Florida Atlantic 73, Illinois 71 OT POSTGAME

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#101      
Underwood, said they were better prepared and out coached. Why? Post game last week he said they shot way too many 3's. So, what did they do shoot 10 more this game. Wonder why they shoot so many 3's. Have you ever seen the looks they get from 2. Not a lot of good ones. I don't see a lot of anything in the half court offense. I wish I did but i don't.
A 42 point 2nd half for FAU, unbelievably bad defense. They actually ended up shooting 44% from 2. Illini got 23 turnovers which is great, but what did they shoot the 2nd half i wonder after shooting only about 20% the first half. This has been and still is a really bad scheme. Too many easy shots around basket and open 3's.
This team is mentally weak and has no confidence. Why? When you lose games like they have to Iowa St, OSU, MO, for example after being tied or down a couple by 10 or more pts. that is the play of a team not tough mentally. You stop executing on offense and start breaking down on defense. When you give up 42 pts in the 2nd half to FAU tie it and then lose in OT at home you don't have any mental toughness.
This team is a complete disaster right now. Not that my opinion matters, but i'm ready to take losses and move on.
 
#102      
Simply no excuses. We are where we are because of bad administrative and coaching decisions, and there is no sugarcoating it. It has nothing to do with luck either, the wounds are self inflicted.

In order for Illinois to return to prominence, as with any time in our history, you need to have very strong recruiting, build relationships with HS/AAU, motivate, and win the PR battle to get additional goodwill. It is a necessary condition to have a very strong recruiter as a head coach. There will always be very good candidates and coaches for the Illinois job, but you can't be making the wrong decisions and blame everything else.

If you don't have the horses. no system will save you. Every summer you'll dream of better results, better chemistry, and overachieving lower ranked recruits. You'll keep on reading these stories about how players really really like each other this year and have better attitudes. Then the season will start and losing will take an emotional toll, unavoidably losing games that you should not to, like today.

When the time comes, UI simply needs to make the right hire, and contrary to what some fans are trying to convince you that no good coach or good "fit" will ever take the job, there will ALWAYS be good coaches who will be a good fit for the UI job.
 
#103      

t7nich

Central IL
I completely disagree that we can sink any lower. This is a great program, great university and one of the best recruiting regions in the country. They could bring almost anyone in and they will not be as bad as this coaching staff and players are right now. The needle will only go up when someone else come in.

.. for teams like Kansas and Kentucky
 
#104      
Its unbelievable we could be this bad this long. Underwood doesn't seem to be the answer. Get a young players coach with Illini connections that kids would run through a wall for. Kenny Battle comes to mind. How much worse could he be? Pretty sure he could recruit better.
 
#105      
I watched a handful of OSU games that year. They were a ton of fun. With one fringe NBA 2nd round pick, albeit one who was a heck of a college player both pre-Underwood and with him.

There was plenty of evidence that his defense was going to have problems at the top level, that much is true. They made the legendary tactical switch-up midseason but they still weren't good at that end. His SFA teams were much better but it's easier to pressure low-major guard talent. Still, OSU were a symphony on offense, immediately upon his arrival. It's two years in and we're a series of stepped-on ducks, still.

We must have watched different games or have a different taste in music. I’ve never though watching one player go one-on-one all night was an offensive symphony. They became easy to guard in the conference season because they did ‘nothing’ on offense other than hope their talent would win games one-on-one. No ball movement, no inside out, no cuttting, no screening, no passing.

‘Evidence’ his D wouldn’t work? Let’s call it what it is ... Swiss Cheese, Dunk City, Backdoor Baby ... take your pick, any of those nicknames would describe it.
 
#106      

Deleted member 626650

D
Guest
Its unbelievable we could be this bad this long. Underwood doesn't seem to be the answer. Get a young players coach with Illini connections that kids would run through a wall for. Kenny Battle comes to mind. How much worse could he be? Pretty sure he could recruit better.

I'm sorry, but the incessant calling for some on this board to hire someone with "Illini connections" is ridiculous.

