Great game. This team is playing like they can beat anyone right now. Still have a few more to go before we can claim any kind of success for the season but it sure feels good in the moment.
Lucas has made such a difference on Offense and he totally shut off Watson defensively. He by next year is one of the better point guards in the league. The difference he has made is huge
I don't know if anyone else has noticed. But our defense of resurgence I believe is due to not allowing opposing point guards to Drive as much as they were. You have to believe it's TJL's ability to play quicker defense. I didn't think he would make that much of a difference but I think our current results tell the story.
Agree - plus we're picking up past the three point line and hedging and recovering from the high picks MUCH better. Instead of Mav sinking 6 feet back off of the pick - they are pushing the dribbler away from the rim, not switching and then the big guy recovers back.. Kudos to the coaches for finally getting that fixed.
TJL is giving alot of guys pressure.
I'm as excited about TJL as you, but this is a leap. I think by his Junior year he'll be one of the better point guards. R
I'm as excited about TJL as you, but this is a leap. I think by his Junior year he'll be one of the better point guards. R
I think at the end he will be seen as one of the best, ever, to wear the orange and blue.
Well I think by the end of his career he will be the greatest point guard ever to play the game of basketball in the whole wide world!!!
Hill is now our 3rd most important player. It's almost as if the team knew all year who should be getting minutes and now that they're getting minutes, the usuals are playing harder and with a sense of resurgence.
+1. Mav has looked much better on defense. Bodying up better, poking out inlet passes, blocking shots. He is playing SO much better.
+1. Mav has looked much better on defense. Bodying up better, poking out inlet passes, blocking shots. He is playing SO much better.
Would you say he's.....blue collar?
Now I look back and think that first season on campus should have been redshirted. To bad that year we needed every body possible and redshirt wasn't an option.Mav is one bad dude on the court when he wants to be.
Now I look back and think that first season on campus should have been redshirted. To bad that year we needed every body possible and redshirt wasn't an option.
Hill is now our 3rd most important player. It's almost as if the team knew all year who should be getting minutes and now that they're getting minutes, the usuals are playing harder and with a sense of resurgence.
No, you take Hill out and this offense sputters. His help defense and general leadership can't be understated. TJL has changed the team, but Malcolm Hill is still the engine that makes us go. I know he's the old guy on the squad and it's easy to forget him, but he hasn't put up under 10 points in a game since WVU and is averaging 17/6/3 on 44/35/79. He's remarkably consistent, plays hard, and is a model Illini. Going into senior night, we should not be forgetting what he's put into this program.
Whoever said TJL will be our best pg ever never watched Bruce Douglas, Kiwane Garris or Frank Williams, along with Deron Williams.
Derek Harper
Derek Harper
Agreed. Hill is still the best player on the team. He can frustrate me at times because of my own high expectations of him but he is still clearly the best player. It is easy to look at others who have come on recently and are important to our recent success and overlook Hill because he is so consistent. I like the potential of the young guys as much as the next person but Hill is still the leader and the best.
I don't know if anyone else has noticed. But our defense of resurgence I believe is due to not allowing opposing point guards to Drive as much as they were. You have to believe it's TJL's ability to play quicker defense. I didn't think he would make that much of a difference but I think our current results tell the story.