Rutgers 72, Illinois 57 POSTGAME

#76      
Everybody is a coach..my coaching 2 cents..you have to make shots to win games. Guys had good looks and missed shots. Pretty simple.
 
#77      

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
What I didn't like was BU's reaction to the question on a timetable on Ayo's returning. He absolutely squashed it but saying he has no clue. Maybe he is just frustrated, but that wasn't an answer that made me feel that his coming back was more of a when, not an if. Looking at the calendar, it's 3.5 weeks to the BTT. The days are coming off the calendar quickly.

A coach is never going to give that information up for his opponents to game plan with. If PSU doesn't know if Ayo will be back or not, they have to game plan for Ayo.
 
#78      

Deleted member 656517

D
Guest
MMmmmmmmmmmm!! Lemme get some syrup to go with all the delicious hottakes!!

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Syrup‘s what forums are built from. Care to elaborate on your hot take, maybe even syrup brand? Mine happens to be Busch beer with a splash of bourbon!
 
#79      

the national

the Front Range
We lost to a really good team, @their house (where they are UNDEFEATED this year), without our best player. All the chicken littles on here thinking the sky is falling need to chill out. If Ayo was out for the rest of the season, then it’s time to panic. For now let’s get past Penn St. (which is likely a L, let’s get prepared for that now). The last of our conference games are completely winnable after Penn St.
I don't know if you directed that at me personally, but I think there is a good reason for concern based on the play of the team pre- and post-Ayo injury. We are a good team with some decent weapons. But we are also flawed and makes us susceptible to other solid teams in the big ten. Iowa killed us with the Zone. Others have double/triple teamed Kofi. When our defense is focused, we hustle more and earn our points and slow down the game. When we get lax on defense, other teams love to speed up the game and force us into bad shots. I think Underwood and the coaches get it - and Ayo gets it which is why he is so valuable to this team. With him off the floor, someone else needs to step up and be the leader. Feliz is a great weapon for attacking the basket but doesn't really set up the offense. Giorgi has been playing too fast all season, Frazer doesn't have anyone to help him create which is why he is shooting a lot of threes - he is settling. Alan is the guy I have the highest hopes for. He can be so dangerous with his shot and he hustles. As long as he keeps his emotions in check, he could mold into a great leader for this team. But that is a lot to ask from a guy in short order.
 
#81      
We are a transition offense and not a half court offense. Kofi needs a lot of work including hand strength and post moves because he throws the ball at the basket. Far from being polished or NBA ready. We have good players but not elite. Ayo has progressed the most and without him we are vulnerable every night. Every game is going to be a trip to the dentist and we are very much a bubble team. Grit, hustle, smarts and determination will have to be our strenghts.
Absolutely agree, we are Awesome in transition! Maryland shut it down, Michigan St. didn't in 2nd half, and Rutgers played great transition defense tonight. They simply ran back and it seemed their whole team was in the lane. Lol..
I will say this Rutgers gets away with Assault and battery charges on defense. They easily should be whistled for 40 fouls every game. But the Big10 officials call their games completely different from rest of the league.
 
#82      
Well I'm gonna say the 1-3-1 zone needs a lot of work......or maybe just scrape it
I dig the 1-3-1 zone. Alan should be up top, Georgi under basket, and trent on a wing. So you still have long arms up top, but no easy bunnies behind Kofi. He was lost.
 
#83      
Hey....this Illini team is about or is the best team in the country for being as poor collectively at putting the ball in the net. They are learning to play the game competently and as long as they do that, slow improvement in shot selection and connection are acceptable. The top teams in the league have some pretty good shooters and 2 or three more than our best three. As important as the arc shooting is in today's game, shooting will always lower this team's ceiling....but has nothing to do with their ability to play competently. Sure hope they can get together and fight for a tourney bid.
 
#84      

Ryllini

Lombard
Call me crazy, but Tev is a huge key for this going positively forward. He has caused his own problems, but the kid, as he gets more time, is improving. His errors, that I saw, were lack of game reps. Get this kid confident and there is no player is this league that can cover him. Start giving him starting minutes at the 4 and watch him flourish.
 
