Illinois 84, Chaminade 61 POSTGAME

[HsvIllini]

Originally Posted by BigTenChamp87

Win tonight and we will be ranked. Brings to mind the 2005-2006 Florida team that started the season unranked, won the pre-season NIT, got ranked, and kept winning. I am not in any way suggeseting that we will win a national championship this year, but if we keep winning we will have a much better season than was predicted. Rankings early in the season are a crap-shoot, based on opinion. North Carolina did not look like a top ten team last night. Although they won, Indiana did not look like number one (but they will be very good this year, much to my chagrin). Thus, our play has shown that we will be much better than predicted.

Well if you look at the results from the Maui Invitational that were posted previously, of the 4 tournament winners that went on to win a national championship, 3 of them were during a leap year. Guess what 2012 is? Not saying we are going to win a national championship, but winning this tournament would surely have to bode well for a decent season, right? :laugh:

[illinibob]

Originally Posted by Shenanigans

I think it is time.................................................


I think it is time to stop mentioning "The Previous Coach" after every positive thing we say about this current team. I know everyone is excited, I am too! Bruce was a class act, I met him twice and he was very gracious to my family and I. Also, I don't think he is a dunce among basketball coaches. His style ran stagnant here and it was definately time for a change. That said, lets enjoy Groce and lets point out the positive things about him without mentioning Bruce.

We haven't played a very good team yet, Butler is a good team and a true test. These past couple of wins have been very impressive, I love this style of play. Lets hope we see this continue.

I don't. The comparisons are too fascinating, if you think it's gloating or something don't read the posts.

[lstewart53x3]

Originally Posted by illinihawk16

Some people have mentioned that with a win we could possibly be ranked. I sincerely hope that does not happen. I don't want to risk that getting to our players heads and getting overconfident. I would much rather feel disrespected and overperform.

This is a lame kind of thinking. In the past, Illinois didn't lose because they were ranked, they lost because they weren't a very good team.

If Illinois wins tonight, they'll deserve to be ranked for now (gotta keep winning) and that won't hurt their play one bit. After all, Illinois did just fine being ranked #1 ALL season in '05.

[ctblaisdell83]

Originally Posted by RyanK

I want to beat Brad Stevens. By a lot.

Something I mentioned after Stevens turned us down during the search...

Groce bears a slight resemblance to Voldemort, and Stevens looks a bit like Harry Potter.

I'm rooting for Voldemort this time

[EddiesSweetJ]

Originally Posted by plooger

For me, barring a stellar performance by someone that keys a victory over Butler, it's Abrams -- both for his play in these first two games, but also because (and, yes, I know it's outside the Inv'l) without Abrams carrying the team for most of the Hawaii game, I'm not sure we'd have been in the same place mentally going into that USC 1st half.

It's a good sign, I'd think, that it's arguable who's the standout player in two lopsided victories.

Perhaps we are now seeing why the team voted him MVP last season

[Chris Yates]

Although these late work-night games are killing me, this team is so much fun to watch that I find myself staying with each game until the final buzzer. In Groce we trust!

[Groce SPOT]

Originally Posted by saltygrapes

Agreed with pretty much everything except this. DJ had one 2-point attempt tonight and 9 3-point attempts. He had one successful drive to the basket, which was the layup that he got driving the baseline. He didn't attack very much at all.

He needs to drive more simply out of an attempt to be more efficient; he's been our least efficient guard so far this year. The problem is, he's not good at creating himself. He can't just go around his man. He needs someone to set something up for him. But usually once someone sets up for him, he has an open three-pointer that he'd rather take.

If the coaches see DJ's shot selection as a problem then I'm sure they will address it with him, but I really would like to see him attack more.

That being said, all of his 3-point attempts are usually good ones that are in-rhythm. Hopefully he starts to make more of them, because I doubt Paul/Abrams/Bertrand are going to all continue to shoot over 40% from three.

I was thinking the same exact thing. I've been really impressed with the improvements the entire team has made. The only player I haven't been as impressed with is DJ (other then the game winner). There was a lot of talk this summer about him slashing more, but that hasn't been the case so far this season.

