Purdue 91, Illinois 68 POSTGAME

[Trakis]

The players post-game: "embarrassing." "Something needs to change" Supposedly Hill even had a few harsh words of his own for the team?

Groce post-game: "the same old crap like it was any other loss."

The polarity in the rhetoric there scares me. I hope that in the locker room, Groce's words emulated that of the players. But his post-game screamed "stay positive and optimistic since because I'm on the hot seat."

Forget the tourney: If we can't go .500 in these last 12 games, then the only way I see Whitman NOT firing Groce, is if there is literally nobody available on the job market to replace him with. That, and the 2017 recruits publicly voicing how furious they are with firing him.

 

[ChrisNMattoon]

*have lost

This is absolutely true. I'm 37 years old, a life long die hard fan. I remember my friends and I on the walkman listening to Illinois on the bus coming home from our games. My son is 12, loves basketball but has no interest in Illinois at all, no matter how much I try and force it on him LOL. He walked by last night, casually looked at the TV in passing and said, "How bad is Illinois getting beat tonight". Its sad. My wife used to get so mad at me for getting upset with losses and throwing fits, now it's just like....whatever, i expected it. I hate this. I just want to be relevant again....

 

[ChrisNMattoon]

Something tells me we my be looking at 2-8 in Big Ten play by the end of Jan. Depressing

I honestly believe there is a very real possibility of going 4-14. I've watched these other so called "bottom feeders" in the B1G play, and besides Rutgers and maybe Penn St. at home, I can't see a for sure win. At least it will be a clean cut. No 9-9 bubble team to make it a "hard decision".

 

[Deleted member 4960]

Last year around this time I predicted we would be just as bad this year as we were last year. Then after season was over I convinced myself they would be better with the addition of Black, Thorne, Tracy and Lucas. Unfortunately none of these people have the athleticism, driving or post game skills to make a difference. I don't know why we have gone South so bad in the Big Ten but it is truly depressing to be an Illini fan these days. Another year of no tournament and the start of another rebuild.

 

[201106391]

Abrams was at The Red Lion tonight...yikes!

Was he the only one or were there other players there too? The couple times that I have went the whole team was there.

 

[SescIllini]

Regarding the game, Haas is NBA in my opinion. He is big and has enough game to make a roster and possibly play significantly. Maverick did an admirable job playing against both Haas and Swanigan. He fought against two high caliber and physically imposing players, not sure what else we could ask of him.

 

[mhuml32]

This game should make for an interesting film session. Was there a single positive?

Only 3 turnovers and 10 offensive boards.

 

[TCTORNADO]

Regarding the game, Haas is NBA in my opinion. He is big and has enough game to make a roster and possibly play significantly. Maverick did an admirable job playing against both Haas and Swanigan. He fought against two high caliber and physically imposing players, not sure what else we could ask of him.

24 pts in 22 minutes for Haas. Maybe next time we might want to try to double him. What a novel concept.

 

[Sir Dunk A Lot]

Hill can complain and say he needs to take over all he wants... that is part of the problem. It is a team game, and they do not play as a team. Defense is a team game, not one on one also. They need to learn to help each other, but Hill is stuck in Rayvonte mode where he tries to do too much, and I am tired of watching it. Hill is not the player that he and some of the people on here think he is... he is selfish and takes a lot of forced shots, and that falls on him and Groce.

Hard to find something positive when you expect to get beat by 20+ on the road. I'm guessing Michigan beats us on the road by 10+.

 

[Calvin]

Last year around this time I predicted we would be just as bad this year as we were last year. Then after season was over I convinced myself they would be better with the addition of Black, Thorne, Tracy and Lucas. Unfortunately none of these people have the athleticism, driving or post game skills to make a difference. I don't know why we have gone South so bad in the Big Ten but it is truly depressing to be an Illini fan these days. Another year of no tournament and the start of another rebuild.

I did something similar. I got a LOT of flak for saying our main weaknesses had not been addressed, and was not a believer in the coach or his scheme. By far the dominant view was that I was being terribly negative and not appreciating how the injuries were the problem. On balance, being negative on these boards makes you a pariah, even when you can defend your position with specifics.

My one and only hope for this game was that we demonstrated some fight --get 50-50 balls, play defense, don't get disorganized just because you're getting beat, stick with Lucas because he's the best long term solution and can run an offense. Have some identity.

You saw what happened. Purdue stomped on our throats, and the outcome was never in doubt. They shot well at the start, but I don't think it really mattered much. Playing through adversity is what makes teams worth watching, and I just don't see much toughness facing adversity over several seasons now. That goes right to the head coach.

 

[The Dave]

I don't know why we have gone South so bad in the Big Ten but it is truly depressing to be an Illini fan these days. Another year of no tournament and the start of another rebuild.

Well, besides the complete lack of defense, watch the offense.

First off, I have no idea what is supposed to be accomplished by the PG passing to a forward at the top of the key who then immediately hands the ball back to the PG. The forward then does "whatever".

Then watch when (if) they actually get in to their "offense". It is literally 1 guy dribbling the ball, 1 guy posting up, and 3 guys just kind of randomly running around. IF a screen is set, it is usually pretty weak and fails to open someone up. The literally look like their just running around and hoping the defense will get confused and someone will be magically open.

That's why we get in to so many late shot-clock ISO/hero-ball situations. Occasionally they try to set high screens for MH but if the defense switches they just pull it back out. There's no pick and roll, no real effort to get someone open. It looks like a grade school team offense out there.

