A disappointing end to an inconsistent season. This #Illini team was talented, and while injuries and illness didn't help, they all too often didn't help themselves. Perhaps unsurprisingly, today's game went poorly. But based on the matchup, Vegas, etc. - should it have?

LISTENER MAILBAG: I'll be recording the 2024-25 #Illini post-mortem on Tuesday, so I want to get your thoughts. On a 1-10 scale (1 being least, 10 being most), how satisfied are you with the season?

🏀 NEW POD ALERT! 🏀 The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast, Episode 472 - Reflections on 2024-25 #Illini Basketball Mike Carpenter discusses what went right, what went wrong, and tries to contextualize the highs and lows of Brad Underwood's 8th season. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ref…

Two things are true: Brad needs a pivot (essentially coached w/ two assistants, some real X's and O's questions arose), and also: Brad has consistently shown the ability to pivot. The former, a frustrating place to be. The latter, an encouraging thing to keep in mind this summer

🏀 NEW PODCAST ALERT! 🏀 The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast, Episode 473 - Illinois vs. Arizona: 20 Years Later This excerpt from Mike Carpenter's book recounts the greatest comeback in #Illini basketball history. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ill…

An inauspicious start to Brad Underwood's offseason. There is no #Illini departure that could sting more than Morez. He was the one guy you HAD to keep, sounded like you had him locked in, and then . . . Long offseason ahead, but this plain sucks.

I'm going to wait until Monday to record a podcast. But, the more that's coming out about Morez's departure, the worse it looks. Troubling stuff, to say the least. #Illini

Going LIVE with The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast at 9:30AM to talk all things #Illini basketball - Morez, Tre, and the road ahead. LINK: youtube.com/watch?v=ynTfsI…

🏀 NEW POD ALERT! 🏀 The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast, Episode 474 - The Portal Taketh It was a rough start to the offseason for #Illini basketball with the departures of Morez Johnson Jr. and Tre White. Mike Carpenter talks about roster attrition and what lies ahead. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

It makes me very happy knowing Ty Rodgers will be playing for #Illini basketball again.

The Ivisic Brothers are a potent frontcourt duo. Kylan is a great PG and natural leader. Bringing back Ty adds some much-needed edge. Jake Davis is a valuable part of the rotation. Add some scorers and another big, and this should be an older, tougher #Illini team.

So what's the nickname for Tomi and Big Z? Best I can come up with is "The Croa-Twins". #Illini

Nice pivot from Underwood and the #Illini staff landing David Mirkovic. Skilled big will pair nicely with the Ivisics (Not an original idea, but is it Ivisii?) Still need scorers in the backcourt, but encouraging to see how quickly this roster is being built.

It appears nothing is imminent in the transfer portal (famous last words), so I'll be hopping on The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast this afternoon. Plenty to recap from the last week. #Illini basketball has a solid core to start with (Kylan, Ty, Tomi, Z, Mirk? Can we go with Mirk?) So, who's next?

🏀 NEW POD ALERT! 🏀 The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast, Episode 475 - BasketBalkans Mike Carpenter recaps the last week of #Illini basketball roster construction, including: * The Ivisic Brothers * David Mirkovic * Kylan, Ty, and Jake Davis * What's next for Underwood podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bas…

Now that it's official ... 🏀 NEW POD ALERT!🏀 The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast, Episode 476 - Scratch That 'ic Mike Carpenter reacts to #Illini basketball's huge addition Andrej Stojakovic, his role on the 25-26 team, and how all these new and returning pieces fit together. youtube.com/live/O4LgE5L9Z…

#Illini basketball got their dude. Andrej Stojakovic raises the ceiling of Underwood's team considerably. Given the jump from his freshman to sophomore year, why shouldn't there be yet another jump in AS's junior season? Huge, huge get.

Brilliant.

PODCAST: The 200 Level: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast, Episode 476 - Scratch That 'ic One, two, three, four . . . FIVE BALKANS?! The biggest get of the offseason for Brad Underwood's #Illini is Andrej Stojakovic, solidifying the 25-26 roster as one of the best in the #B1G conference. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scr…

Yeah, it helps that he chose the #Illini . . . but this is one of the coolest commitments I've seen. Listening to Bielema on the other end, who WOULDN'T want to play for that guy?