Other then that I've really liked what I've seen. So fun to watch. Obviously there are always improvements, but they really seem to work hard and have fun. Not much more you can ask for.

[RedButkus]

Originally Posted by lstewart53x3

This is a lame kind of thinking. In the past, Illinois didn't lose because they were ranked, they lost because they weren't a very good team.

If Illinois wins tonight, they'll deserve to be ranked for now (gotta keep winning) and that won't hurt their play one bit. After all, Illinois did just fine being ranked #1 ALL season in '05.

[OrchardDowns]

Originally Posted by MikeThomas4Prez

Gotta love the change we've seen in only 5 games. A lot of the kids have improved vastly, and we aren;t battling the shot clock every possession. Fun to watch. Also glad I'll never see that Hu kid play again.

Agree 100% That kid is such a big time flopper and got the call every time. Then he goes barging into our players, and still gets the calls!!! Kids was really frustating me and then the hard foul in a 20-point game with 10 seconds left??? Are you kidding me???? I wouldn't accept his hand either!!

[ctblaisdell83]

So, I fell asleep before tip off and woke up with 6 min left and 20 pt lead.

Sad that I missed the exciting stuff.

Also as has been noted...that seems like a dirty team we were playing. The Asian kid bullying Berardini (nice move slapping his hand away when he offered it). The big guy barking at Griff. And though it's not dirty, full court pressure down 20+ with 30 sec to go.

I expected maybe a tense handshake, but Groce and the Chaminade coach looked like the were long-lost brothers, and Groce had a lot of encouragement for some of the Chaminade players...and I like that in Groce. I could imagine him congratulating the coach and kids for going hard for the full 40. I could also imagine him in the locker room giving props to our guys for standing up to it.

Love the new era

[CrazedUIFan]

Originally Posted by saltygrapes

Meh. I don't think the front line is underrated. I think each of them has their own niche, but as a whole, they still don't rebound all that well, none of them are true threats on the block, and their offensive contributions have been sporadic so far this season. Griffey has been solid in Maui, but Egwu is barely shooting 40% on the year for a center. Yikes.

Beyond that, the guards need to put a better emphasis on giving them the ball. Throwing it in, even if it just gets kicked back out, helps your offense create space and offers many ways to score.

As for Abrams, he certainly has the ability to break down a defense off the dribble. He's also finishing well around the rim. His shooting has improved a lot. But he gets tunnel vision on his dribble drives and doesn't pass out of them very well right now. He'll draw helpers and break down the opposing team's defense but won't take advantage of it by finding the open man. I'm sure he will improve at this, but a true PG knows where the open man is and delivers the ball on target. Abrams isn't even close to being there yet.

Illinois is going to really have to improve their passing off of dribble drives and willingness to pass into the post because they're not going to shoot 40-45% from the 3-pt line every game this season... and good teams aren't going to allow guys straight line drives all the way to the basket for layups. So when shots aren't going in, and defenses get tougher, they will need to create easy buckets in other ways. Namely, layups from breaking down a defense off the bounce and passing to the open man. I haven't seen too much of that from them this year.

Spot on. We have not played a team that can really pressure our guards. Towards the end of the game last night, Chaminade picked up the defensive pressure and Abrams struggled a little. I also thought our D was a little out of sync for some of the game. They had some good looks, but they just shot horribly. I didn't see Chaminade play Texas, but the entire time I couldn't figure out how they beat them. I'm still cautiously optimistic, but I know we will play far better teams than we have thus far. Tonight is a big one. Butler is fundamentally sound and a smart team.

First time I've seen Lanford play some significant minutes. I think he has a ways to go before we see a lot of minutes from him. He looks a little lost out there yet. I thought Groce did a great job getting our starters rest. It helps when you have that type of lead. The key was that the bench did a nice job maintaining it. Bertrand looked terrific. If he can continue to shoot well from the outside, he is going to be scary. Tough to defend a player that versatile.

[IlliniFandom]

Originally Posted by ctblaisdell83

So, I fell asleep before tip off and woke up with 6 min left and 20 pt lead.

Sad that I missed the exciting stuff.

