Georgetown 88, Illinois 80 POSTGAME

#101      
Lack of athleticism? Yeah, maybe we were watching different games.

I would agree 100% . What is lacking are a couple of 6-7" to 6'9" quality bigs who can run, handle, shoot, rebound, and defend. If I were Higgs, I would double and triple my determination to learn all of those things as a plus contributor and then I would expect huge minutes and great times next year. January will likely be a step up from Oscar after a few games next season, and the rest of these kids will all be ready for the big time. Griffin needs to grow and learn what he can do, but he seems more than anything to be looking at a Jordan type career....good shooter but a half step slow....but that can change...who knows? What was really impressive was the depth of guys who are basketball players...quick and athletic guys who bring a lot of speed with some control.

And in spite of losing this game and playing a ton of guys who looked capable (no projects), none of the contributors was named Trent Frazier. The plus side of that is they played well without their star who will be back in the lineup soon.
Best of all, for me, if Giorgi is truly a three start type player from all the "experts", then there is tremendous opportunity for me as a high school basketball scout. A will take AYO, Trent, Damonte, Andres, Tevian, Alex, and 7 Giorgis and play anyone. If Higgs and January can become comfortable with the speed of the game pretty quickly, this team is headed to the top 6 of the B1G next year. But the learning curve will take some time to climb while giving us one of the most exciting Illini teams to watch that did not make the FF. Gonna be a fun year with no titles and less than a 50-50 chance of making the NCAA tourney, but Rome was not built in a day. Not saying it won't happen, but it will be like a birthday present you never imagined if it does. Regardless, loved the way these guys bring it....and now let's see it every night.
 
#106      

DoctorOrange

Chicago, IL
There is athleticism outside of dunks. Counting dunks is just... dunks.

Pretending the lack of dunking has nothing to do with athleticism is being intentionally naive. That being said, of course there are other means of showing athleticism. Still felt like Gtown was in another class.
 
#109      
No one else has said it, I would love for us to get games officiated like that when we are the visitor...just sayin
 
#110      
Jordan from 19 points the first game to 1 point tonight. Not good.

I’m in the camp that we will need some sort of consistency from Jordan and Kipper to win games this year. It can’t all fall on Trent.

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#111      

haasi

New York
we've had so many games over the years where you say - oh, if only we had won that one, we would have gotten to the tourney. this was one of those. if you came into the season thinking we had zero shot at tourney and were going to be satisfied with a .500 record, this was not a must win. but if you were clinging to the idea that maybe, just maybe, we'd have enough talent and good coaching to surprise some people this year and make a run at the bubble, you absolutely have to win a home game against a young and mediocre P5 team. Of course we might have won if Trent played, but that's completely irrelevant to this analysis. Wins are going to be hard to come by this year and if we're going to have a decent year we have to capitalize on all available opportunities. this was one, and we couldn't pull it off.
 
#113      

Deleted member 746094

D
Guest
13 pts 5 reb 3 assists 1 to

GMAB. Do yourself a favor and rewatch the game and only focus on Tev Jones. The kid had no idea what he was doing out there most of the time.

I only have to watch when a 6’10 defender pokes the ball away from your stat sheet stuffer and he proceeds to walk after it and allows Mac to add to his YouTube channel. Then he is one of the first players I have seen to try and take a charge on a jumper from the free throw line for a three point play. I expect what I saw from Tevian as a freshman. Kipper’s effort and mental mistakes at the end of a close game is what I wouldn’t expect from a R-JR that is supposedly a leader. I could be wrong, but I will bet there is enough young talent on this team that if Kipper’s effort and consistency don’t improve he will move down the lineup. We talk about BU’s coach speak in the media a lot. I do know that BU won’t put up with piss poor effort no matter who it is.
 
#114      
Kipper's mistakes were glaring and late in the game, hence the hate. He didn't have a good 2nd half. If he finishes the fast break to take the lead....who knows what happens.
Everything else is what we thought- still are going to give up too many easy baskets and don't have anyone to alter those attempts.
But, man. Lost without our best player, our veterans didn't play well offensively and we shoulda won the game. As bad as the last 4 minutes were, I'm quite encouraged. We may get our butt handed to us by Gonzaga. But we are really fun to watch.
BINGO
 
#115      

foby

Bonnaroo Land
2nd game of the season with only 4 players returning from last season, and the best of those 4 had to miss this game. Yet we still played really great in spurts.

