Looky Looky whoes in the 2 round projections at LT https://walterfootball.com/draft2024_2.php

We might have 2 first rounders if all plays out well at the Combine

Looking at KenPom stats 5 games in...

• Shannon has played 77.5% of our minutes. Domask is at 72% and nobody else is above 52.5%. Shannon leads the team in usage rate (27.5%) and his ORtg is 119.6. Domask in all those minutes has an ORtg of 89.9 and a usage rate of only 17.8%.
• Goode is this year's designated shooter. 123.6 ORtg and 30 3PA to 1 2PA. He fills that Grandison/Jordan slot on the team.
• Tons of guys are struggling way more than expected: Hawkins (78.9 ORtg, 34.7 TORate), Guerrier (1-16 from 3, although we know it's a wrist injury, leading to his 91.1 ORtg), DGL (2-12 from 3, 89.7 ORtg), Domask (6-22 from 3, 89.9 ORtg)
• Some guys are doing ok-ish despite numbers that make little sense: Dainja (109.4 ORtg despite 2-13 FT), Hansberry (128.9 ORtg despite missing a bunch of bunny layups), Moretti (116.5 ORtg despite 37.9 TORate)
• Ty Rodgers is a fine player but he doesn't profile as a PG. His assist rate of 12.3 is not PG-level at all. He's really a SF but since he's competing with Shannon and Domask for that spot then I guess you might as well throw him at "PG" to get him on the floor. DGL is not a PG either (ARate of 14.7) If you are going to force someone into the PG position, then it's really Shannon (19.7 ARate.) Moretti has an ARate of 34.0 so that's probably why he profiles as a pure PG. I like him in the rotation because he gives the offense a more traditional look. I'd consider pairing him with Dainja in the 2nd unit and pound it inside whenever Shannon gets a breather.
• Biggest problem I have with this roster is the positions are all messed up. We have PGs that don't have an ARate over 15 (Rodgers), SGs that don't make 3's (DGL, Harmon), PFs that don't offensive rebound (Goode, Guerrier), and Cs that turn the ball over and don't offensive rebound (Hawkins, Dainja) The "traditional" lineup of Moretti, Shannon, Goode, Hawkins, Hansberry may actually work best for us just because it actually has guys in the right position. Still way too early to figure this team out.

Doug, the tournament program states we have offered Toni Bryant, a top 40 6'10 soph from N Tampa Christian. He is in action at 8:30 tonight vs Morton. Jim Mattson also mentioned Underwood and the players may be coming tonight which they have on many occasions. Do you know anything about either topic?

I watched Metamora, #16 in the country per Max Preps, and Iowa commit, Cooper Koch last night. Koch, listed at 6'8 has a nice shot and is really skilled on offense but looked very average outside of that in terms of athletic ability and rebounding. I plan to go tonight to also watch Washington play an Oklahoma commit at 7. Lots of great talent rolling into Washington this weekend.

Foot injury, not ankle.

TJ Shannon stepped on his foot.

No update yet on how serious it is.

The way I see it with 4 Pac teams coming into the Big with no divisions , what are the 10 worse teams in the Big going to compete for ? Just bowl games ? i think the bottom feeders year end year including Illinois & the other nine teams should figure out a way to form own conference or demand divisions , these 10 teams including Illinois w Nil have no chance to win the Big , let’s face the facts !! What do you think Doug ?

Let's look at the movement in KenPom for each team since the preseason:

Purdue: 1 -> 1 (ok, hard to complain about them)
Wisconsin: 20->21 (just got a big win over Virginia that shot them up 20 spots)
MSU: 13-> 22 (sad home loss to JMU)
Illinois: 19->28 (finally stopped the slide with the Southern game)
Michigan: 45->36 (good win at St. John's then bad loss to Long Beach St.)
Iowa: 51->38 (they look ok so far)
Nebraska: 58->45 (bad sign if Nebraska is this high on the list)
Ohio St: 35->51 (generally unimpressive start)
Maryland: 23->56 (trainwreck 1-3 start, not done fading)
Northwestern: 40->57 (generally unimpressive start also)
Rutgers: 59->62 (as mediocre as expected)
Penn State: 85->72 (less awful than expected)
Indiana: 50->79 (I thought Indiana was supposed to be good)
Minnesota: 112->109 (better than last year!)

