Illinois 88, NC State 74 POSTGAME

[Captain Bubbles]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this fact. Last night, two former teammates took on each other. Mike Thorne Jr. and Torin Dorn played together at Charlotte.

I thought that was interesting. You don't see that too often in college hoops.

 

[Obelix]

Thought help defense in the paint was much better than it has been.

I did notice that as well. We still have problems defending the post, but we did a much better job denying the entry pass that let into some quick transition baskets. There was also more collapsing by the guards in the paint, trying to strip/slap the ball away from the big men.

 

[Calvin]

ACC coaches had them as pre-season #6 in the conference. If that's where they end up, they dance.

Hopefully we'll get credit for the team we didn't beat (missing key players when they played us).

And hopefully it matters.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

ACC coaches had them as pre-season #6 in the conference. If that's where they end up, they dance.

Seriously?

Maybe the guys they're missing are a big deal, but they were awful last night.

 

[illinoisfan11]

I had the very cool, unique experience last night of sitting in the second row of bench seats for the game as well as being able to sit on the bench and watch the shoot around/walk through pre-game and have a couple of observations/notes I thought I'd share.

1) The amount of preparation that goes into creating a game plan for a team is mind boggling. I know that we as fans get frustrated with execution, or lack thereof, at times, but the work that the staff and team put in to create and execute a game plan is tremendous. I consider myself to be very intelligent when it comes to basketball, but watching that walk through and listening to the coach bark out plays, sets, defenses, etc. made me feel pretty dumb. Not just that I didn't know the plays, but it was really cool to see how much preparation the staff does on how to use those plays/sets to combat what the opponent wants to do. It was very, very cool to watch, and it definitely gave me a new appreciation for all that this team and staff does to try and win games.

2) Kipper is BIG. I mean this kid is jacked. Watching him work with the scout team during the walk through and how physically imposing he is got me pretty jacked up to see him suit up finally. He'll be back for the BYU game. I'm not sure if that's been mentioned on here yet or not.

3) Leron brings serious energy to this team, and not just on the floor. For those of you who go to the games, you know he's the guy who ends the "hype video" before the game with the "LET'S GOOOO" scream. But, before the game starts, he's twice as animated on the floor before the starters are announced. He's screaming and getting everyone fired up. I love this kid. I think they need his energy.

4) Josh Whitman realized how big last night's game was for this season. Once Coach Groce finally finished up with post-game interviews and headed back toward the locker room, JW was waiting for him and gave him a huge hug. They both had huge smiles on their faces. This was very cool to see.

 

[User Name]

Omer Yurtseven http://www.sbnation.com/college-bas...786/omer-yurtseven-nc-state-wolfpack-eligible

 

[Deleted member 533939]

I've gotten a couple responses saying that they were short handed and they were picked wherever in preseason. That's nice, but the players on the court for NC State last night were garbage. They have nothing that resembles a good win and 2 wins were against Georgia Southern and Loyola-Chicago by 2 points each. Feel free to hang your hat on the fact that they are in the ACC and have injured players, but they suck.

 

[Obelix]

I've gotten a couple responses saying that they were short handed and they were picked wherever in preseason. That's nice, but the players on the court for NC State last night were garbage. They have nothing that resembles a good win and 2 wins were against Georgia Southern and Loyola-Chicago by 2 points each. Feel free to hang your hat on the fact that they are in the ACC and have injured players, but they suck.

It is too early in the season. Saying that the NC State players last night looked like garbage is overreaction. Florida State was not impressive either, yet they were ranked in the top 25. West Virginia looked like all-world, then they lost to Temple. Temple looked like garbage (just using your expression) and an easy win to all 3 other teams in NY, yet they went undefeated and beat both FSU and WVU, the two highest ranked teams.

 

[Ga65]

I can. Tracy isn't a 2. He hit a few 3-pointers against cupcakes, and now people seemingly forget how extraordinarily-mediocre of a shooter he is.

53% FG, 58% 3pt. Obviously mediocre.

