DeonThomas
- South Carolina
I like hearing this from a trusted source. TY
Illinois 71, Jackson State 47 Postgame
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
BBVs play yesterday makes me feel much better about the giant hole Kofi leaves in the lineup at Center next season.
Hope you are right but Plummer and Payne haven’t been impressive to me. In a game with Kofi out, BBV has more minutes than Payne. Plum played a lot of minutes but we were three guards down. He did make some plays at the end but think the majority of minutes will be the three that didn’t play.
Missed this when going over the box score this AM. Mikey likey!
He can thank Young on JSU for making 4 straight rainbow 3s in the second half. They looked like prayers and all were answered.Wheres the guy that took Jackson State +26. Had it locked down
I thought Grandison looked way more athletic out there yesterday than he ever did last year from a speed/quickness standpoint. I know we threw him some lobs last year too. Maybe it was him being more aggressive and decisive in a different role yesterday, and having a year of experience with the team already. I'm not sure but he looked way better to me.
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
I'd like to see it vs. big ten opponents before I believe it.
BBV actually played impactful minutes in the big ten tournament. Pull some of the highlight clips and you should see him go. He can be a solid role player for us
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Any sort of positive play from him is encouraging, I wasn't expecting much of anything and was pleasantly surprised by his passing and rebounding.
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
He played 3 minutes against Rutgers and 3 minutes against Iowa and did not score. Am I missing something?
I want the guy to succeed, but I don't think he has yet proven he is any sort of solution for the hole that Kofi leaves., which is what I was responding to. I hope we can see that this year. Role player would be great, but we need more than that coming from somewhere.
Plummer is going to have to play a fair amount of minutes. We have very little depth at guard.
The game of basketball isn't limited to scoring. He was impactful on defense and had a presence overall during the tournament. He was not sent in those games to prioritize scoring. It was to play defense and have a presence. He did that.
Game went just about the way I expected, CH was pretty aggressive which we didn't get to see a lot of last year....BBV was good...Payne can jump.....Goode will be Good....but the one thing that really sticks in my mind, is when DW puts arm around Plummer when he doesn't get on the floor for a loose ball....would love to have had DW miked up for that little conversation....DW is not a point guard but he is a leader
KBLEE
- Montgomery, IL
Loyalillini10
- Urbana, IL
Life is interesting, isn’t it? We all watched the same game and yet saw such different things. This is what I saw:
We were down our starting center and top 3 ball handlers and yet the game was never in question. Our defense was great and that led to some great opportunities on offense.
We had 19 turnovers. Not great (at all) but this was expected because we were playing without a PG.
I saw that we do, indeed, have great depth. I really liked what I saw from our players last night. Omar Payne is a rim protector and a great athlete. He may not score a ton, but that doesn’t mean he won’t impact the game positively. Hawk is very athletic and his ceiling is extremely high. That block at the 3 pt line and saving it in bounds…wow. Really, really happy for BBV. He crashed the glass; would like to see him convert those offensive rebounds, but I am not that mad at him. That dude is STACKED. I swear his shoulders get broader every time I see him. Da’Monte did a very respectable job had handling the PG position. Plummer outside shot will fall, but he impacted the game in other ways. Glad we got him. Grandison looked like a veteran. Goode and Melendez had some good minutes and Podz has a nice stroke. I think his shots will start falling, as well.
I was there and had a blast watching the game. I disagree with those who thought that was “unwatchable.” Great start to the year. Go Illini!
We were down our starting center and top 3 ball handlers and yet the game was never in question. Our defense was great and that led to some great opportunities on offense.
We had 19 turnovers. Not great (at all) but this was expected because we were playing without a PG.
I saw that we do, indeed, have great depth. I really liked what I saw from our players last night. Omar Payne is a rim protector and a great athlete. He may not score a ton, but that doesn’t mean he won’t impact the game positively. Hawk is very athletic and his ceiling is extremely high. That block at the 3 pt line and saving it in bounds…wow. Really, really happy for BBV. He crashed the glass; would like to see him convert those offensive rebounds, but I am not that mad at him. That dude is STACKED. I swear his shoulders get broader every time I see him. Da’Monte did a very respectable job had handling the PG position. Plummer outside shot will fall, but he impacted the game in other ways. Glad we got him. Grandison looked like a veteran. Goode and Melendez had some good minutes and Podz has a nice stroke. I think his shots will start falling, as well.
I was there and had a blast watching the game. I disagree with those who thought that was “unwatchable.” Great start to the year. Go Illini!
I saw growth in Hawkins, but also a long way to go to fulfill his potential.
Plummer will not be relied upon to create his own shot. he's a pass and shoot guy only.
BBV - I see this more as an outlier for now. I don't doubt he has improved and can be a solid breather for the team once in a while, but he was just a larger, more physical person than the Jackson state had and thus was able to succeed. I don't think I'm ready yet to say he has lots of promise and lots of upside as we did when he came in as a freshman during exhibition and dubbed him the next heir apparent.
Podz - I think he is further away than we think, especially when compared to Goode and Melendez which is funny given how scared everyone was about him decommitting when we lost Chin. I still think he could be a good player. I love that he was identified as the one with the biggest chip on his shoulder. I hope he turns into a Lucas Johnson type for us that is scrappy, energetic, and can drain an outside shot once in a while.
