Pregame: Illinois vs Wisconsin, Wednesday, February 2nd, 8:00pm CT, BTN

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#301      
If we win Wednesday night, I expect JW to have the lifetime contract signed and waiting for Brad at halfcourt. If we lose, it can wait for Thursday brunch.
I also expect a subsequent ritual sacrifice of a lamb across St. Mary's Road in South Farms afterward as a gesture of thanksgiving. Someone can shovel a path over there from the AH late in the second half.

[EDIT: On second thought, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It can wait until after we beat Purdue. They have an ag school and I'm sure the whole thing can transpire and the guys get on their way to The Beef House in Covington before any Purdue partisans are the wiser.]
 
#303      
I don't recall posting any statistics. I simply said that he has taken some horrible shots. No one is denying his talent. But, we do have Kofi, Trent, and Plummer to take big shots at the end of games.
Statistics are a great way to determine if your thesis can be supported. So long as he’s not chucking threes, Belo is a higher percentage shooter than Trent or Plummer - statistically speaking - even with his “horrible shots” factored in. Those are the facts.

Agreed that Kofi is the best option, but defenses are often collapsed on him, especially on critical possessions.
 
#304      
Belo, pretty much did the same things that he is being criticized for, last season. If that drives you nuts, there may be a psychologist out there that can help you. Hopefully, you will come out of your denial.
Lovely. The post that you were agreeing with starts off with the idea that in every game Belo plays we lose. Last year he played in all 31 games and we were 24-7. Next, it said the team looks confused and tentative when he's out there. First, was that the case last season? Second, was that the case against Purdue, the only game he has played this season where he was actually healthy? The answer to both those questions is no.

The post goes on to say he turns it over a lot. In Belo's last 8 games last season, a stretch that included 4 top 10 teams, he turned the ball over 14 times and had 29 assists. He averaged 1.7 turnovers to 3.6 assists for an a/t of 2.1. That's phenomenal for a freshman, especially against that level of competition.

Then the post brings up Belo's shooting. Last season he shot 49.8% from the field and 55.3% from 2. In the only game he was healthy in this season he shot 53.3% from the field. Again, that's extremely good.

Finally, the post goes into the offense stagnating when he's in. Did that happen last season? Not at all. Did it happen in the Purdue game? Nope. The offense desperately needed him that entire game. Know what else? Andre has barely practiced this whole season. He missed 2 months post-concussion. He practiced two days before the Purdue game. He practiced 3 days before the Maryland game. He's practiced 2 days before tomorrow's game. That's it.

Andre Curbelo tried to play through a serious injury and sickness. Instead of applauding our guy for desperately trying to help his team, people are taking those games as what he's capable of. Your memory is faulty. Recency bias is a hell of a thing.
 
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#306      
Lovely. The post that you were agreeing with starts off with the idea that in every game Belo plays we lose. Last year he played in all 31 games and we were 24-7. Next, it said the team looks confused and tentative when he's out there. First, was that the case last season? Second, was that the case against Purdue, the only game he has played this season where he was actually healthy? The answer to both those questions is no.

The post goes on to say he turns it over a lot. In Belo's last 8 games last season, a stretch that included 4 top 10 teams, he turned the ball over 14 times and had 29 assists. He averaged 1.7 turnovers to 3.6 assists for an a/t of 2.1. That's phenomenal for a freshman, especially against that level of competition.

Then the post brings up Belo's shooting. Last season he shot 49.8% from the field and 55.3% from 2. In the only game he was healthy in this season he shot 53.3% from the field. Again, that's extremely good.

Finally, the post goes into the offense stagnating when he's in. Did that happen last season? Not at all. Did it happen in the Purdue game? Nope. The offense desperately needed him that entire game. Know what else? Andre has barely practiced this whole season. He missed 2 months post-concussion. He practiced two days before the Purdue game. He practiced 3 days before the Maryland game. He's practiced 2 days before tomorrow's game. That's it.

Andre Curbelo tried to play through a serious injury and sickness. Instead of applauding our guy for desperately trying to help his team, people are taking those games as what he's capable of. Your memory is faulty. Recency bias is a hell of a thing.
You, my friend, are fighting a noble fight. And doing so eloquently, I might add…
 
#307      
This is just driving me nuts. I'm gonna try to break this down step by step. Belo got a concussion in the first preseason game. He suffered from the concussion and then post-concussion syndrome. Yes, he tried to play through his issues after missing two games. Unfortunately, and quite obviously, he was still very hurt and unable to play like his usual self. During the games in question (Marquette, Cincy, and K-State), his erratic play was due to his injury. He was suffering so much during those games that he had trainers checking on his head while he was on the bench. He also literally had to have a towel over his head to block out light.

Following those games, he was deemed too injured to participate in any team activities. Not only did he miss two months of games, but he also missed two months of practice. The fact that he didn't play for two months following those early-season games shows just how injured Belo was. I mean, we know for a fact that he had to see a specialist about it.

Once he finally cleared concussion protocol he practiced for two days before he played in the Purdue game. In that game against a top 4 team, he shot 53.3% from the field, scored 20 points, 6 rebs, 3 assists, with no turnovers.

Then, unfortunately, he gets sick. He tries to play through it against Maryland, but isn't able to. He only plays 14 minutes and struggles. He then is forced to miss the following two games due to that sickness.

