That second number is sure to go to 21. Let's hope that the first number goes up first.
It took us more than 100 years to reach 20 losses. 21 might stand for 500.
Penn State 72, Illinois 56 POSTGAME
It took us more than 100 years to reach 20 losses. 21 might stand for 500.
Let's remember that this record is not far from projections, strong sos, 8 new players, 4 holdovers to teach the system , looking forward to seeing next year's team.
I agreed with you in my previous response 91. Something is very wrong when the higher scorers/minute are left on the bench, and our
"superior" defense still allows 80 and 90 pts.
And a 5 am practice the day of the game is, what is going on??
One simple question. How many games did we win because of those numbers, and playing those guys?
Those numbers could easilly be skewed simply because with different starting/playing guys, synergy might have been improved. Some players were never allowed to score due to lack of minutes, say zero minutes. Samba should have been playing, and being close to the bucket to stop those 52 pts in the paint. He is an excellent shot blocker who was never utilized.
Secondly, I would contend that we need to develop our recruits with some real playing time, not just practice time.
I totally agree 82. Another consideration after your great suggestion is to keep those big guys down low to prevent layups, and away from the 3 pt line. With 4 guards we are also smaller, and thus a mismatch with opponents getting easy layups.
You can have an opinion, but you can also expect people to say you don't know Jack Krap.
I don’t disagree with anyone who defends DW or thinks he is not at the level he needs to be offensively. He definitely knows how to defend and has a high b-ball IQ. I share the feelings of those who expected him to be more of a scoring threat. The bad thing about last season is that 1) he was coming off a knee injury and it really took a while before he was confident physically. I don’t look at his freshmen year the same as I would with a healthy player coming in and getting pt commensurate with his talent 2) there was a cluster of guards - Alstork/Smith/Lucas/Jordan/Frazier all competing for minutes. It’s a shame Smith turned out to be a bust ( I say bust not because he doesn’t have a lot of talent or hasn’t or won’t improve but he got a lot of time and showed little for all the hype he came in with. We were and still are thin as far as wings are concerned and Jordan and DW are both undersized often guarding the 4 position. I was at UI during a time when freshmen didn’t get that much tick....even players that were much better than the ones we are expecting so much from right now. I expected this to be a painful year and expect next year to be better. We will definitely add much needed size. I just hope we add in another area of need - a couple of good wing players.
In regards to wings, that is what makes Jones’ lack of playing time confusing to me. I thought he could/would have been that wing. He showed what was possible in the Maryland game. But, we never seemed to commit to letting him develop.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Fair enough.....We are All fans or we wouldn't be here expressing our opinions....My opinion about DW should not be taken as I don't support him, but , as a team we could have been better by utilizing him better as a role player, not a starter....some here have voiced their opinion that DW is timid in his play...He has the ability to be an average B1G player, but from what I observed this year AG and TJ had a lot more potential to be more productive AND more likely to stay the course...
It wouldn't surprise me to see AG or TJ to move on and I sincerely hope they don't....Why didn't either one get on the court the last game...If the team is as worn down as many speculate , a boost from either one would have helped tremendously.....
I'm just so bummed out by the season that I'm tripping out, but my love for the Illini program will never waver ...
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
It's so amusing to watch fans speculate and comment on players' minutes when they have absolutely zero access to what's going on in practices and the locker room. I have seen, read, and heard enough that I have complete confidence and trust in BU to lead this program. He is doing the right things for these kids individually, and as a team. If anyone leaves, I believe it will be for the right reasons, even if it sucks. I don't believe there will be a mass exodus.
The recruiting is working.
Correcting 10 years of flip flopping around is not undone in two years.
The recruiting is working.
Correcting 10 years of flip flopping around is not undone in two years.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
I believe that we had another recent morning game (might've even been Penn State at home) that BU decided not to practice and give them a rest. We came out extremely flat, and after the game Underwood said that he was never going to skip a pre-game warmup again. So there's your answer.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
It's also amusing to watch fans speculate the opposite thing with equal knowledge of behind the scenes. There are plenty of 2-year turnarounds one could cite, Illinois isn't in some special pit of mediocrity.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal
This is true - with a little luck, we’ll make our way to mediocrity next year.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Yes, but the difference is trust in the leadership and direction. I'm not speculating on why certain players don't play in certain games. I don't have an issue if BU decides TJ, SK, or AG don't get the minutes that some think should just be automatic because we are struggling. It's his boat. Some are gonna row sometimes, and some are gonna swab the deck.
Those that are speculating and worrying over these players' minutes don't have the trust yet. My assertion is that with all of the comments from players and the significant wins during our little streak, I have enough to satisfy my belief in what BU is doing. So I'm not actually speculating the opposite.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
I really hope your mediocrity = the bubble, because that's where I'm at, too.
I'll bet my beach house that everyone bashing DW didn't even blink at your number.
These numbers are offense only, not sure why you are talking about Samba and defense. If you don't want to trust stats, that's fine. But don't act like back of napkin stats like "points/min" can't be skewed as well.
Williams is a sophomore, an underclassman, he needs to be developed as well.
I think EVERYONE that posts here knows him!
Yep, it's always someone else's fault, that's the slogan of today's times. No individual responsibility. I played so bad because of the coach. Sheesh...
2005 Illini say, "Really." Villanova national champs say Hi as well. In any case, we have plenty of size coming in next year.
When we have brown, williams, head, powell, and augustine equivalents, i promise not to complain about small lineups.
Illini_1979
- Oregon
Maybe we're just playing too many games. If we played less than 20, we wouldn't have to worry about losing 20.