#85      
Call me crazy, but Tev is a huge key for this going positively forward. He has caused his own problems, but the kid, as he gets more time, is improving. His errors, that I saw, were lack of game reps. Get this kid confident and there is no player is this league that can cover him. Start giving him starting minutes at the 4 and watch him flourish.
Without Ayo, anybody who can put the ball in the bucket is a key. There are no confidence builders left and 2-8 with some blown defensive assignments isn't going to help.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying that with six games left, there's no time to be giving guys confidence minutes. At this point, the guy who performs best plays.
 
#86      
Call me crazy, but Tev is a huge key for this going positively forward. He has caused his own problems, but the kid, as he gets more time, is improving. His errors, that I saw, were lack of game reps. Get this kid confident and there is no player is this league that can cover him. Start giving him starting minutes at the 4 and watch him flourish.
I dont get the Tevian love from a lot of post. He scored 21pts in 1 game. Even in that game it was 3pt shots and he doesn't play defense or rebound. Coach Underwood makes a ton of money to know this. Otherwise, TJ would be in there helping us win more games. Last year and this year. I just don't get it. 6.7 200lbs may get you a ticket to the dance, but doesn't mean your on the floor dancing!!!!
 
#87      
1 final post for a long day Watching the Interviews posted. Kofi is such a class act. Well spoken, great heart, and is a Outstanding spokesman for our team. Kudos to Kofi after loss answering those questions. Compared to Alan Griffin and Coach. He's amazing!
 
#88      
I

I dont get the Tevian love from a lot of post. He scored 21pts in 1 game. Even in that game it was 3pt shots and he doesn't play defense or rebound. Coach Underwood makes a ton of money to know this. Otherwise, TJ would be in there helping us win more games. Last year and this year. I just don't get it. 6.7 200lbs may get you a ticket to the dance, but doesn't mean your on the floor dancing!!!!
We need SOMEONE to step up their game, right now, and many of us think he's the most likely to do that in a way that will help us WIN. Everyone else has had plenty of opportunities to play and show more consistency, yet no one has. With everyone else we kinda know what we have.... therefore Tevian Jones is sort our last hope to be that person this season. Yes, it's somewhat wishful thinking but it's really many of us hoping the light turns on for him and being the difference in UI being an NCAA Tournament 1st weekend out team or a Sweet 16/Elite 8 type of team....
 
#89      
You are correct someone has to step up their game. Offensively, that is Frazier, he has not shot the ball well the last couple games. They need him to make some 3's, he's capable. What the heck has happened to the really good defense i saw. The last 4 games the opposing team has shot around 47% on 2's and 40% on 3's. That's just not going to get it done for a team that has had trouble shooting over 35% of late.
Some of you guys are orange thru and thru. You're talking about 9 and 10 seed in the tournament. First thing they got to do is WIN SOME GAMES!
 
#90      
We need SOMEONE to step up their game, right now, and many of us think he's the most likely to do that in a way that will help us WIN. Everyone else has had plenty of opportunities to play and show more consistency, yet no one has. With everyone else we kinda know what we have.... therefore Tevian Jones is sort our last hope to be that person this season. Yes, it's somewhat wishful thinking but it's really many of us hoping the light turns on for him and being the difference in UI being an NCAA Tournament 1st weekend out team or a Sweet 16/Elite 8 type of team....
How about Kipper? He can guard a Guard, rebound, and is a Senior in Coach's system. I didn't get that tonight. He could have man upped Rutgers 6.4. And 6.5 240lb guards. Seriously. I seriously hope Mr. Jones becomes a player for us, but if you look at Kippers StatCast. He's literally averaging a1 pt per 1.5 minutes. And he doesn't shoot 20%. Give the Senior his due, when Ayo is out before a Sophomore whose played 40 minutes for his career. Agree to disagree. But Tevian Jones will not get us in the Tourney or sweet 1. That's Andres Feliz.
 
