illinilaw08

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 23, 2006 -> 05:13 PM) No way in hell. I actually agree with JD on this one. While Weber is a very good coach, Izzo just has had far more success at this point. We can compare Weber to Izzo when he has won a NC and been to a couple more final 4s. Far to early in Weber's career to make a good comparison.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 23, 2006 -> 01:29 AM) They have the same issues as Gonzaga this year, not tough enough on the glass or defense to win the big game. Izzo is a smart man though, and he could have them in the Final 4 for all we know, which is in part (along with his just not being an asswipe like most great coaches) why I like him so much. The best Izzo teams have always had a ton of depth in the frontcourt, and I really think that is the weakness of this MSU team, beyond Davis there is not much there. They could absolutely make a run deep in the tourney because of their big 3, but the Izzo teams I remember always had bigs they could keep throwing at you. They are the most talented scoring team in the big 10, but the role players just are not there.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 22, 2006 -> 06:44 PM) So is there any way this could actually help the Knicks this season? Cause I would really like that #1 draft pick. Only if they could manage to swing Marbury and say Frye into Garnett. That is really the only thing that could help the Knicks.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Feb 22, 2006 -> 02:04 PM) I wouldn't even have trade Ariza for Francis, much less a great expiring contract like Pennies. Sometimes I get the feeling Isiah is playing one big joke on NBA fans, I just can't figure out why. My best guess right now is that he saw Villinova beat UCONN last week running a 4 guard offense and thinks he can do that with Marbury, Francis, Rose, Crawford, and Frye. The other great thing about this trade is Francis is on the books for 3 more years with his contract. Good times.

WHAT THE HELL IS ISIAH DOING?! http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2339941 Seriously, he now has 5 guards who don't pass and shoot as soon as they get the ball in any scoring position.

Just make sure Anderson is getting his ABs against Felix Hernandez. I like his career numbers against that particular tough righty.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Feb 22, 2006 -> 09:58 AM) very good points. this team has not really developed a consistent offensive option from the guard spot this year. mcbride and smith have played well at times, but they are streaky three-point shooters who don't offer much more than that on offense. the frustrating thing is that i do think in pruitt we've begin to see the development of a better inside offensive game, but there is no complementary outside game that would give you a nice inside-outside balance. most concerning to me, though, is this team's defensive lapses. i've said many times that this team will go as far as its defense. clearly that is the best part of its game. however, the defense has been really spotty lately, and most disconcerting it's been spotty at the most crucial points of the game. Could not agree more on Rush. McBride has been a lot better recently except in games against OSU and Michigan. In both those games he was defended by an athletic guard, and against those types of players he disappears. And Jamar just does not seem to really understand what he is doing out there. He's a very good shooter, but that is all that he is right now. If this team had someone other than Dee who could create their own shot, they would be a legitimate top 5 team IMO. I also agree on Pruitt, I've watched him closely this year and he is a very emotional player. He works very hard for position and gets very upset when he does not get the ball. If he can cut down on the stupid fouls and get in a bit better condition, he will be a monster before he is done in Champaign.

I really think that with the amount of truly mediocre teams in the NCAA this year, there will be a Big 10 team in the final 4... I'm not sure which one, but I think any of Illinois, OSU, Iowa or MSU, maybe even Wisconsin, could get that far. It will all depend on the draws these teams get. Regardless, it should be a very interesting March.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Feb 21, 2006 -> 09:28 PM) SIU down 8 to f***in Evansville with 13 minutes left. I might just kill someone if we lose this. Is that game on tv tonight? SIU really needs this one.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Feb 21, 2006 -> 09:15 PM) Disagree completely on Dee. He scored but his turnovers were a major factor in allowing Michigan back in the game. He did a poor job in the second half of setting up teammates and his defense was absolutely pathetic tonight. Agree that it was not Dee's best defensive night, but there were enough defensive breakdowns to go around, especially early in the second half, and tip your cap to Horton, he hit some tough tough shots. And yes, he did have a few too many turnovers, but Dee hit some huge shots that kept this team in the game. Late in the game, this really turned into the Dee Brown show where the other guards stood around and waited for Dee to make a play. Not his best all-around effort, but Dee hit some huge shots in this game. I must disagree on the setting up teammates. This team tonight did one of its better jobs getting the ball into the bigs. Pruitt got the most touches he has seen since the game at IU, and James saw a lot of touches as well. Defense and turnovers could have been better however.

