Illinois 79, Northern Kentucky 64 POSTGAME

[combes]

assumed Thorne would still be a double double machine. if not, this season will be a bit of a struggle imo

He is not back to his form of early last season. Plus, he struggles trying to guard 6-7 midmajor centers who are mobile and can shoot the three. He will like do better against guys like Haas as weird as that seems.

Not time to give up on him yet, though.

 

[combes]

At this point in his career, I don't understand why Tate is not immediately benched for shooting a 3 with more than 3 seconds on the shot clock. And if there are 3 or fewer seconds on the clock, we probably should bench whoever passed it to him.

The team was +23 last night with Tate on the court, highest of any player on the team. He was better than Abrams by quite a bit.

I understand that he is limited, but when he does play pretty well, he deserves credit.

 

[TCTORNADO]

This is something I considered posting about yesterday. The energy level was completely dead yesterday. No noise, no enthusiasm from anyone. Just a trend that I've noticed but it seems like less and less people seem to care about the traditions (different chants, standing until the other team scores, when the flag goes around the arena in the second half, etc.) Noticed a lot of the same thing at football games too. Fan base appears to be dying.

Not exactly what the administration had in mind when they made the $200 mil. renovation investment.

 

[TCTORNADO]

The team was +23 last night with Tate on the court, highest of any player on the team. He was better than Abrams by quite a bit.

I understand that he is limited, but when he does play pretty well, he deserves credit.

Didn't see the game, but this is downright disappointing.

 

[combes]

Didn't see the game, but this is downright disappointing.

Abrams had an off night. Abrams was really good Friday night.

 

[blmillini]

Not exactly what the administration had in mind when they made the $200 mil. renovation investment.

I think the administration knows full well that support comes with winning. The renovations are necessary to keep pace with our peers but are only part of the equation. This is why Groce must show he can win, this year, because the longer the losing goes on the less enthusiastic the fanbase becomes.

 

[Newman]

Abrams had an off night. Abrams was really good Friday night.

And it wasn't really that bad to be honest. A couple more shots made and his state line would have been solid, especially for someone coming back from injury. He had a pretty sweet block which I'm sure most didn't expect to see from him this season.

 

[Berg88]

Maybe that's why our starting guards only attempted one 3 pt. shot last night.

I could have sworn he shot 2, maybe one was a long two pointer. Or maybe that stream quality was so bad that I was actually watching Finke shoot one...

 

[SescIllini]

Losing, recruiting, and quality of opponents have led to lower enthusiasm from the average fan. The "magical" year we played everybody, even went up to DC to play Georgetown I believe without a return game. We played Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Oregon, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Missouri all before the Big Ten season. I'm probably missing another tough out of conference game.

 

[Berg88]

The team was +23 last night with Tate on the court, highest of any player on the team. He was better than Abrams by quite a bit.

I understand that he is limited, but when he does play pretty well, he deserves credit.

He had an ok night and good for him. But that doesn't explain why he has take 4 3PA in 2 games. Those are essentially turnovers when he shoots them. If this team is going have to play well without Tate is it wants to be successful. We've seen this before. He's played MUCH better in the non-conference than in the conference his whole career. If Tate ends up averaging 25.5 minutes a game (which is what he's at after Sunday), I don't believe this will be a tournament team. Our conference foes have all seem him at least 3 teams, and most of them have figured out what he is at this point.

 

[illynifan34]

Abrams had an off night. Abrams was really good Friday night.

Defense was fine and he was one of the few that brought toughness at the beginning. Tate was able to beat his defender a lot so he looked good on offense. I understand why Groce played them together.

 

[Newman]

He had an ok night and good for him. But that doesn't explain why he has take 4 3PA in 2 games. Those are essentially turnovers when he shoots them. If this team is going have to play well without Tate is it wants to be successful. We've seen this before. He's played MUCH better in the non-conference than in the conference his whole career. If Tate ends up averaging 25.5 minutes a game (which is what he's at after Sunday), I don't believe this will be a tournament team. Our conference foes have all seem him at least 3 teams, and most of them have figured out what he is at this point.

Tate is going to get a decent amount of playing time whether fans like it or not. Practice reports indicated that Tate has shot well from the perimeter so surely Groce has given him the freedom to take some shots from 3. It might not translate into real games but this is the time to try to work on it. This season is going to piss a lot of people off because of the Tate/Lucas minutes but Tate's shot isn't the reason why we've looked bad so far this season.