#91      
Two things worked offensively: attack fast and get the ball inside to Giorgi. Don't know what the answer is to achieve the second one, but on the first one I would like to see us move a little quicker after giving up a basket: absent a press, maybe just have whoever is closest bring it in. Seems like it often takes 5 seconds to just get the ball in, all the while the other team is resting and setting up.
 
#93      
Absolutely agree, we are Awesome in transition! Maryland shut it down, Michigan St. didn't in 2nd half, and Rutgers played great transition defense tonight. They simply ran back and it seemed their whole team was in the lane. Lol..
I will say this Rutgers gets away with Assault and battery charges on defense. They easily should be whistled for 40 fouls every game. But the Big10 officials call their games completely different from rest of the league.
This is really correct. The BIG allows all that hand checking which makes offensive basketball almost impossible. I hope the NCAA looks at the pathetic state of offense in the game and makes some “officiating” changes in the off season. Shooting is way down for all the NCAA, and it is a combination of the NCAA is basically just a high level HS game now. What I mean by that is the best players are taken so early that what is left is basically like a HS all star game. That and the officiating has to penalize teams that restrict movement.
Do you really enjoy watching 54-51 games? Rutgers (and really all big ten teams) are allowed to grab and hold so much that shooting 40% overall from the floor is considered good now? Simple fix really officiate the game the way it was meant? It is not suppose to be hand to hand combat. Players will adjust or they will sit on the bench in foul trouble.
 
#94      
Let me preface by saying I’m not a basketball coach and don’t purport to be a basketball brainiac. But, I’ve watched my fair share of college basketball. (The first college player I watched in person who made an impression was Elgin Baylor. This was way before weight training was de rigueur, so when Baylor took the court everyone looked around quizzically, “Is the heavyweight champion playing for Seattle ?”)

I’ve said this before and been taken to the woodshed for even thinking as much — this team is not a good perimeter shooting team. (But they shoot lights out in practice !) Only one guy on this team is a decent perimeter shooter, Trent Frazier — decent, not great. Neither does this team have perimeter players adept at creating angles and feeding the post (or feeding other perimeter players, for that matter). (Ever wonder why our guards invariably drive to the basket (thereby taking on defenders already concentrating on the interior) ? And how many kick-outs do you see ? The latter is also a function of off-the-ball perimeter players moving away from a defender whose attention is diverted, another seemingly lost basketball skill. But then, why create space when you can’t shoot ?) And when the defense knows all of the foregoing and can sag on and double team your bigs, well, you end up with an offense that looks more like a mediocre high school team, don’t you ?

Think of what Anthony Cowan did to this team. Think of what he did to Michigan State in East Lansing last night. Think of what this team would be with an Anthony Cowan. Or even an Andy Kaufmann.

Athleticism only goes so far and is not a substitute for a lack of that most basic of basketball skills, putting the ball in the basket. And this is particularly true when you face good competition. (Ask Roy Williams.) IMHO, this team desperately needs good perimeter shooters, guards and forwards. Failing that, I’m at a loss to understand what kind of offensive scheme any coach can implement to offset such lack.

Just my take on things.
 
#95      

3DegreeIllini

Chicago,IL
I'd like to see GB or Kofi get a touch every time down the floor.
Agree, except neither are great at passing out of the inevitable double/triple team. They put the ball on the deck in traffic every time which has been a recipe for turnovers.
 
#96      

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Agree, except neither are great at passing out of the inevitable double/triple team. They put the ball on the deck in traffic every time which has been a recipe for turnovers.
GB had 1 turnover yesterday, Kofi with 3. This was honestly one of their better games collectively for not giving up the ball.
 
#100      

the national

the Front Range
Kofi with 3 turnovers in each of the last 4 games is not good.
That’s true. But this was the toughest test he’s faced, this 4 game stretch with another one looming. His freshman-ness is showing right now. The total number of TO bug me but really I want to see improvement. Dakich notes every time he calls our games how much Kofi improves. It’s like when you have a young child, you see him everyday so he doesn’t look like he’s grown much - but your parents visit and instantly see the growth.