I'm not saying Purdue is going 20-0 but I'm not saying they're not. 2nd place is right there for the taking.

Freshman running back Kaden Feagin will have surgery on his injured shoulder on Tuesday. He will likely be limited in spring ball then fully cleared for fall camp in 2024.

Linebacker Kenenna Odeluga left the Iowa game with an ankle injury and it out. He will have surgery either late this week or early next week and is out for the remainder of the season.

Looks like we are 5.5 point favorite to beat Northwestern.

Final: Illinois 88 Southern 60.

Illinois outrebounded Southern 50-17

Iowa wins it 15-13.

Bret Bielema isn't very good in end of game situations.

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The Rivals150 for the 2025 class is getting a refresh this week, and we started things off with a Five-Star Countdown on Monday. Rivals recruiting director Rob Cassidy counted down the 15 five-stars in the class and gave his thoughts on each.

…are for losers.

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Coleman Hawkins is out against tonight against Southern.

Tipoff at 7 p.m. CT on BTN.

Per the Big Ten availability report, Coleman Hawkins is out tonight with an undisclosed injury.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – On a special Senior Night at Huff Hall, Illinois volleyball triumphed over Michigan in straight sets..

With the win, the Fighting Illini moved to 16-12 this year with a 11-7 record in conference play. The Wolverines fell to 7-20 this season with a 5-13 league mark.

The Orange and Blue tallied 41 kills while hitting .360 in the match. The team also posted seven blocks and seven aces.

Raina Terry paced the Illini squad with 17 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. The outside hitter reached her 500th kill this season in the match, owning 508 this year. Brooke Mosher recorded 32 assists and was a dig shy of a double-double. Caroline Barnes led the way with 10 digs while Cari Bohm amassed four blocks.

How it happened

The Fighting Illini went on a 5-0 scoring run with Jessica Nunge behind the service line, helping the Orange and Blue gain the 7-4 advantage before Michigan burned a timeout. Three-straight for the Illini, including a Bohm kill, built the Illinois advantage to seven with the Wolverines taking their final break of the frame. The Fighting Illini continued to cruise with a Terry kill giving Illinois the 22-12 edge late in the set. Kennedy Collins and Terry stuffed the Michigan attacker for set point before Vanessa Pan's strike from the service line gave the Illini the 25-13 victory in the opening frame.

The teams battled back-and-forth early in the second set and a 4-0 rally including an ace from Terry helped the Fighting Illini gain the 12-10 lead. A roof by Mosher and Bohm extended the 15-11 Illini advantage, leading to Michigan's first timeout of the set. The Wolverines did not go away quietly with a block cutting the Illinois lead to one before the team used a timeout. Bohm added a kill out of the break and ace by Barnes helped the team gain a four-point lead late in the frame. A block by Terry and Collins once again gave Illinois set point and Collins put the ball away for the 25-19 win in the second frame.

With Nunge behind the service line, the Illini scored the first four points of the third set. With Collins serving, the squad added a 3-0 run to extend the 11-4 advantage for the Orange and Blue. The Wolverines clawed to within three, 16-13, following a 3-0 turn, but Nunge ended the rally with a kill from the outside. Kills from Bohm and Terry helped Illinois hold the 19-14 advantage before Michigan called for a timeout. Not letting up, Bohm and Kayla Burbage came up with the stuff out of the break to get Illinois to 20. Back-to-back error by the opposition closed out the set, giving Illinois the 25-19 triumph and completing the sweep.

Up Next
Illinois prepares for its final road swing of the regular season as the team heads to Minnesota. First serve is slated for 5:30 p.m. on B1G+.

Notes
- Starters: Brooke Mosher, Raina Terry, Kayla Burbage, Kennedy Collins, Jessica Nunge, Cari Bohm and Caroline Barnes
- Illinois moved 4-0 with this lineup.
- The Illini wore long sleeved white jerseys, moving to 1-3 while donning those.
- The Illinois volleyball program moved to 53-27 against Michigan all time.
- In three-set matches, the Illini are 5-6.
- Head coach Chris Tamas owns a 5-4 mark against the Wolverines.
- Terry added three aces in the match, giving her 163 for her career, which ranks fourth in the Illini record books
- The Marengo, Ohio, native became the 16th player in program history to reach 500 kills in a single season.
- Barnes tallied double-digit digs for the 16th time this year
- Attendance on Saturday night was called at 2.914.