Horton was sick tonight. It really hurts losing a very winnable game like this one. Dee and Augustine played very well tonight (Augie especially) and the Illini got a nice effort from Pruitt, but McBride and Randle were non-factors on the offensive end. If Jamar and Frazier could be combined into one player, this would be a much better basketball team. One last point on McBride, he has really struggled this year when an athletic player guards him. When he plays a team where he gets his open looks, he is great, but OSU and Mich both were able to keep him from getting any open looks almost at all. Look it up, I have been a McBride apologist all year, but I am just very frustrated with him when he doesnt play well because IMO the Illini absolutely need him to win. There's still a chance at the Big 10, but the Illini have to win out which is going to take one hell of an effort.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 21, 2006 -> 01:17 PM) I like Lavin, Bilas, Rece Davis, and Raftery. The rest of them either suck, are biased towards a certain league, or both. I would also like to point out that if you put Kansas or Illinois on a neutral floor with Gonzaga right now, they'd both win by double digits. Gonzaga is the most overrated team I've seen in a long time. Agree on the announcers, and I agree that Gonzaga is overrated, but as much as I think he is a punk, when a team in college basketball has someone that can score like Morrison can, they could be in every game they play. From an Illinois perspective, Randle could control Morrison if he could avoid fouls, and Kansas certainly plays very solid defense, but to claim a double digit win seems rash. I do believe both teams are better than Gonzaga, but Morrsion is damn good.

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 21, 2006 -> 11:07 AM) I am worried that Crede will have a career year and Boras will have him sign a gigantic deal elsewhere. I'm a lot more worried about Crede's back as opossed to him performing too well.

I believe in God, I also believe that the Bible was written by men, and as such it does not necessarily require a literal interpretation. If there is a place for creationism and inteligent design, it is in a philosophy or Humanities class. In fact, I think those are the perfect forum for those subjects. I am not going to rehash other people's arguments, as I feel that some other posters have stated the case of evolution far more eloquently than I could. I will say this however, it is possible to be a Christian and support evolution.

Well, first of all, I find both Morrison and Reddick to be punks, though they are both great scorers. On the Illinois game, it was fantastic to see the guards get the ball inside and see the big men really assert themselves. Warren Carter still needs to improve defensively, but he is excellent with the ball offensively, especially against the zone, he really flashes to the middle quite well. On Randle, if he is not defensive player of the year in the big 10, I will be very surprised. And as SnB mentioned, Randle is a consistent jumpshot away from being a lottery pick. Good luck to Indiana the rest of the way, I hope they get the wins necessary to get into the tournament and increase the stature of the Big 10.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 17, 2006 -> 09:33 AM) Hey!!! I was at the game as well. I will tell you what, Gordon looked pretty impressive all around last night, but Malik Allen was pretty impressive on the boards late and taking decent shots. Yeah, I did not think I would see a productive Malik Allen at any time this season. And yes, Gordon looked very good last night. Big win, hopefully the momentum from this win carries over past the All-Star break.

Typical Bulls this year in games when they start out hot, they let the other team right back into the game. The lead is down to 11 at the half, hopefully the Bulls can come out to start the second half the same way they did the first.

Very good start for the Bulls up 41-22 early in the 2nd quarter. They are playing one of the better defensive games I have seen them play, and Malik Allen has made some shots (6 points as I type this)

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Feb 15, 2006 -> 03:24 PM) WAKE UP Man for man you have more talent that every Latvian player, start playing like you want this. Also that 2nd goal was weak as hell, Grahame. I know Dipietro's a head case, but he's the only goalie we have that can play at a gold-medal level. Better come out in this third period and win this game. Right now they are just playing lazy and taking too many unnecessary chances. No access to a TV, what's the score of the US game?

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 14, 2006 -> 07:54 PM) It looks like they got the color from my toilet after a night of binging on white castle and beer. :headshake LMAO at that Hopefully the Bulls show some sort of killer instinct and put the Kings away in the last 7 minutes here Of course as I type this, Tyson misses 2, the Kings score, and the Bulls trail.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Feb 12, 2006 -> 12:48 PM) Um................he f***ing pointed Illini ball......................... Yeah, I dont know what happened there. A lot better defense at the end of the half, but this team needs to come out firing in the second half to get back in the game.

QUOTE(SnB @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 04:25 PM) i'm going to miss his stunning hair most of all. I'm going to miss Illinois beating Missouri every year most of all. But wait, didnt he learn basketball at the hands of the immortal Coach K?! How could any of his disciples possibly fail?!

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 09:01 PM) OSU has enough athletic guards that they should be able to cover him a bit better to prevent the wide open 3's that he needs to thrive. OSU typically seems to have a lot more trouble with big guys that pound them inside. The 3-point shot hasn't really been a factor for the other team in any of their close games except Indiana early in the year (I guess Harris was pretty good tonight, but Horton was off, and Harris is better at creating his own shot and hitting the really deep 3's). I agree with this that McBride will not be able to live at the 3 point line Sunday. Now if McBride plays like he has the last three games where he has added that 17 footer, he may still be able to have success... I hope.

This Bulls team has been turning the ball over on outlet passes a frightening amount recently. This is why Pax needs to get some more veterans for this team cause right now they have to be one of the dumbest teams in the NBA.

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 09:53 PM) Pushing Artest after the hard foul. None of that would've started if Ben hadn't pushed Artest. Rasheed, on the other hand, is just a thug. He's a whiney b****. Speaking of whiny b****es, I wish VC had gotten snubbed. I really have disliked him since he tanked for so long with the Raptors to force a trade, and then all of a sudden started trying again. I would have taken Redd or Arenas over him for that reason alone.