I'm not meaning to call you out, but we should care less whether the person has Illini connections or where they're from. Just find someone who can get the job done.
 
#108      

CoalCity

St Paul, MN
Its unbelievable we could be this bad this long. Underwood doesn't seem to be the answer. Get a young players coach with Illini connections that kids would run through a wall for. Kenny Battle comes to mind. How much worse could he be? Pretty sure he could recruit better.

The Rev...
 
#110      
I'm sorry, but the incessant calling for some on this board to hire someone with "Illini connections" is ridiculous.

I'm not meaning to call you out, but we should care less whether the person has Illini connections or where they're from. Just find someone who can get the job done.
We are all on the same team here. Im just saying what would be the harm? What could it hurt? Obviously we cant "find" someone and as bad as we are now nobody wants to come here.
 
#112      

TMC999

Not Iowa
Why do we always get the "next best thing" only to have it explode in our face each time?
  1. This mess
  2. Groce
  3. We find out that Oz was not Beckman but Matt Campbell all along. Thanks Mike.
  4. Lovie's OC choice
  5. Lovies DC choice
  6. Uncle.....
It's really unbelievable our ability to snatch futility from the jaws of hope SO many times. It's really sickening.
 
#117      
I've been an Illini fan for the last 14 years and have been to a number of Illinois games over the last 10 years. This loss is inexcusable and shows the following: 1. Brad Underwood is not the right coach for this team and the jump to the big ten may have been too much for him too fast. 2. This roster doesn't have any players who bleed orange and blue and are willing to do whatever it takes to win like former Illinois players like ABRAMS, Frazier EKEY, or even McClaurin.
 
#119      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Jeff Capel took Pitt after they paid a huge buyout to abort a mess of a situation with an established, respected coach in his second year. And they are immediately a much, much improved basketball team with a bright future.

Exactly.

And if things continue trending in this direction, Underwood's season may look a lot like Stallings' season last year.......with even fewer wins.

At least Stallings had a long track record of decent success at the P5 level. Underwood had 1 such season. Dumping a guy as established as Stallings after only 2 seasons was a ballsy move, but Pitt is undoubtedly better for it.
 
#120      
I've been an Illini fan for the last 14 years and have been to a number of Illinois games over the last 10 years. This loss is inexcusable and shows the following: 1. Brad Underwood is not the right coach for this team and the jump to the big ten may have been too much for him too fast. 2. This roster doesn't have any players who bleed orange and blue and are willing to do whatever it takes to win like former Illinois players like ABRAMS, Frazier EKEY, or even McClaurin.

Good attempt, but bad examples. Trent Frazier is more of a winner than any of those guys you mentioned. Problem is that we do not have enough Trent Fraziers.
 
#121      
LOL... fantasy is pretending that luck is responsible for Illinois demise, or thinking that with some stroke of luck our program will change. The reason for Illinois demise are bad administrative and coaching decisions. Praying to the god of luck will get you nowhere.
I had an old sales manager whose favorite saying was "luck resides at the intersection of preparation and opportunity". You might luck into a 5 star recruit when your stars align just right but expecting that to happen often enough to elevate your program to at or near the top of the conference is not a good plan.

We are stuck where we are at unless BU jumps ship on his own. We will of course know a lot more about our program in general and BU in particular by Feb/Mar 2020. He has to come up with a couple of players that can make an impact next season, and follow that up with a couple more that can do the same in 2020/21. He also must figure out how to coach the system he has or make changes to adapt. If he can't do those things and next season is only a little better than this one JW will have to pull the plug.
 
#123      

Ubermensch

BOOM! Feed my ego.
The important question: did Tyler Underwood get time in the first half?
 
#124      
Heard BU on the post-game show say that we missed 19 layups today. Ugh.

Why are we missing so many open shots and lay ups? Is it tired legs from those great practices and uptempo defense/offense?

Kipper has regressed, doesn't want to be the man. Ayo is having a solid freshmen year, problem is he is being asked to be the #2 option. Dee/Deron had B Cook their first year. Losing L Black ruined this year, he made a lot of tough shots last year.
 
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