Woe is me. The Titanic is sinking.
 
#116      
Yeah, fam.

My man's face is just about unrecognizable.

It's like some minuscule species of alien whose home planet resembles cake batter has colonized his face and are slowly but methodically absorbing/assimilating what was once there into their cake batter-ish collective.
This is the funniest post all day...needed this laugh after a game like this. Thank you OrangeNBrood!
 
#117      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Hoyas with a 20-8 run to close it out....

Illini up 72 -68.....lose 88-80

thats where we missed Trent the most was at the end ...of course the rest of the game also but I think TF would have settled down the team we would have prevailed....Oh well, exciting game but it still stings to have it there for us to win but stumble with bad shots, lack of hustle and poor defense... the kipper foul on the and 1 was crucial and we didn't get the call...
 
#119      

haasi

New York
unfortunately, it's easy to see us starting 2-7, with losses to Gonzaga and then two other teams at Maui, then beating Mississippi Valley at home (they are bad),, then losing 3 in a row to Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Ohio State. That would be our worst start in.... ? Let's hope for some surprises.
 
#120      
Glad to hear all the positives. 😳 I thought it was fun to watch the new players. Kipper struggled at the end . I believe he was physically spent wrestling with guys half again his size. Ayo and Feliz are really an improvement over last year’s guards. I thought like most losses last year, the difference in the game was the length of the opponent.
 
#121      

Deleted member 746167

D
Guest
Everyone who thinks we are not going to be better this year has been beaten down to the point of no return. We should have won this game without Trent Frazier. Our 2 veterans didn’t play all that great. Kipper should have definitely been yanked after that turnover and he most certainly was a big reason they let it get away at the end. Georgetown is going to be better than most people on here think. All in all, I am most encouraged about Ayo being the real deal, Feliz being a bulldog, and Giorgi looking like he belongs. I root for Aaron Jordan because he is a great kid and I just hope one day he can get in a groove and play well against the better team. He was fading away on the few shots he took. Passed up one in transition at the beginning part of the game...

Ayo will get better with the turnovers and Trent nails those threes that Feliz airballed. Believe me, I was on pins and needles all game but just felt like they wouldn’t be able to close it out. A win in a game like this has to happen and then we have to do it consistently...ugh....when will it end. Please....and the refs sucked! I believe that but I say that every game...lol
 
#122      
Stinks that they lost, but a lot to learn from the game. Different game with Trent. De La Rosa is not game ready yet. Freshman looked promising. Team needs to learn to dunk.

Interesting to see how this team grows later in the season. I just hope the team learns how to grow fast with the tough non conference coming up.
 
#123      
Have to admit, Georgetown was, or at least played like, a much better team than at least I was led to believe. I have been watching B1G hoops for over 60 years and have never seen a team take and make so many tear drop runners....and believe me, that is a more difficult shot to make than a 25 footer. They won on two stats, out shooting the Illini 56-46% and winning the rebounds 39-26. Interior defense is still a major problem but there is potential improvement. Jones and Nichols (who did not have a truly bad defensive game until the end) need to work harder and learn quickly. Duke, with the speed, strength, quickness and shot making ability of their front court would beat our guys by 50. But, the heck with them, I just want our guys to play as competently as possible, have fun, and get better....and tonight was a pretty good brick to lay in that foundation. This Illini team has talent and is fun to watch.
 
#124      
Couldn't help but think of how proud Giorgi's Mom must of felt watching him play. She seemed to really enjoy her time at the SFC. Some said they don't have a lot in Georgia and times are tough. What a great opportunity for Giorgi and his family.
 
#125      
Positives only!
Very entertaining, fun for home crowd, will help bring back a fun atmosphere and look good on tv!!
It took half of a season for Malcolm hill, Kendrick nunn, and Frazier to get comfortable with college ball. Great start for Ayo and Giorgi! Give the other freshman time.
Without Frazier, those minutes had to be split and ayo and Feliz were forced to play more than normal, and really needed both at on the floor at all times. Appeared tired at end of game, could be why offense didn’t run as smoothly.
Last year black and Frazier main contributor, sometimes kipper. This game Frazier ayo Damonte Feliz Giorgi look positive and hope they bring it every game. Better outlook.
Put the next best defender/rebounder at the 4 and emphasize that focus, and mix with Giorgi and the guards.