I'm wondering if having the B10 tournament later than the other conferences is the reason for our poor performances in the NCAA tournament. Playing all the games back to back and then barely having any rest before the National tournament. Then having to play those games right after didn't allow our teams any rest compared to other conferences that had a week rest up prior. Just wondering if that could be possible.
Looking ahead to 2021-2022
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DaMonte was great defensively for this team and much appreciated for staying and helping build the culture and turn this team around. However, he was a liability offensively and really was unable to be a threat like he was needed to be! That hurt us big time. You could see the huge difference it made when he produced offensively for the team. We need scoring and defense from every position. Or else teams have an extra defender to double with and help out with no worry of getting burned.
The best 3 point shooter in the country is an offensive liability? Teams literally stopped helping off him and when they did he knocked those shots down.
Could he have been better off the dribble? Absolutely. But when teams won’t help off you, playing 4 on 4 is advantage offense.
Deleted member 747903
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I’d modify this to say Damonte was the best catch and shoot with feet set three point shooter in the country.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Agree; he would be lethal. However, he has a sweet, mid-range, pull-up jumper and, because he is so quick and opportunistic about splitting defenses, has ample chances to take it. He also can get to the rack and score even with the tall trees down there. Because of that, I'm less concerned about his threes. I'm sure he'll work on shooting a great deal in the off-season.
He averaged 9 ppg for us this year, and IIRC his production didn't really ramp up until late in the season. If he starts next season that number will be up around 12-13. John Stockton averaged 13 ppg for his entire career. I have no worries about Belo. I was amazed at how his game matured in late Feb. and March.
EDIT: Only 4 assists per game for Belo this past season; will be interested to see what that number looks like next February. He has consistent double-double potential. Seriously, I'm a giddy schoolgirl thinking about his potential next season.
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Grandison?
Had a great shot from 3... indeed he did... this year. However how many points did he average a game this season? 5.5 points a game... scored 2 against loyola... zero in many games this year... so again... offensively a liability...
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Fair point; however, consistent, lock-down defense like he played is offense, if you know what I mean. So ppg doesn't tell the complete story about his contributions over his career with us.
I think the main point is that the 'Best 3 pt shooter in the country' while technically correct, is a bit misleading because he barely ever shot. He was still passing up wide open 3s late into this season.
I agree, the B10 teams pound each other all season then they have a 5 day sprint for the B10 Tourney? No time to recover.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to watch the B10 Tourny, but let’s face it, the only purpose it serves is to generate more $$$$. Maybe they should be like other conferences and start the week earlier to get more time off.
Don't the other big conferences have the same format and schedule?
The Big Ten gets a lot of basketball-starved viewers by being the last tournament. That's big money to the networks, and big exposure for our programs. I doubt they give that up.
Maybe we could just decide how many conference games we want to play, and base the title on winning percentage instead of conference standings? That should leave us well rested.
I have mixed feelings about the big10 tourney. Remember when we didn't have one? It was an excuse back then that big10 teams weren't ready for the NCAA tourney because we didn't have one. Valid points on both sides. This year I think playing 3 games in 3 days might have hurt us going in. We wanted to make a statement with the winning our tournament and did. We have to have a team built to get through our conference but does it always translate well? We did play Baylor early in the season I really felt towards the end of the season we could beat them, maybe we would loose 7-10 games to them? Duke wasn't Duke of old , Missouri's,,such a different game. Seems like lesser talented team usually ends up winning. Our play without Ayo really surprised me when he was out. I thought it showed how deep we were. Sorry for the long post, really thought as others things were set up for us this year.
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I don't buy the B1G tournament playing much of a factor. Maybe for OSU who played the most games, and lost their starting PF/C. Outside of that, there were 5 days between the B1G championship and the first round AND no travel. You should be able to get enough rest in that time. I really think it was matchups, and no B1G team outside of Illinois and Michigan were in that "contender" category.
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Looking ahead to 2021:
Our starting lineup:
Curbelo
Miller
Hutcherson (Burnett or other transfer/recruit maybe?)
Grandison (Hawkins soph leap or more size without Kofi?)
Giorgi (Kofi if he returns)
We're a tournament team or better. If we don't make the tourney, then some interesting questions come up.
Our starting lineup:
Curbelo
Miller
Hutcherson (Burnett or other transfer/recruit maybe?)
Grandison (Hawkins soph leap or more size without Kofi?)
Giorgi (Kofi if he returns)
We're a tournament team or better. If we don't make the tourney, then some interesting questions come up.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
OK; I don't have a view on "Best 3-pt shooter." IIRC he shot a great deal more early in the season before others stepped up, but perhaps I'm not remembering that correctly. It seems not to matter that he passed up shots given the efficiency of our offense throughout the season. I didn't pay close attention to the stats but Trent and Ace seemed to be able to shoot threes fairly well, too. Many more of them than DMW and at a fairly decent 30-ish% clip. My focus is simply that DMW's D created a lot of O for us during his time on the floor, and was the marginal difference in the Illini winning certain games.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
DMW did shoot less at the end of the year, BUT the 3's he shot and MADE were very big , often tying or giving us the lead......DMW and trent will be missed big time and hard to replace......
Much of our success for next year will depend on the growth of the 3 returning freshmen and what we add as far as recruits and transfers....\
Wow,.....next year....sure hurts to think and even type next year....
Whitmans Sampler
- Eastern Iowa
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Is there a scholarship limit next year or is it similar to football with super seniors not counting?
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I feel your pain, my friend. The past exists only to inform our choices about how to live now and in the future. The absence of defense negates one's own offense.
Embrace expectation amidst the renewal of life bursting forth from the springtime soil. (I had to maneuver that AH emoji so it looks as as though Kane is wearing it as a skull cap.)
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Agreed! His role was very much needed and he made a huge impact on this team and its culture! I'm definitely not trying to diminish what he did! We definitely needed him! I was just saying when he gave us offense you could see a huge difference and when he didn't you could see it as well. Which made him an offensive liability in my opinion. And we needed both to be successful in the NCAA tournament and against better teams that we aren't familiar with.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
The future for all involved this year will bind them together as a " Space in Time ; (reference to one of my fav bands , Ten Years After ) and only enhance their bond as family .....may they share in life what they shared on the court and in practice........JOY.................
Deleted member 747840
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That team (minus the parentheticals) really seems like a wrong side of the bubble type team to me.
That being said, I would be shocked if we dont add at least three more pieces that'll contribute next year. I believe, if Kofi does not return, we start at least 2 new comers next year.
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