Illinois 71, Nebraska 59 POSTGAME

#52      
I know it didn’t work out with the Bulls but Hoiberg is a good coach. Completely undermanned and still keeping it competitive. You can see the potential in what he’s building. They’re gonna be good when his roster turns over to a complete set of his guys.
 
#53      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
I know it didn’t work out with the Bulls but Hoiberg is a good coach. Completely undermanned and still keeping it competitive. You can see the potential in what he’s building. They’re gonna be good when his roster turns over to a complete set of his guys.

Agreed. They were talking about his transfers that get to play next year. That kid they got from W. KY...Delano Banton...a 6'9" guard? His highlights were impressive. He will be hard to guard.
 
#54      
Coach needs to play Tevian Jones! I'm getting sick of this keeping him on the bench crap! He's proven that he deserves a 4 star rating! You don't earn that from a couple of fluke games! You earn it by showing the top level play over a consistent period of time in high school! Unlike others whom he keeps playing that aren't even drawing attention defensively from our opponents! Play this man! He's a team player... but needs to get more playing time to find his footing and get in a groove! Play Tevian and Alan Griffin please!

Tevian can't defend. Have you been watching?
 
#56      
Tevian can't defend. Have you been watching?
Gio cant either so let the kid play. At Rutgers he actually hustled and played hard. I think he deserves some minutes. The guy you guys love so much is 12/50 shooting and Tev can’t get a run to see can he atleast contribute if Gio continues to struggle.
 
#59      
Tevian can't defend. Have you been watching?
Gio cant either so let the kid play. At Rutgers he actually hustled and played hard. I think he deserves some minutes. The guy you guys love so much is 12/50 shooting. But Tev can’t even get a run?
 
#60      

BMoreIllini

Baltimore, MD
Gio cant either so let the kid play. At Rutgers he actually hustled and played hard. I think he deserves some minutes. The guy you guys love so much is 12/50 shooting. But Tev can’t even get a run?
AG and TF aren't huge liabilities on D. I don't understand what you guys have seen out of Tev this year that makes you think he's ready right now. His hustle and playing hard? TU plays hard. Hell, I'll hustle and play hard if it gets me on the court for the Illini, doesn't mean I won't get blown by or blown an assignment though. He's lost nearly 100% of the time he's on the floor. Giorgi isn't lost, he's just lost his confidence. He gets good position on offense and just can't finish. I'm just thankful it's BU setting the rotations and not anyone here.
 
#61      
Good win and on to NW. It is hard to understand why we shoot so poorly at home. Beat NW and with three games left they will be tough. I am looking forward to the Ia game. NB went to a zone. If you want to see how to beat a zone def watch Univ of Louisville play against Syracuse's zone def. Spread it out and put someone in the middle of the lane he is either open for a jump shot or someone like Kofi will be under the basket for a dunk. You could put AG or Ayo in the middle and they would come out of the zone quickly.
 
#62      
Tevian can't defend. Have you been watching?
Neither can Giorgi but he still is getting big minutes...I know you need someone with size to spell Kofi, but GB is costing the team 10 pts a game with missed gimmees, free throws, turnovers, and terrible defense. If you use the benchmark that you have to earn minutes (Tev) which is OK, then you have to use the same benchmark for GB, because right now you can't play him. People remember last years player...this year he is in the way.
 
#63      
Neither can Giorgi but he still is getting big minutes...I know you need someone with size to spell Kofi, but GB is costing the team 10 pts a game with missed gimmees, free throws, turnovers, and terrible defense. If you use the benchmark that you have to earn minutes (Tev) which is OK, then you have to use the same benchmark for GB, because right now you can't play him. People remember last years player...this year he is in the way.

Way to make this about Giorgi.... I am not using any benchmarks. I am just saying that Tevian can't defend. THe proof is in the film.
 
#64      
Why are none of our games clean games? We probably have only had a handful of games that were "clean"...but each one seems like a grinder where we face some adversity and have to battle back. This game was frustrating because we should have had more of a lead for more of the game. The fact they came back a couple of times was disappointing and not what I wanted to see from this team against this type of opponent. The fact that none of our reserves could get into the game to spell Ayo or Trent was a loss for me. Here are my thoughts:

Positives:
+ Alan Griffin is the man! Outside, inside, defense, rebounding, this kid does it all. It will be hard to keep him off the starter list next year IMO
+ We had opportunities. We convert some of these bunnies that we had and we'd be in a better spot
+ loved when we played that up tempo offense with Ayo being the tip of the spear

Negatives that we can fix:
~ Turnovers. Terrible turnovers that just led to points for Nebraska. I saw a few dump offs to Kofi that got stripped or a few bailout passes that were bad choices all around. Give Nebraska credit for their defense, but we should've been better.
~ Missed Opportunities. I have confidence that those bunnies can be fixed. I think the fact that Nebraska's defense and active hands really rushed a few shots from our guys. I think we can fix, but GB is really bad right now. BU is trying his best not to sound down, but the guy missed 4+ shots that he has consistently made. Feel for the guy....hope he keeps coming back and trying

