Michigan State 76, Illinois 56 POSTGAME

#151      
Not sure why so many think that half way through the season we can install a new offense and magically be much better at it than the one they practiced all summer and fall with.
Don't know that they could do that either. However, Georgi getting the ball at the top of the 3 point line is not a good position for him or the team to be in and that happens quite frequently. MSU, was daring him to shoot, the man guarding him was by or a little below the free throw line which made any post entry even more difficult. I don't necessarily fault him for shooting the defender is no where near him. However, is 3% is not good and he has his share of TO'S on the post feed from that position.
This is where i think Underwood should tell him to take a few dribbles in toward the free throw line see if his man bites and creates a better opening for the pass. Get the ball back to one of the perimeter players he doesn't have to take a shot a force a pass.
 
#152      

Deleted member 645583

D
Guest
Illinois was Coach U's dream job. What happened? If things don't improve, program loses commits and interest from youngsters. Sad situation. This is ridiculous: no Great team at Illinois since you know when. Hint: Dee and Deron ring a bell?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#154      
This is where i think Underwood should tell him to take a few dribbles in toward the free throw line see if his man bites and creates a better opening for the pass. Get the ball back to one of the perimeter players he doesn't have to take a shot a force a pass.

I imagine you can count on one hand the number of time we "get the ball back to one of the perimeter players." We may not need a new offensive scheme, just better fundamentals.
 
#155      
I watched us lose in East Lansing, and I saw the most dejected team I've seen in a while. MSU covered the spread in the first 14 minutes, and the game was over with 10 minutes to go. The body language was terrible. No leadership, no cohesion, no buy-in. We looked like a kid that sat down for dinner and got a plate of broccoli set in front of them.

The scouting report against us is freaking obvious. We're one dimensional, i.e. we need Kofi. If you just look at stats, you could argue that Ayo is a threat, but he gets a chunk of garbage points, can't drive at a high level, and can't shoot at a high level. And as good as we are at rebounding, when it came to hustle and determination on the boards, MSU got the most "effort" rebounds. And MSU knew to go at Kofi, even as good as he is. He was bound to pick up some fouls, and now we're toast. Some of the line-ups we had out there were atrocious. And the ball went through Da'Monte WAY too many times. Izzo is no slouch, for all the hate he gets on this board.

Based on what I've seen, I see the opposite of a winning streak. And this isn't a tournament team. We're very good at pushing around mediocre teams, but don't do anywhere near enough of the little stuff that allows you to compete at a high level. As much as I want these guys to turn it on and play, the analyst in me thinks we're cooked. I think we'll be in every home game. But I think we'll be inconsistent, even at home. When we do have a good stretch, we don't handle success well.

This team needs a major change in attitude, buy-in, and effort to get to the dance. We're too one-dimensional to succeed in conference play without getting the offense right both mentally and effort-wise. If all we do is complain about missing 3s, and can't dial up the defense or probe for better 2p attempts, we won't see the post-season.

In fairness, MSU looked like a FF team. They made mistakes, but most of the time they made smart plays, and had us figured out. They knew when to push down on the pedal, and we rolled over. They're flawed IMO, and not as deep as you'd like, but this is a year where a team like MSU could actually go all the way.

Ayo, “can’t drive at a high level”. Really?
 
#156      
“I loved what we got offensively (Thursday),” Underwood continued. “I loved where we were. I’ll take 20 offensive rebounds. I’ll take eight turnovers on the road. The only thing I don’t like about (Thursday) is we didn’t shoot the ball, and we lost. I can’t control shooting the basketball. I can control the shots we got, and I feel great about where we’re getting those from.”
Thoughts?
 
#157      
“I loved what we got offensively (Thursday),” Underwood continued. “I loved where we were. I’ll take 20 offensive rebounds. I’ll take eight turnovers on the road. The only thing I don’t like about (Thursday) is we didn’t shoot the ball, and we lost. I can’t control shooting the basketball. I can control the shots we got, and I feel great about where we’re getting those from.”
Thoughts?

Actually in light of the coaching carousel posting (mine is many), this is a realistic way to look at the game after the smoke has cleared from the ears. Fandom is a crazy thing, all the above is legit.
 
#158      
“I loved what we got offensively (Thursday),” Underwood continued. “I loved where we were. I’ll take 20 offensive rebounds. I’ll take eight turnovers on the road. The only thing I don’t like about (Thursday) is we didn’t shoot the ball, and we lost. I can’t control shooting the basketball. I can control the shots we got, and I feel great about where we’re getting those from.”
Thoughts?

If he likes the shots they are getting, our boat has way more holes in it than I previously thought. Probably time to start the coaching search (or maybe new AD search) thread if that is the case.
 
#159      
If he likes the shots they are getting, our boat has way more holes in it than I previously thought. Probably time to start the coaching search (or maybe new AD search) thread if that is the case.

Kofi got many easy shots, mugged on some, flat out missed many. Giorgi was shooting the 3 terrible, inside with Kofi out was owning them for a short period. Guards all got some really decent 3's, some pressured and some nice short 2's and runners. Overall the shots we did take weren't bad, they just were not made, oh and our defense allowed them to shoot a high % as well. So there a loss.
 