Loyalillini10
- Urbana, IL
To your point about BBV: I have news for you, he is going to be larger and more physical than most people on most teams.
I think some people aren’t giving Jackson Stare enough credit. They were undefeated in their conference regular season last year and were ranked 5th in the nation in defensive efficiency.
They’re a solid, well-coached team with a strong defensive identity. Easily the best low-major we play this year and the exact kind of team that could bite a higher-ranked team playing without its primary ball handlers.
They’re a solid, well-coached team with a strong defensive identity. Easily the best low-major we play this year and the exact kind of team that could bite a higher-ranked team playing without its primary ball handlers.
I think this is a big undersell on Podz. Nothing against Lucas Johnson.
Glad we were able to win comfortably with no PG.
Both the biggest plus and concern to me, was I wanted to see how we would respond to an athletic, physical big down low without Kofi.
BBV was the obvious plus. Their kid got his double double but he really had to work for it. And you can tell he’s used to bullying his way to the basket down low but he absolutely couldn’t get BBV to budge. That to me was even more significant than the rebounding numbers. Once the game slows down a little bit for him I think he can be a real asset for us as a physical 4/5 who can also stretch the floor. A piece we’ve been missing.
Concern obviously is Payne. Should have been his game to dominate but BBV got more minutes. Need to look n further than rebounding numbers to see why. Still looks like he’s thinking out there vs reacting. And I hope BU can instill a rebounding mindset because there’s no reason he shouldn’t have dominated the boards last night. Still hopeful the lightbulb comes on like Grandi last year but at this point he’s looking like a downgrade from Giorgi, where I was penciling him as an upgrade.
Other than that CH and Grandi looked great. Freshmen looked solid. Some clunky moments but to be expected. Hope we have more guys back for Friday!
Both the biggest plus and concern to me, was I wanted to see how we would respond to an athletic, physical big down low without Kofi.
BBV was the obvious plus. Their kid got his double double but he really had to work for it. And you can tell he’s used to bullying his way to the basket down low but he absolutely couldn’t get BBV to budge. That to me was even more significant than the rebounding numbers. Once the game slows down a little bit for him I think he can be a real asset for us as a physical 4/5 who can also stretch the floor. A piece we’ve been missing.
Concern obviously is Payne. Should have been his game to dominate but BBV got more minutes. Need to look n further than rebounding numbers to see why. Still looks like he’s thinking out there vs reacting. And I hope BU can instill a rebounding mindset because there’s no reason he shouldn’t have dominated the boards last night. Still hopeful the lightbulb comes on like Grandi last year but at this point he’s looking like a downgrade from Giorgi, where I was penciling him as an upgrade.
Other than that CH and Grandi looked great. Freshmen looked solid. Some clunky moments but to be expected. Hope we have more guys back for Friday!
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Agree with the defensive part but (at this stage of the season) they're the 2nd lowest KenPom rating we face this year.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Come on now, in a game like this there is only one real aspect we should be evaluating...effort.
They brought it.
Trying to make specific assumptions or be "impressed" or "unimpressed" by a couple of players based on this tiny, introductory snapshot is silly.
Out of position, basically zero practice time with almost every lineup we saw on the floor, no true PG, and significant freshman minutes.
Listen to BU's postgame and trust what he says about these guys. They played their butts off in a weird scenario in the first game of the season.
BU's praise of all of them was warranted. Every one of them will benefit from this experience and by virtue of that make us a better, stronger, and deeper team.
Complete buy in. Winners.
We saw it last year when Ayo went down too. Take the "it's Jackson St." and set it aside for a minute and really appreciate what this coaching staff is doing.
They brought it.
Trying to make specific assumptions or be "impressed" or "unimpressed" by a couple of players based on this tiny, introductory snapshot is silly.
Out of position, basically zero practice time with almost every lineup we saw on the floor, no true PG, and significant freshman minutes.
Listen to BU's postgame and trust what he says about these guys. They played their butts off in a weird scenario in the first game of the season.
BU's praise of all of them was warranted. Every one of them will benefit from this experience and by virtue of that make us a better, stronger, and deeper team.
Complete buy in. Winners.
We saw it last year when Ayo went down too. Take the "it's Jackson St." and set it aside for a minute and really appreciate what this coaching staff is doing.
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
I played myself so I can appreciate that there is more than scoring. Rutgers was mop up time, and consisted of a missed shot, a turnover, and 2 rebounds. Against Iowa he literally had no stats. Not that we would expect much from six minutes, but he didn't prove much either. My whole point is jury is still out on being a material contributor during crunch time against high end competition. Maybe he's already proven he can fill minutes here and there. FWIW, he's been the one guy I've wanted to succeed, so I am hoping for the best.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
After last night’s game, I wouldn’t be surprised to see minutes at the 5 distributed:
Kofi - 28
Omar - 6
Hawkins - 3 (+ his minutes at the 4)
BBV - 3
Unless Omar really improves throughout the season, I don’t see him getting a lot of minutes.
Kofi - 28
Omar - 6
Hawkins - 3 (+ his minutes at the 4)
BBV - 3
Unless Omar really improves throughout the season, I don’t see him getting a lot of minutes.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Well, we usually start six, including two point guards: Bad Belo and Good Belo. Am confident that those two personalities will fuse during November.