Also as has been noted...that seems like a dirty team we were playing. The Asian kid bullying Berardini (nice move slapping his hand away when he offered it). The big guy barking at Griff. And though it's not dirty, full court pressure down 20+ with 30 sec to go.

I expected maybe a tense handshake, but Groce and the Chaminade coach looked like the were long-lost brothers, and Groce had a lot of encouragement for some of the Chaminade players...and I like that in Groce. I could imagine him congratulating the coach and kids for going hard for the full 40. I could also imagine him in the locker room giving props to our guys for standing up to it.

Love the new era

I'm not with the majority here. I didn't think they played dirty. I think that even in the last game (UNC/Butler) they let the kids play and there was more physical contact than typically accepted elsewhere. I just saw what makes this game at this level beautiful on the floor. Emotion, raw desire, and an imperfect game. I think the Chaminade team are a tough team and they don't like losing. I like a little bark in those guys...I didn't think it boardered on dirty. I just thought it was a frustrating loss after winning against Texas. They thought they could do it again, but those dreams were dashed. So some of that boiled over at the end. No biggie, nobody was in a position to get hurt. I want our guys to show that type of emotion in a loss rather than fall over and lose. Put on the press and try to get one last steal as a little mental win. Win that possession.

[Burnt orange and blue]

I don't see what the hype is about Butler or the concern about playing them. It's just another game. Our guys just like every squad in the NCAA are getting in the groove. Our kids are still learning a new system and how to display what they've been taught. We are a B10 school so we should be used to playing against teams as good ad or enter than Butler. Win or lose its just another game with nothing major on the line. Butler didn't even play well in their first Maui game and almost let a huge lead slip last night.

I am glad to see Griffey puting the ball on the floor more than the past. I am also glad to see DL on the floor for significant minutes. He did look lost at times but he needs the exposure of the real game to get back into baller mode that got him to Illinois. I think him, MH, and JB played more minutes to keep BP, DJ, and Tracy limited in minutes so they'd be a little more rested for tonight.

I did see a better effort to get the ball inside last night. On a few drives, I saw a little patience trying to let the inside guy get position to enter a pass. We weren't as successful as I'd like to see but in time it will come. I think the footwork will improve an we'll get more entry passes to the post or straight to the basket. Egwu has a nice shot from 10 ft. And he is confident.

I am very satisfied with the defense at this point. Also happy with the body language and the competitive effort being shown from start to finish from each kid who enters the game.

I've been in Texas for 13 years and haven't seen much Illinois high school basketball, but I've read you guys talking about MLT last year. I've seen him play the last two games and including what I've read about him, I really like the kid. I liked Berardini's attitude towards Hu too.

Oh, and I absolutely love watching Egwu guarding the inbounds plays!!!!!!

[DG1985]

Originally Posted by HsvIllini

Well if you look at the results from the Maui Invitational that were posted previously, of the 4 tournament winners that went on to win a national championship, 3 of them were during a leap year. Guess what 2012 is? Not saying we are going to win a national championship, but winning this tournament would surely have to bode well for a decent season, right? :laugh:

We're Illinois and snakebit.

If we win the tournament, I'm guessing the whole Mayan thing pans out and denies us a national title.

[Symmooth]

Originally Posted by EddiesSweetJ

Well done boys ... well done.

This is such a breath of fresh air. We are winning; we are playing hard; it is entertaining. Fun times all around.

I'm enjoying this team as much as any of the Self or Kruger teams.

I'm thinking the last time I enjoyed BB this much was the Flyin' Illini times.
That may change when we start losing, but somehow, I don't think so.

[UofIChE06]

Originally Posted by Groce SPOT

I was thinking the same exact thing. I've been really impressed with the improvements the entire team has made. The only player I haven't been as impressed with is DJ (other then the game winner). There was a lot of talk this summer about him slashing more, but that hasn't been the case so far this season.

Other then that I've really liked what I've seen. So fun to watch. Obviously there are always improvements, but they really seem to work hard and have fun. Not much more you can ask for.