#160      
“I loved what we got offensively (Thursday),” Underwood continued. “I loved where we were. I’ll take 20 offensive rebounds. I’ll take eight turnovers on the road. The only thing I don’t like about (Thursday) is we didn’t shoot the ball, and we lost. I can’t control shooting the basketball. I can control the shots we got, and I feel great about where we’re getting those from.”
Thoughts?
I agree with that except for one thing...he can recruit shooters. He did not have to take two transfers that did not have eligibility this year. Maybe it pays off next year. Oh another thing...even though I largely agree with what he said, it comes off as my coaching was great but the young men did not come through. He could have said...We got got good shots, we just did not make them tonight...a bit of quibbling maybe. He is obviously feeling the pressure because we are looking at a potential 500 season plus or minus. With recruits coming in, I am willing to have some patience. Next year needs to show improvement and more good recruits coming in or I will be ready to move on.
 
#161      
I agree with that except for one thing...he can recruit shooters. He did not have to take two transfers that did not have eligibility this year. Maybe it pays off next year. Oh another thing...even though I largely agree with what he said, it comes off as my coaching was great but the young men did not come through. He could have said...We got got good shots, we just did not make them tonight...a bit of quibbling maybe. He is obviously feeling the pressure because we are looking at a potential 500 season plus or minus. With recruits coming in, I am willing to have some patience. Next year needs to show improvement and more good recruits coming in or I will be ready to move on.

When you group his comments together over time, there is a clear pattern of deflecting blame off his own coaching and placing it on other people/things. This isn’t unique to him as a coach, many coaches do it (including others we’ve had) but in most of not all of those cases they end up failing.

The first time I really noticed this was when he thumbed his nose at taking the blame for miscalling the final TO against Maryland. That was pretty glaring.

I hope I’m wrong and his coaching ability will overcome that stubbornness/ego but I have a hard time believing it will.
 
#163      

illini80

Forgottonia
“I loved what we got offensively (Thursday),” Underwood continued. “I loved where we were. I’ll take 20 offensive rebounds. I’ll take eight turnovers on the road. The only thing I don’t like about (Thursday) is we didn’t shoot the ball, and we lost. I can’t control shooting the basketball. I can control the shots we got, and I feel great about where we’re getting those from.”
Thoughts?
I’m not sure the reason, but we just look so uncomfortable right now with Ayo the exception and maybe Griffin too. There is hesitation everywhere and no flow, so when guys do get an open look they are not shooting with any confidence. Bottom line is it’s up to Underwood to figure it out and get them comfortable. We clearly have better shooters than we are showing.
 
#165      
Trents issue is that the offense doesn’t produce any open shots for him. He either has to force highly contested attempts or get lucky and find an open shot on a secondary break (which we rarely get).

You can’t run the weave out front with nobody moving/screening off the ball and expect shots to magically open up.

Could we use better shooters? Sure, who couldn’t? But we have guys who can shoot IF they get clean looks, which they haven’t been getting. So this is much more a a schematic/coaching issue than many are realizing.

Along those lines, I think people forget how many threes we got in transition the last couple of years, as the result of turnovers off the extended pressure. Underwood’s half court offense has never been good, but the transition covered a lot of those warts.
also in transition we don't always look for an open three as Ayo's main move is head down towards the basket for a layup or a foul.
 
#168      
“I loved what we got offensively (Thursday),” Underwood continued. “I loved where we were. I’ll take 20 offensive rebounds. I’ll take eight turnovers on the road. The only thing I don’t like about (Thursday) is we didn’t shoot the ball, and we lost. I can’t control shooting the basketball. I can control the shots we got, and I feel great about where we’re getting those from.”
Thoughts?
It's just funny to me. One of BU's catchy coach-speak terms he LOVES to use is "He can shoot the cover off the ball." I've seen him use that line with many of our players.


That phrase is just behind "He's a unique piece." or something along those lines.
 
#169      
Underclassmen 122min
Upperclassmen 77min.

73 min for upperclassmen in this last game if you only count scholarship players. That’s 37% of the minutes by upper classmen. I don’t have the stats in front of me but that has to make us one of the youngest teams in the conference.

Next year we lose Ayo (34 min) and Kipper (8 min) but the 2 freshmen guards and 2 transfer wings will more than make up for what we’re losing. Giorgi, Alan, and Tevian will transition yo being upperclassmen and our minutes should be greater than 50% upper classmen.
 
#170      
I'd feel better if they weren't 20-100 from 3. I could argue the opposing coaches feel better about Il shooting 3's , also.
 
#171      
Greetings from Phoenix. Personally, I have lost faith in Coach Underwood. At ILL, he simply doesn't get the most out of his teams. His schemes are too easily broken down and our players often play without 100% toughness. I want to see what a coach like Izzo could get out of this roster. I believe a better coach would prove my thesis that this is a .500 team with .750 talent and that is all on Brad.