Negatives that are just flaws we'll have to live with this year:
- Anemic offense. This offense struggles in stretches and while we could get hot from 3 once in a long while, it's not something we can depend on.
- Defenses have figured out Kofi. Yes he is big, yes he'll get his points, but I think over the past few games that defenses have figured out how to play Kofi and deny him those easy looks that he had earlier in the season.
- Tight personnel tolerance: Anybody other than Kipper goes down...we're in a heap of trouble. Nobody is going to be able to adequately spell another. Next year should have more depth...but how will this work if we don't get a double bye in the B1G tourney? Not expecting us to really win it, but would like to get closer to the end vs. out in a game.
 
#66      
I am really liking AGs hussle and scoring ability. He just finds where the ball is going and dunks, grabs a rebound, blocks a shot etc.

Now if we could just get Giorgi going, we need him going. We also need to make our FTs and 3s. Teams are going to kill us that
can guard against the drive, clog the middle, and force the 3.
That's a pretty bold statement there Cotton. You may be onto something with that strategy.
 
#67      

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
I don't know how a coaching staff can address it this late in the season, but turnovers are our Achilles heel. It isn't just Kofi, as a team we were just plain sloppy with the ball last night, especially in traffic. We haven't had a single-digit turnover game since Minnesota--in fact many of the games during the winning streak were single-digits in the TO column.
 
#70      
Coach needs to play Tevian Jones! I'm getting sick of this keeping him on the bench crap! He's proven that he deserves a 4 star rating! You don't earn that from a couple of fluke games! You earn it by showing the top level play over a consistent period of time in high school! Unlike others whom he keeps playing that aren't even drawing attention defensively from our opponents! Play this man! He's a team player... but needs to get more playing time to find his footing and get in a groove! Play Tevian and Alan Griffin please!
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Underwood has a lot more information as to whether or not Tevian should be playing. I watched Tev’s demeanor in the locker room after the win at Penn State and he appears to have checked out. When Underwood was speaking he barely looked at him or acknowledged his comments. Who knows, Tev may have said or done something in practice to cause Coach to sit him, but it’s obvious that he has no faith in Tev.
Bottom line, none of us know for sure what the reason is for his lack of playing time. But his minutes show us that he’s behind in his ability to contribute at a level we’d expect from a four star sophomore.
 
#71      
Gio cant either so let the kid play. At Rutgers he actually hustled and played hard. I think he deserves some minutes. The guy you guys love so much is 12/50 shooting and Tev can’t get a run to see can he atleast contribute if Gio continues to struggle.
Giorgi is now playing exclusively at the 5. Tev isn't a 5. And while a small sample size, Tevian is 4 of 24 on the season -- and only shot 41% last year. But again, for the past several games Giorgi has not been stealing minutes from Tev cuz Tev ain't a 5.
 
#72      
Neither can Giorgi but he still is getting big minutes...I know you need someone with size to spell Kofi, but GB is costing the team 10 pts a game with missed gimmees, free throws, turnovers, and terrible defense. If you use the benchmark that you have to earn minutes (Tev) which is OK, then you have to use the same benchmark for GB, because right now you can't play him. People remember last years player...this year he is in the way.
GB has proven he can score and play well. He is still just as good on offense and likely better on defense amd rebounding. He is just in a slump and he is sharing his role with Kofi now. GB is in a bit of a funk but you can not give up on him. I do not know of any area of the game that Tev is better that GB other than maybe FTs. Tev is 4-24 from the field and 3-16 from three. GB is 11-36 from three and 76 for 181 from the field. GB is out shooting Tev on the year. Unfortunately Tev may have had more time to learn and get better in games that didnt mean so much if he had not gotten himself suspended twice and that is no ones fault but his own! He let himself and the team down a second time.
I think it should be GB be playing but if someone has an argument if would be for going small with AG starting at the 4 or Kipper. They are both options more productive than Tev. He has work to do. I think GB has earned our trust and support while he works his way through this funk. I still like him with his back to the basket taking shots and have faith he will get back to shooting at a high percentage like hie has in the past. I am glad BU is not quitting on a proven player like GB
You are correct that we really need a more physical type of 4 that can shoot the ball and we really do not have anyone over 6'7'' that can do that with BBV hurt so BBU is trying to play with line ups and find out what can work until next season where things should look a bit differetnt
 
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#75      
We have been hearing all season, on this site, how Tevian should be playing. If he was good enough he would. I believe Underwood plays his best players. They all have positives and negatives and it is the coaches responsibility to use them to the team's advantage. I don't believe there is truly a person on this site who thought in November this team would be tied for second in the big ten. Enjoy this team, it has been a while since we could.