Good Morning, Illini Nation: Not running from expectations
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 9—A common theme Thursday in Rosemont at Big Ten media day? That would be Illinois' status as the preseason conference favorites and how the Illini are handling lofty expectation after last year's Final Four run.
"We're sure not going to run from it," Illinois coach Brad Underwood told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. "I would be disappointed if we're not that, to be honest. That's part of wanting to be good is when you get there you've got to take on all comers. We've got a veteran group. We've got really good character guys.
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"It's not last year's team. We're completely different. This team has to set their own path. We have to develop our own identity. There's some of the same pieces — and I think they're better — but we lost Kylan Boswell and we lost Ben Humichrous. Two championship level role players who don't get enough credit for what they did. Who's going to step into those roles? We'll figure that out.
"It will look different. I'm excited about Andrej Stojakovic in year two. I'm excited about (David Mirkovic) in year two. My challenge with this group is let's be better. Last year, in some terms, was a failure because we didn't win it. It's a great moment to get there, but I'm not wired to finish second. I'm wired to win it. I've taken that approach with this group, and I think they're hungry for that. We've got to stick to our process every day and just try to get better."