 

[whovous]

I am convinced that Tate has a legit three point shot. He can't make so many of them in practice, or hit 90% of his FTs as a soph and be unable to shoot. He's got something in his head that makes him miss during games. Wish someone could find a cure for it.

 

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

That's not really how kenpom's system works. It is purely statistically based. There is no "call" and it is extremely fluid in the early season.

Right, he's trying to actually model performance of teams and project results off that model. He tweaks the model itself and tries to improve it, but that's for all teams and not during a season.

And it wasn't really that bad to be honest. A couple more shots made and his state line would have been solid, especially for someone coming back from injury. He had a pretty sweet block which I'm sure most didn't expect to see from him this season.

I was wondering how much the quick turnaround might affect him. I know it's been a while since his injuries took place, but he may need more rest between games now that other guys. Being an old man and all, I know how that is.

I am convinced that Tate has a legit three point shot. He can't make so many of them in practice, or hit 90% of his FTs as a soph and be unable to shoot. He's got something in his head that makes him miss during games. Wish someone could find a cure for it.

Running out of time, at this point we just have to accept what he is.

 

[Deleted member 4333]

Has Alex Austin played yet?

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using Tapatalk

 

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

Has Alex Austin played yet?

Yes, vs SEMO.

 

[ballislife17]

Tate is going to get a decent amount of playing time whether fans like it or not. Practice reports indicated that Tate has shot well from the perimeter so surely Groce has given him the freedom to take some shots from 3. It might not translate into real games but this is the time to try to work on it. This season is going to piss a lot of people off because of the Tate/Lucas minutes but Tate's shot isn't the reason why we've looked bad so far this season.

I agree with the last part. Defense and Rebounding look weak right now. Both of those are on everyone. Low team energy and spirit. Tate has been one of the biggest scapegoats for Illini basketball these last few years and it is ridiculous. He was a mid level 3 star recruit, but I would say he has at least performed well enough to have earned that rating. Obviously it would be nice if he could shoot like JCL, but if that was the case he probably would have been a 4 star recruit and not a 3 star.

Also, it's pretty clear that the key to his shooting is his confidence since we know he doesn't have bad form, so the idea that he shouldn't be allowed to shoot makes no sense, as it will likely only lower his confidence and make him a worse shooter. We want him to have confidence and be a threat, and for those of you who are saying it is too late, look at Mav. His confidence level now compared to early last season has jumped drastically. Sometimes it just clicks, and there is no chance that can happen with Tate if we limit is shooting...not saying he should take 10 threes a game, but I believe a happy medium can be found somewhere in there.

 

[combes]

Has Alex Austin played yet?

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17 seconds

 

[blackdog]

There was little to enthuse over in the first half of yesterday's game.

Well this was from before the opening tip all the way through. Arena was not barely even half full. Disappointing for a Sunday afternoon game with nothing else really happening.

 

[Bear8287]

Losing, recruiting, and quality of opponents have led to lower enthusiasm from the average fan. The "magical" year we played everybody, even went up to DC to play Georgetown I believe without a return game. We played Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Oregon, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Missouri all before the Big Ten season. I'm probably missing another tough out of conference game.

at Arkansas. Illlini won 72-60.

First four games at Assembly Hall:

SIU-Edwardsville W 78–58
Lewis W 92–61
Delaware State W 87–67
Florida A&M W 91–60​

 

[TCTORNADO]

17 seconds

So does that eliminate a redshirt possiblity??

 

[Bear8287]

The Illini played 3 games in the BTT last season. In each game the high-scorer for the Illini had 17 points. Can you name them? [Here's a hint, it's a different player for each game and none of them were named Malcolm Hill.]

 

[rtbritt]

The Illini played 3 games in the BTT last season. In each game the high-scorer for the Illini had 17 points. Can you name them? [Here's a hint, it's a different player for each game and none of them were named Malcolm Hill.]

Morgan, Nunn, JCL.....all guesses.

 

[TCTORNADO]

The Illini played 3 games in the BTT last season. In each game the high-scorer for the Illini had 17 points. Can you name them? [Here's a hint, it's a different player for each game and none of them were named Malcolm Hill.]

Finke was one of them. JCL, too.

 

[Bear8287]

Morgan, Nunn, JCL.....all guesses.

Very close.

Morgan was the high point getter for the game against Purdue.

JCL led in the upset over Iowa, but someone else had the top total against Minnesota.

[Another hint, after Malcolm who seems to have shown the most promise so far this season?]