Illini Basketball 2016-2017

#376      
While we always discuss one of JG's x and o weaknesses, I think I'll flip the script and give him some props on his BLOBs. I think we have some good BLOBs that counter off of each other and usually lead us to a good look. JG can't hit the shot for our guys, but his BLOBs put the players in position to do the rest.

I also think the shorter shot clock took away what had been some of our better sets. However, with a 30 second shot clock, 5-6 part sets kinda die. With BP and crew we ran a lot of good options that had multiple double screens that usually ended in a reversal option for someone coming to the corner off a double screen. DJ and BP hit a ton of corner threes off those sets, and even Griffey hit a couple off some counters. Didn't see much of that last year though cause you just can't waste the time with a shorter shot clock.


The last good BLOB I can remember is a 7 footer named Uve BLOB.
 
#381      
Good ol' Uwe and Olaf! Where are they now?

Uwe spent ~5 years on the bench in the NBA before starting for a German club for a year or two. He decided basketball wasn't making him happy and quit.

Olaf played for the same german club.
 
#385      
One thing that I think bodes well for Groce is that he seemed to game plan well in advance of games - our team always looked good until after half time and the opposing team made adjustments. While Groce seemed to be able to game plan well for the limited roster that he had, either he didn't have the horses last year to effectively counter when the other coaches made adjustments to handle our game plan, or he couldn't game plan on his feet, or some combination of the two. With a deep bench this year (assuming it stays that way), regardless of the reason for our second half performances, it will be far easier for Groce to make adjustments and he will have far more options when it comes to drawing plays that will fit his players strengths.

Maybe it he didnt have the horses to counter the counter last year. But the same thing happened repeatedly in 2014-15.

We blew

  • a 4 point halftime lead lead to Oregon losing by 2 and defining both teams seasons,
  • a 6 point HT lead to UM, losing by 10 in OT
  • a 1-point HT lead to OSU, losing by 16
  • and a 5 point HT lead over Purdue, where we were down by 5 5 minutes into the second half and never got any closer.
Coffee is for closers on the court too. No excuses this year.
 
#386      

Dan

Admin
Looking thru Tracy Abrams photos for something drives home how long he's been around #Illini So many are w/guys who are long gone.
https://twitter.com/DavidMercerAP/status/791303479851560960

CvtGQ8cWAAEwQ5t.jpg



[youtube]LFuUdUJccJ0[/youtube]
 
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#388      
Maybe it he didnt have the horses to counter the counter last year. But the same thing happened repeatedly in 2014-15.

We blew

  • a 4 point halftime lead lead to Oregon losing by 2 and defining both teams seasons,
  • a 6 point HT lead to UM, losing by 10 in OT
  • a 1-point HT lead to OSU, losing by 16
  • and a 5 point HT lead over Purdue, where we were down by 5 5 minutes into the second half and never got any closer.
Coffee is for closers on the court too. No excuses this year.


We also won:

Brown - down by 4 at half, won by 21
Baylor - down by 2 at half, won by 8
Maryland - down by 2 at half, won by 7
NW - down by 4 at half, won by 5
Mich at home - down by 2 at half, won by 8 in OT

5 points at half is still close to a toss up. There's a reason why teams that have success in 1 run games in baseball or 1 score games in the NFL have trouble replicating that success in future years. I don't think either case proves trouble by Groce in making halftime adjustments. Neither do I think you can except to win every game in which you lead at the half.
 
#390      
Perhaps he did. To borrow football analogy, lets say you have an inexperienced QB in, we'll call him Kevin. Let's also say you have an inexperienced RB who we will refer to as Brandon. Now, we have to get some yards and we need some scores. To make this as easy as possible for Kevin, we draw up a slant route for our number one WR who is going to be in single coverage. This should get us positive yards nearly every time except Kevin drops back and throws the ball over the receiver's head for an incompletion. Same play next down except Kevin throws the ball behind the receiver and the defense gets an interception. The next drive, they give the ball to Brandon on a simple dive play except he fumbles it after he gains positive yards. We made it as simple as possible, but it was poorly executed by the players.

I can't possibly follow this analogy until I know the WR's first name...
 
#391      

icengineer

Southern Illinois
Does "airmailed a three" mean it was an air ball miss, or nothing but net! ?

I know it's early, but I wasn't thrilled that Thorne saw such limited action.
 
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#392      

Deleted member 10676

D
Guest
http://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...nd-one-college-basketball-players-for-2016-17
[FONT=&quot]Ranking the top 100 (and one) college basketball players for 2016-17[/FONT]
28. Malcolm Hill | Illinois | Senior | Wing
I think Illinois is going to have a huge season. Will make the NCAA Tournament. Malcolm Hill is reason Nos. 1, 2 and 3 for that. He put up 18 points, 6.6 boards and 3.3 assists last season. Should be All-Big Ten on the First Team if his shot selection improves. Good physical tools, and he's a young senior; he just turned 21. -- MN
 
#394      
Keep in mind there is also another team of Big Ten caliber players doing their darndest to mess up those plays...

This is probably my biggest concern after PG. I think the talent in the BIG has a big cluster in the middle of the conference, with no elite team. So we're not going to succeed on talent. We'll have to outplay similar teams throughout the conference season. Coaching and motivation will play a big role this season.
 
#395      
This is probably my biggest concern after PG. I think the talent in the BIG has a big cluster in the middle of the conference, with no elite team. So we're not going to succeed on talent. We'll have to outplay similar teams throughout the conference season. Coaching and motivation will play a big role this season.

I'm also hoping our experience pays off here as well, The 97-98 team where we started 5 seniors wasn't flashy or overly talented but they were able to surprise most of the B1G by just being solid, consistent and well balanced. It may not go that well, but with Abrams, Thorne, Hill, Morgan, & Tate we will have some experience and maturity that will hopefully give us some consistency and solid play to build around. The disaster last year also gives us >5 players that have been considered a starter at some point over the last 2 years which is also part of the maturity that I hope we play with this year.
 
#396      
I think a big part of the success for this season is whether Groce can finally get the team to shoot over 45% for all FGs. Last year we were 210th in the country shooting 43.2%. The scary thing is that was Groce’s best year FG% wise – 41.2% (12-13); 41.1% (13-14); and 41.3% (14-15). Obviously, FG% is not the be all and end all for success, but it seems to be a pretty good indicator. If you look at the top 50 in FG% you see a lot of top tournament teams – including both national title contenders in the top 25.

With Nunn (42.8%) and Khalid Lewis (37.0%) leaving there will certainly be room to improve. Especially if Thorne (47.3%) can get more shots up. Tracy’s 37% career average, however, is concerning unless he has significantly improved his shooting.

In my eyes, a big factor will be making sure Malcolm, JCL, Thorne, and Maverick get the majority of our offensive looks compared to guys like Tracy, Tate, and (to a lesser extent) Leron. Obviously if guys like Finke, Jordan, and Lucas can be high % shooters, that'll help quite a bit too.