I guess we gotta prove them wrong again this season #ILLINI

My only concern is, I could see IL this year potentially being like the 2022 team, where there was conflict between players, because you had this mix of highly ranked incoming freshman, with highly-rated transfers, and some decent holdovers, and the expectations of certain roles and of playing time, etc., didn't match up to what some guys wanted and guys weren't very happy, and personalities and egos just clashed, and it resulted in alot of bad losses and a team that just wasn't together and was an early tourney exit. I hope I'm wrong but the way this team is being constructed this year, it seems more similar to that 2022 team than last years team.

I'm not convinced Dusty May is a good coach.

I could watch these guys talk about Illinois basketball all day long

It's a brave new world in college basketball. Comparing 2019 to 2024 is Earth 1 and Earth 2 stuff.

Dusty May seems like John Groce 2.0.

My thoughts (some of these are hot takes): 1) I don’t understand the Purdue love. They won’t be bad team, but I think the fact that Edey is gone is going to be noticeable. Smith makes that team go and I think his efficiency dips. 2) Indiana should be the favorites, but I think Illinois might have the most talent on paper. 3) Michigan goes up most in the standings. Should be competitive. 4) Izzo was quite upset last year. If he has another average team, I wonder if he retires. 5) Mussleman assembles talent, but I’m not sure he assembles teams. 6) Rutgers will frustrate a lot of people, but the freshman inconsistency will show. 7) UCLA will be a good team. I think they finish top 4. 8) There will be 3 games or less separating 1st to 5th in the league. I think the winner may not be clear until 1-2 weeks left in league play.