 

[Deleted member 533939]

It is too early in the season. Saying that the NC State players last night looked like garbage is overreaction. Florida State was not impressive either, yet they were ranked in the top 25. West Virginia looked like all-world, then they lost to Temple. Temple looked like garbage (just using your expression) and an easy win to all 3 other teams in NY, yet they went undefeated and beat both FSU and WVU, the two highest ranked teams.

It's not too early in the season. The team that took the court last night (and based on strictly the box scores of their initial 6 games) is not good.

 

[bleedsorangenblue]

Just now getting a chance to respond and a lot have covered much of what I wanted to say already. I don't really see this as a signature win but it sure was fun and sorely needed for this team. Nice to see us have a better defense and win the rebounding battle for once. NC state turned the ball over a lot. Much of this was unforced so I don't think we can take much credit there other than being generally disruptive to their game. We were able to run with them and they had no advantage in that regard. If anything, we wore them down.

Couple questions:

What was with MH the first half? He had little offense and missed what few shots he attempted. He was a completely different player the second half. I was also concerned at the end of the FSU game. He seemed to be sleepwalking. We can not afford for him to take any games off from here on out.

I saw a lot more ball movement from this team last night. Less hero ball. Is this a function of them finally understanding that they need to play as a unit or is a matter of inserting TJL into the line up for extended periods? Chemistry or personnel? They really looked like a different team out there.

 

[Kathy]

Winning. Sure beats losing!

Favorite post of the night!!!

 

[Obelix]

It's not too early in the season. The team that took the court last night (and based on strictly the box scores of their initial 6 games) is not good.

Fine, it is not too early, 6 games in the season, if you say so.

I suspect you had Temple beating both West Virginia and FSU, they really looked good before those games. :hand:

 

[Newman]

It's not too early in the season. The team that took the court last night (and based on strictly the box scores of their initial 6 games) is not good.

Who cares if they weren't good last night? That's the night we want them to play poorly. They don't have any bad losses and close wins are still wins. They'll improve before they conference play and the win should end up being a good one. We still have a long way to go for this game to really matter. It doesn't solve all our problems by any means, but we still need as many top 50 wins that we can get and this will probably end up being one of them when NC State is at full strength.

It's not like people are throwing around JFG again, people are just happy that we saw some decent progress against a decent high major team. That's progress.

 

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

I'll give him one more loss in the non-con. VCU and BYU are tough, gotta win one. I'd say we have a much better shot at BYU since VCU is clearly a better team and I dont think ive seen anything to predict our guys will be ready for Havok

I watched VCU play Baylor and didn't see much "havoc". Now maybe they'll see our WV tape and break it out, but they don't seem to be playing that style this season. Very small team, so matching up will be interesting.

And missing a guy that was averaging 17 ppg, and a 7 footer that is expected to go in the first round. If we had a 5-2 record, and were missing those guys for only a couple more games, we wouldn't even be that concerned about making the tourney.

Yeah, and getting that 7 footer really addresses a need for them.

We don't really disagree.

I just think it's a heck of a mountain to climb for a kid who has never seen a college floor, when his competition is in midseason form.

Yeah, that's been my contention all along. We've seen the struggles to get the "rotations" right and "synchronization", now we're going to throw a raw inexperienced guy into the mix? Maybe, but I'm skeptical.

 

[TCTORNADO]

Last night's announced attendance was 13,481.

 

[FatGreg]

I've gotten a couple responses saying that they were short handed and they were picked wherever in preseason. That's nice, but the players on the court for NC State last night were garbage. They have nothing that resembles a good win and 2 wins were against Georgia Southern and Loyola-Chicago by 2 points each. Feel free to hang your hat on the fact that they are in the ACC and have injured players, but they suck.

Dennis Smith, Jr is going to be a top-5 pick. Ted Kapita is a top-50 kid who's likely to be drafted in a year or two. Markell Johnson is top 50-ish and on NBA radars. Their stretch-4, Abu, tested the draft waters last year and was ranked #44 coming out of HS. They sucked last night, but at the end of the day we used experience and toughness to pulverize a team full of NBA prospects. Can we give a modicum of credit to the team and staff, please? We looked great in the second half.