 

[tpbradley]

What the heck happened to this guy? He looks so fast in the highlights. Was it the injury?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdwTHVYHikw

 

[zpfled]

Forget the tourney: If we can't go .500 in these last 12 games, then the only way I see Whitman NOT firing Groce, is if there is literally nobody available on the job market to replace him with. That, and the 2017 recruits publicly voicing how furious they are with firing him.

I'm not so sure that an upturned broom with a bucket for a head wouldn't be a better choice for in game coaching.

 

[3 point girl]

Lack of heart is evident in watching this team play. That comes down on the head coach. Groce is sure enough a nice guy, but his time has run out. He has to be held accountable for the things he can control, such as playing time, offensive sets, substitutions,effort etc. We cannot simply settle for another "rising coach". We need someone with "presence" and in game coaching skills to come in & hold our recruits while making the program relevant again.

 

[BananaShampoo]

I feel really bad for Abrams and the Seniors right now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this will likely be the first group of Seniors at Illinois not to have played in the NCAA tourney since 1980, and I don't think it's really their fault.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

I feel really bad for Abrams and the Seniors right now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this will likely be the first group of Seniors at Illinois not to have played in the NCAA tourney since 1980, and I don't think it's really their fault.

Well, Abrams played in an NCAA tournament. It's Hill, Mav and Tate that are staring down a four-year career with no tourney.

That is not an inevitable outcome yet. Not by a longshot. But early returns are not good.

 

[illini8507]

Was out of the house last night, so didn't get to see any of it. I did record it, so my question is is there anything on that recording worth watching at all, or should I just delete it and move on? I'm not a fair weather fan by any means, but I'm tired of seeing the same thing every game, it's making me apathetic.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

Was out of the house last night, so didn't get to see any of it. I did record it, so my question is is there anything on that recording worth watching at all, or should I just delete it and move on? I'm not a fair weather fan by any means, but I'm tired of seeing the same thing every game, it's making me apathetic.

It's a rerun of a show you've already seen, put it that way.

 

[Illini B-Ball Fan]

24 pts in 22 minutes for Haas. Maybe next time we might want to try to double him. What a novel concept.

We did some last night with no success. BTW, The Red Lion has some raving Yelp reviews.

 

[OrangeKrus28]

This is absolutely true. I'm 37 years old, a life long die hard fan. I remember my friends and I on the walkman listening to Illinois on the bus coming home from our games. My son is 12, loves basketball but has no interest in Illinois at all, no matter how much I try and force it on him LOL. He walked by last night, casually looked at the TV in passing and said, "How bad is Illinois getting beat tonight". Its sad. My wife used to get so mad at me for getting upset with losses and throwing fits, now it's just like....whatever, i expected it. I hate this. I just want to be relevant again....

I've been watching since 1999-2000. The Illini were the reason I got into college basketball and still love college basketball to this day. I needed to find a substitute for the horrible Bulls after MJ retired and the Illini were that and they became my favorite team to root for of any sports franchise. But, like you, I used to treat every game like life or death and would get so nervous watching all of the close games, up to about 2-3 years ago. But lately, I have become more used to seeing them lose and seeing them lose by large margins. It is almost like we have come to accept that our school is like Georgia or Alabama in terms of basketball relevancy these days. It is a sad state indeed. But, I still watch all the games in hopes that they get things turned around.

 

[skibdaddy]

A few things have me concerned:

2. I cannot pinpoint an identity for this team. Is it defense? No. Is it run'n'gun? No. Is it a 3 pt. team? Maybe at times but not consistently enough. As we all know, you can live by the 3 and die by the 3.

I got our identity for ya... We are a low % 2pt jump shooting team that doesn't play defense.

Conversely Purdue is a decent defensive team with the obvious offensive concepts of a. Share the ball, b. Get the ball to enormous guys as close to the basket, and c. When that doesn't work, kick it out for wide open 3's.

this game was just further proof that our personnel/system is completely inadequate to compete in the B1G right now.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

I got our identity for ya... We are a low % 2pt jump shooting team that doesn't play defense.

Pretty accurate.

 

[Calvin]

Was out of the house last night, so didn't get to see any of it. I did record it, so my question is is there anything on that recording worth watching at all, or should I just delete it and move on? I'm not a fair weather fan by any means, but I'm tired of seeing the same thing every game, it's making me apathetic.

Purdue was worth watching, assuming you like watching good bball. Swanigan is fun to watch all by himself. 10 boards and 22 points in 29 minutes.

If Illinois is your thing, than I'd just move along --there wasn't much there to enjoy.

 

[Illiniguy13]

Dockich just asked a question during the scUM vs Wisc game. Rutgers is the worst team in the B!G. Which team is the second worse? He nominated OSU and Illinois....ouch.

I like to think we are better than somebody beyond Rutgers.
OSU, PSU, Neb, Iowa maybe but it is a scary question

At this point we are better than Rutgers, OSU, Michigan and maybe PSU/Iowa but not by much. It's no bueno.

 

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

Was out of the house last night, so didn't get to see any of it. I did record it, so my question is is there anything on that recording worth watching at all, or should I just delete it and move on? I'm not a fair weather fan by any means, but I'm tired of seeing the same thing every game, it's making me apathetic.

Mav had some nice moments scoring in the post, really has impressed me this season after a shaky start. Other than that, delete it.