai Scott defensive back West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman High School-older brother Xavier cornerback on the Illini team......listed at 6-foot. 170-pounds doesn't look that big on film....played free safety/slot receiver/dangerous return man...his HUDL liked him better on offense than defense....good hands/quick feet/agility to make first tackler miss as a ball-carrier...willing tackler on defense but with his build....don't know you can play him at safety....level of competition questionable....Newman plays a lot of private schools without a lot of talent/speed to keep up....had an offer from Pitt that was made late last summer.
In my view…..Scott isn’t a prospect you take a spring commitment from….wait to get him at a summer camp workout to see him in person…..get it why Bret Bielema’s program took him….has older brother on the team….Head coach loves recruiting area Scott is from…his first assistant job at Iowa late 90’s Hayden Fry/Kirk Ferentz sent Bielema to south Florida to recruit…without any previous connection to the area ended up landing prospects like Fred Barr, Colin Cole among others that became all-Big Ten types for the Hawkeyes….Dade/Broward/Palm Beach (Fla.) counties as Chico Escuela would say, ‘been berry, berry good’ to Bielema.
-Andre Lovett defensive back Blue Island (Ill.) Eisenhower High School-6-foot-2, 170-pounder can play safety or wide receiver....impressive list with Arizona State, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Mizzou and Purdue all offering him early...film shows physical attributes long arms/strides covering a lot of ground as a safety....makes plays side to side showing the agility you are looking for....jump ball wide receiver/doesn’t get separation so defense is in his future....like many of these high school defensive backs...has to work on his tackling...will hit but too many times throws himself/drags down ball-carrier vs. getting into proper tackling position....skinny build never going to be a 220-pound bruiser....excellent single high safety recruit fits exactly what Illinois is looking for in that position.
-Illini fun fact.....Lovett from Blue Island Eisenhower...last player Illini signed from that high school? class of 1990 offensive lineman Steve Stefanski....John Mackovic's staff had missed on three o-line prospects 48 hours before letter of intent day…..Stefanski still available took the late offer....three linemen going elsewhere were Parade All-American Reuben Brown out of Lynchburg (Va.) signed with Pitt.....Aaron Hunter from state of New York signed with Syracuse....Mark Askin out of Louisville (KY.) St. X signed with Kentucky.....Stefanski never lettered at Illinois...got his UIUC degree became a teacher at Romeoville High School...good for him.