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

If I'm Kipper I see a clear path to playing time: energy, rebounding, and defensive intensity. Team has a hole that he can fill. Offensive production is gravy.

 

[TriCityBurbs]

After having time to think about what went right and what went wrong last night my observations are:

1. The offense runs much smoother with TJL on the court, obviously. But his defense is very good considering he is a freshman. He got through NCSt screens affectively and I could only count maybe 2-3 bad defensive possessions on his part.

2. Mav quietly had a really nice night. Had 6 boards, all in the second half I believe and really played smart

3. Finke didn't do much last night, but mostly because Leron is so good. Will expect to see Finke seeing nothing more than 15-20 minutes a game this year, which is nice because as good of a player he is, he fits well coming off the bench and is a great second option at the 4.

4. MH jump shot is looking either too relaxed, or too rushed. We need him to get into a better rhythm and I believe he will, he is just too good.

5. Tracy did everything last night for us. Controlled the offense, drove to the basket and finished/dished, had a few nice hesitation moves and pump fakes in the lane which is something he didn't do much his sophomore year. Sometimes the bulldog needs to know when to stay in the knell.

6. Thorne is looking better and better every game, and he should be our starting center from here on out.

7. Jordan and WIlliams seem to be competing hard for the last spot off the bench. Hoping it will be WIlliams, he just brings more to the table. Jordan has been shooting with more confidence however, regardless of his missed shot last night. I think we see both of them against VCU because we will need more guard play and ball handling against their HAVOC. I think Kipper will ultimately take both of their spots and hopefully WIlliams doesn't get discouraged because he will be a major piece for us next year.

8. Loved to see the adjustments from Groce last night. Tate didn't see a minute in the second half which is a good thing but also sad because Tate was playing so well at the beginning of the year and has been a big part of our team the last two years, however he is just not a Big Ten point guard.

9. Although it was a "grand opening event" the crowd seemed pretty small, and didn't get into the game until the second half. We will need bigger effort from outside of the Orange Krush the rest of the way if we want any type of home court advantage this year

A win is a win is a win. Lets go Illini!

 

[skibdaddy]

also, the orange krush seemed a little....meh. the biggest excitement i saw was when we finally went up 7 in the second half. the home team deserves that energy early in games as well.

I thought this as well... especially after halftime when they're bumping techno music and saying "Jump" and the crush jumped 2 times... C'mon guys! Jump and yell till the other team scores a basket and get louder if they don't!!!

 

[Calvin]

Last night's announced attendance was 13,481.

Looked up last year's challenge game which was at SFC and against ND. Right around 15,000. That's probably the high water mark since we dropped off as a program.

 

[Tribe88]

Like Tracy's grit and competitiveness. He was a key to our win last night against NCST. I still have concerns with him being a primary ball handler. He is very hesitant to push the fast break. Lucas is already better at initiating our "offense". Obviously Malcolm and Tracy are keys to our success this season but both are not good at getting others involved and slow down our offensive flow. I feel like we will be much better (now and in future) if Lucas can progress to be our primary point guard soon.

Agree Totally. In order for us to make a run at making the tourney, TJL has to progress and play a majority of the pg minutes. That's a tall order for a freshman, but TJL seems up to the challenge.

 

[Deleted member 533939]

Who cares if they weren't good last night? That's the night we want them to play poorly. They don't have any bad losses and close wins are still wins. They'll improve before they conference play and the win should end up being a good one. We still have a long way to go for this game to really matter. It doesn't solve all our problems by any means, but we still need as many top 50 wins that we can get and this will probably end up being one of them when NC State is at full strength.

It's not like people are throwing around JFG again, people are just happy that we saw some decent progress against a decent high major team. That's progress.

They can improve all they want. It won't change the fact that Illinois beat a bad team last night.

 

[Deleted member 533939]

Fine, it is not too early, 6 games in the season, if you say so.

I suspect you had Temple beating both West Virginia and FSU, they really looked good before those games. :hand:

Temple has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation.

 

[Bailey]

They can improve all they want. It won't change the fact that Illinois beat a bad team last night.

I think the point is how it will look on a resume come March.