I have to disagree. DJ is doing things he has not done in the past. He is rebounding much better and he is at least a threat to attack the basket. He will never be like Abrams or Bertrand because that isn't his game. He is the team's best 3 pt shooter. He is the guy in JG's offense that needs to be there for the kick out, much like in the Hawaii game. All he needs as far as slashing is to keep the defense honest so that he doesn't get crowded. He is basically the opposite case of Bertrand, who needed to develop a solid 3 pt shot so that defenses could sag off of him like they did at the end of last year. Both seem to have accomplished their goals in the early season.

As far as some of the comments on Langford, I am going to go on a limb and say he will be spectactular as long as he keeps working and none of the incoming freshman set the world on fire. The kid oozes of potential. Right now he is just a little tentative and the game hasn't slowed down for him yet.

[Symmooth]

Originally Posted by illinitrav

Somebody mentioned this in the game thread but playing in the Maui Championship game is BIG. A win would be even bigger. But what I'm really hoping for is that we show the same effort and energy we've shown to this point. A lot of people will be tuning in tomorrow night (including recruits). Time to show everyone the new era of Illinois Basketball.

Yes, that's more important than winning the game or getting ranked, IMO.

On the other hand, we got there, might as well win the dang thing.

[ChiTownIllini22]

Sorry if I missed it, but is there any video of post game presser from last night?

[Dan]

Rob McColley

Photos: Illinois in Maui 2012



http://www.illinihq.com/multimedia/p...nois-maui-2012

[ChiTownIllini22]

Thanks, Dan.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by ChiTownIllini22

Thanks, Dan.

Was just posting that right when you asked

[MitchFromAtwood]

Originally Posted by illinihawk16

Some people have mentioned that with a win we could possibly be ranked. I sincerely hope that does not happen. I don't want to risk that getting to our players heads and getting overconfident. I would much rather feel disrespected and overperform.

+1. That has been a trend with us in the past. Do well early, get ranked, and then suck for a period of time (whether that period is long or short). Having said that though, maybe Groce has already changed the culture to the extent that that might not happen this time around????

[MitchFromAtwood]

So since I too fell asleep waaaaaaaaay to early last night.... is there anywhere where I can find highlights from last night's game. I checked ESPN since it was on ESPN2, but I haven't seen anything yet.

[MTMinded]

Originally Posted by Shenanigans

I think it is time.................................................


I think it is time to stop mentioning "The Previous Coach" after every positive thing we say about this current team. I know everyone is excited, I am too! Bruce was a class act, I met him twice and he was very gracious to my family and I. Also, I don't think he is a dunce among basketball coaches. His style ran stagnant here and it was definately time for a change. That said, lets enjoy Groce and lets point out the positive things about him without mentioning Bruce.

We haven't played a very good team yet, Butler is a good team and a true test. These past couple of wins have been very impressive, I love this style of play. Lets hope we see this continue.

This is crazy talk to me...I do not know too many people that think Bruce was a jerk of a guy. Unfortunately for me, I put a good chunk of emotional stock in watching the Illini play basketball. I can't tell you to amount of frustration I felt the last 5 or so years watching us chuck up a desperation shot as the shot clock expired...amongst other things that directly relate to the previous coaching staffs style of play. So when I see a completely different, refreshing style that eliminates my frustrations. I see no reason not to make the obvious comparisons. Particularly on a Illini message board that is made for those type of comments.

My excitement level is as high as its been in years.

Last night's game seemed more workmanlike than the USC game, which is cool by me. A steady increase in the lead throughout, weather the storm, build the lead back up. Get the bench involved, save energy for the next night.

Tonight is going to be our best test thus far...

BOLD PREDICTION: If we win, we will be the surprise team of the BIG this year, somewhere in the top 4-5 teams. If we lose, we're still in a good spot for the NCAA tournament (I'm the eternal optimist).

[Dan]

Originally Posted by MitchFromAtwood

So since I too fell asleep waaaaaaaaay to early last night.... is there anywhere where I can find highlights from last night's game. I checked ESPN since it was on ESPN2, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Yesterday, Illinois added youtube highlights at Noon, maybe again for Chaminade highlights we have to wait for Hawaii time.