I'm pretty excited about this kid. His arm strength still isn't great, but it's better than it was last year a junior.

My Illini comp is Nathan Scheelhaause. Swanson is a similar athlete and playmaker. NS was an option QB in high school, so more of a natural runner, but both are + athletes.

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The Illini woman beat McNease State tonight 100-38 to start the season 3-0.. This team is probably a few years and a couple bigs away from being really good. Really fun team to watch..

It’s been fun to see the talent upgrade this year that comes from better recruiting.

For example, we don’t really have a pure PG on the roster. This was the kiss of death for many Illini teams in the last 15 years. However, we have point forwards and combo guards with enough handles and skill that several guys can run the offense and we can push tempo. Big improvement.

It’s also a big deal when you have freshmen that can contribute on day 1. Compare a guy like Sencire Harris to Calvin Brock or Joe Bertrand. All great run/jump athletes but Sencire has a well-rounded game.

Also you just see the raw athletic ability to just break teams. All three games against the cupcakes had a stretch that was just non-competitive for the other team. We have guys terrorizing ball handlers with the press, racing to the hoop for uncontested layups and dunks, blocking multiple shots, and laying teeth-rattling screens.

The Monmouth game was over in 5 minutes. The second half was all garbage time. This team will be tested by better teams and we will quickly learn some hard truths about where we stand, but I’ve not seen such athletic domination from an Illinois team this century. Even the 2005 team was a bit undersized and more of a well-oiled machine rather than just physically dominant.

Winning with 4*s is fun. Better watch out if Underwood starts getting 5*s.

Tonight for Duke vs Kansas. He had one rebound and no points. He did not play a lot. Got called for an offensive foul in the first half.

He is averaging 4.7 points a game. He has played 18 minutes in games this year.

Grady Dick was impressive for Kansas. He is a skilled player. Kansas pulled it out at the end after giving up the lead to Duke.
I think I’m going to hate Scheyer. He seems like a facsimile of Coach K!

Interesting how Coach K and Jon S are both from Chicagoland

I plan to be at this event.

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* Women's hoops improves to 2-0.

* Wrestling signs recruiting class

* Will Bielema face old team Arkansas in bowl game?

* Big Ten West title scenarios

This looks to be the scenarios that need to happen for us to win the B1G West:

• Purdue: Win both remaining games AND Iowa loss
• Iowa: Win both remaining games AND Illinois loss
• Illinois: Win both remaining games AND Purdue loss
• Minnesota: Win both remaining games And Illinois loss AND Purdue loss

Realistically, I can't see us pulling out an upset at the big house and as bad as NW is, most of the time (save last season) they give us their best shot. That 2019 game will always stick in my mind.

I also don't see Purdue losing to NW and IU.

So, the two teams with the best chances are Purdue and Iowa. Which of these are the lesser of two evils do you want going to Indy on Dec. 3.?

As much as I loathe Iowa, after what happened last Saturday in my dealing with their student fan base, and what looked to me like dirty playing by Purdue, I have to go with Iowa.

At least we won't be embarrassed by tOSU on national TV.

I hate to jinx the Illini but Syracuse is horrible. They don't look any better than Monmouth. They were down by 14 at half, down by 14 midway thru second half, down by 19 with 4 minutes left in the game. And it hasn't even looked that close. Oh yeah, they are playing COLGATE!!!

Terrance Shannon through 3 games already has made more FTs (26) than the following Illinois players did all of last season:

Da'Monte Williams (17)
RJ Melendez (17)
Omar Payne (15)
BBV (5)
Luke Goode (4)
plus all the bench players

The entire team last year made 435 free throws and he is on pace to make 303 FTs in 35 games.

He also has not yet committed a foul.

After two games. 32 PPG, 10 RPG, 2.5 APG.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois offensive line was named to the Joe Moore Award semifinalists list for the first time in the award's history, the award's committee announced Tuesday. The Fighting Illini unit is one of nine honored from around the nation and one of only two units from the Big Ten, along with Michigan.

The offensive line has paved the way for the nation's leading rusher, Chase Brown (1,442 rushing yards). Brown had 100+ rushing yards in the team's first nine games this season, becoming the first Big Ten back to do so since Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott in 2015.

The Illinois O-line has been one of the toughest and most dependable in the nation to date. The line's five core starters have made 49 of 50 starts. Senior RT Alex Palczewski is the most veteran of the group with a Big Ten record 62 career starts, which also ranks second in NCAA history.

Illinois is back in action Saturday against #3 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– The John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List Tuesday on ESPN's SportsCenter and on ESPN.com. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.

Included in the Wooden Watch List is Fighting Illini senior Terrence Shannon Jr. Shannon is off to a great start as an Illini, averaging 22.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists through three games. He is shooting 53% from the field and better than 81% at the foul line while ranking second nationally with 26 made free throws. Shannon is coming off a career-high 30-point performance in Monday's win over Monmouth.

This is the fourth accolade for Shannon, who previously was named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List, Jerry West Award Watch List, and Preseason All-Big Ten Team.

Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List

Max Abmas, Oral Roberts
Posh Alexander, St. John's
Timmy Allen, Texas
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Matt Bradley, San Diego State
Tyger Campbell, UCLA
Colin Castleton, Florida
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Kendric Davis, Memphis
RJ Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
Zach Edey, Purdue
Adam Flagler, Baylor
Jayden Gardner, Virginia
Keyonte George, Baylor
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Tyrese Hunter, Texas
Harrison Ingram, Stanford
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Dereck LIvely II, Duke
Caleb Love, North Carolina
Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Darius McGhee, Liberty
Mike Miles Jr., TCU
Brandon Miller, Alabama
Kris Murray, Iowa
Nijel Pack, Miami
Will Richardson, Oregon
Jeremy Roach, Duke
Adama Sanogo, Connecticut
Marcus Sasser, Houston
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Terquavion Smith, N.C. State
Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas
Julian Strawther, Gonzaga
Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee
Jordan Walker, UAB
Cason Wallace, Kentucky
Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky
Dariq Whitehead, Duke
Cam Whitmore, Villanova
Jalen Wilson, Kansas
Isaiah Wong, Miami

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented in Los Angeles in April.

Where does Luke fit when back from surgery?