Partly, yes. But we still lack quickness at the guard position which is why we struggle with stopping penetration. Hoping we improve with the help side coverage which can help there, too.
Illinois 81, SEMO 62 POSTGAME
- Status
Partly, yes. But we still lack quickness at the guard position which is why we struggle with stopping penetration. Hoping we improve with the help side coverage which can help there, too.
You would see a decidedly different game if UI was playing a higher level opponent. Coach was trying line ups and spreading minutes around a lot more than he would have in the middle of B1G play. Also SEMO is a long way from mid major. They are a low D1 school. Clearly the team has a lot to work on a a ways to go in the next couple weeks before playing better competition but there is potential there.
Orangetool
Give me back my Afta, heh heh
Let me step out here tonight and say
Finke is a beast with a touch
this will be a breakout year for him
Also, give coach Fletcher a raise
Finke is a beast with a touch
this will be a breakout year for him
Also, give coach Fletcher a raise
Good win, Illini, onto to #2!
Where was tejon? I hope groce utilizes him more in the non conference
Also, Texas and Creighton.
It looks like we are going to be good offensively, who didn't know that. The defense looks like the same problems we have had since Groce got here. If we can't keep up with mid-major players man to man, we are going to get destroyed by the big boys. That needs to get better fast. We have adjusted to play better team defense in past years but it always seems to take half the season to get there. It needs to happen now.
Individually we still have some really bad defenders.
I don't get the 'pushes the ball' comment as most times it took 10-20 seconds to get into any offense with Tate bringing it up. I did not see any pace to his push up the court... AND his shot omg!!!
Tate playing the minutes he did today signaled all I need to know about this season and what I believe will happen with Groce soon thereafter.
sacraig
- The desert
Deleted member 10676
D
Guest
I might be the only Jaylon Tate fan left on here but Coach still is apparently too, so at least I'll get to enjoy seeing him a lot this year.
[FONT="]Jeremy Werner ‏@JWernerScout 1h1 hour ago [/FONT]
[FONT="]#illini Groce; Thought the 2 PG lineup worked out pretty well and they did some good things.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Derek Piper ‏@DPiperScout 1h1 hour ago [/FONT]
[FONT="]#Illini Groce on Tracy & Tate: They know each other like the back of their hand. Thought they played well together.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jeremy Werner ‏@JWernerScout 1h1 hour ago [/FONT]
[FONT="]#illini Groce; Thought the 2 PG lineup worked out pretty well and they did some good things.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Derek Piper ‏@DPiperScout 1h1 hour ago [/FONT]
[FONT="]#Illini Groce on Tracy & Tate: They know each other like the back of their hand. Thought they played well together.[/FONT]
blackdog
- Champaign
Not only seeing him out there but it seems like the reports of him being a better shooter are true. Definitely a big plus for the team.
Plenty of positives.
1) We actually had a sizable rebounding margin which didn't happen last year even when we were bigger.
2) The Fletch program is noticeable and can be summed up by Tracy weaving through the defense or Finke's put back dunk.
3) Thorne isn't 100% yet and bear in mind we are going to get Leron here shortly who has been routinely leading the practices in rebounding. We also get Kipper in just under 5 weeks.
4) Te'Jon, I assume, is behind the 8 ball in practice which is understandable with him being a freshman and being cleared for about one month now. He'll get better and add to our depth.
5) We are going shoot the ball better from 3 (looking at you, JCL).
6) The turnovers will get better and the defense will, too. Holding teams under 60 generally gives you a good shot to win and they got 62. Groce said the standard for turnovers was under 16 and we were at 17.
1) We actually had a sizable rebounding margin which didn't happen last year even when we were bigger.
2) The Fletch program is noticeable and can be summed up by Tracy weaving through the defense or Finke's put back dunk.
3) Thorne isn't 100% yet and bear in mind we are going to get Leron here shortly who has been routinely leading the practices in rebounding. We also get Kipper in just under 5 weeks.
4) Te'Jon, I assume, is behind the 8 ball in practice which is understandable with him being a freshman and being cleared for about one month now. He'll get better and add to our depth.
5) We are going shoot the ball better from 3 (looking at you, JCL).
6) The turnovers will get better and the defense will, too. Holding teams under 60 generally gives you a good shot to win and they got 62. Groce said the standard for turnovers was under 16 and we were at 17.
Before the exhibition games, I thought Malcolm, JCL and Big Mike were our three best players. Two of them looked pretty bad tonight while MH started bad and finished just OK, albeit with a lot of points. And still we won by 19. When they all find their form at the same time, we should see triple digits on the new scoreboards. Still gotta find some man defense, however.
So far this year it seems like we are giving up easy drives to the basket until we switched to zone. Thorne had a few swats in the zone. Glad we won comfortably but given the competition anything else would be a disaster. 
if Groce said his standard for turnovers is 16, that's about the best indication I've seen that we're finally going to play uptempo basketball. Outside of JG's first year (and a little bit last year), we've been fairly slow and methodical with a short bench and a focus on limiting mistakes. I hope we go 9-10 deep all year and push the tempo relentlessly.
EfremWinters84
- S. Carolina
I tend to agree. We're not making the tourney this year with Tate getting significant minutes. And we still look very slow. SEMO had the 3-4 quickest players on the court. Thorne still looks terribly out of shape. I think we're going to be viewed as big and slow -- a poor man's Purdue.
Was also hoping Lucas would be an instant star. Maybe he needs to redshirt? Still looking for an impact freshman guard like Kiwane Garris, Bruce Douglas or Corey Bradford.
Philly Boy
- Deerfield IL
Replay?
Does anyone know if regular BTN (or any other source) will have a replay of this game?? They did for the first two this season.
Does anyone know if regular BTN (or any other source) will have a replay of this game?? They did for the first two this season.
HoustonIllini
- Houston, TX
There were the few times that we got out on the break where Tate showed value. Otherwise, the half court offense tended to stall when Tate was running the point - way too much dribbling at the top of the key.
I think we've got the potential to be a much better team than we've seen in Orange and Blue in quite a while. We've got experienced (albeit somewhat talent-limited) guards, and arguably one of the conference's' best front courts with Mav, Hill, Fike and Thorne (and arguably one of the best Illini front courts in maybe forever). If Coach can put it all together and we can avoid the injury bug ("bug" doesn't quite describe our injury problems last year - maybe "plague" would be more accurate), this should be a memorable and fun season for all the right reasons
- Status