Thus far this season Belo has had 1 game where he was healthy. In that game, he puts up a hell of a performance that directly contradicts everything in D43's post. Do you know what else directly contradicts everything in that post? Quite literally everything we saw from Belo in the second half of last season. Trying to extrapolate anything from the games where Belo was injured/sick is extremely foolish, it does a disservice to the player, and is an extremely bad look for the community at large. Be better.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^All of this, bravo. Belo causes so many issues for other teams, and takes a good deal of pressure off of Trent.
 
#310      
Despite some posters misinformed posts, "Curbelo is back" is the very last thing the Wisconsin Badgers wanted to hear. Not to mention every other team in The B1G.
 

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#311      
katew01.jpg

just wanted to let everyone here know I have become an Illini fanatic ....i started texting back and forth with pruman91 and he convinced me to become an Illini fan .....I can't get enough of the Illini and pruman91 ......I really really can't .......................................
 
#314      
View attachment 14869

just wanted to let everyone here know I have become an Illini fanatic ....i started texting back and forth with pruman91 and he convinced me to become an Illini fan .....I can't get enough of the Illini and pruman91 ......I really really can't .......................................
She’s got more lift than DMW on his last minute Wildcat defeating dunk…. Yay us!!
 
#318      
This is just driving me nuts. I'm gonna try to break this down step by step. Belo got a concussion in the first preseason game. He suffered from the concussion and then post-concussion syndrome. Yes, he tried to play through his issues after missing two games. Unfortunately, and quite obviously, he was still very hurt and unable to play like his usual self. During the games in question (Marquette, Cincy, and K-State), his erratic play was due to his injury. He was suffering so much during those games that he had trainers checking on his head while he was on the bench. He also literally had to have a towel over his head to block out light.

Following those games, he was deemed too injured to participate in any team activities. Not only did he miss two months of games, but he also missed two months of practice. The fact that he didn't play for two months following those early-season games shows just how injured Belo was. I mean, we know for a fact that he had to see a specialist about it.

Once he finally cleared concussion protocol he practiced for two days before he played in the Purdue game. In that game against a top 4 team, he shot 53.3% from the field, scored 20 points, 6 rebs, 3 assists, with no turnovers.

Then, unfortunately, he gets sick. He tries to play through it against Maryland, but isn't able to. He only plays 14 minutes and struggles. He then is forced to miss the following two games due to that sickness.

Thus far this season Belo has had 1 game where he was healthy. In that game, he puts up a hell of a performance that directly contradicts everything in D43's post. Do you know what else directly contradicts everything in that post? Quite literally everything we saw from Belo in the second half of last season. Trying to extrapolate anything from the games where Belo was injured/sick is extremely foolish, it does a disservice to the player, and is an extremely bad look for the community at large. Be better.
Ken Jeong Mic Drop GIF by The Masked Singer
 
#319      
From a long-term perspective, Curbelo is not only one of our two best players. He's our best player. An absloute wizard with the ball who has Steve Nash-like handles and court vision. I expect him eventually to be an NBA All-Star.
LOL
 
#321      
I love how well the Illlini have handled Wisky lately. During my fandom (since Kiwanne) they have always seemed like an annoying match-up.
 
#322      
Can we just agree that having curbelo back should mean fewer minutes for williams? Stats don’t lie. 29% fg which is not 3 pt % which actually helps his fg %.
 
#323      
Can we just agree that having curbelo back should mean fewer minutes for williams? Stats don’t lie. 29% fg which is not 3 pt % which actually helps his fg %.
I am far more worried about getting less minutes for Frazier. Williams can not score a point and he helps the team. Trent needs to be a scorer also, and I am afraid playing him 40 minutes per game is wearing him out. We will need a jump shot from him in many end of game situations and that is tough to do if your legs are gassed.
 
#324      
Can we just agree that having curbelo back should mean fewer minutes for williams? Stats don’t lie. 29% fg which is not 3 pt % which actually helps his fg %.

I think there are many possibilities. I would hate to be in BU's shoes right now. It's tough to be experimenting with your lineups in the middle of a championship race and in the middle of the toughest stretch of the season. So many questions that need answered....

-Belo, Trent, and Plummer are our best offensive lineup but does it hurt us defensively or on the boards?
-When Kofi has the ball do teams sag off of Belo? Can he make them pay if they do?
-Does anyone play signifcantly better with Belo than without? I'm thinking Omar and Hawkins might be more dangerous in the pnr game with Belo.
-Who gets the ball in crunch time? Trent or Belo? If it's Trent, then should Belo even be on the floor in those moments with his lack of outside shooting?

This might sound crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Plummer's time decrease. He seems like the biggest liability defensively. Luckily the B1G doesn't really have any scary, loaded backcourts this year so we have been able to hide him on the worst opposing guard. So instead of him getting 35 mpg I could see him getting 25 and being a big spark to the offense when we hit our inevitable lulls. Theoretically, a lineup with 2 All-Americans plus Trent Frazier shouldn't need a lot of extra help offensively.
 
#325      
I think there are many possibilities. I would hate to be in BU's shoes right now. It's tough to be experimenting with your lineups in the middle of a championship race and in the middle of the toughest stretch of the season. So many questions that need answered....

-Belo, Trent, and Plummer are our best offensive lineup but does it hurt us defensively or on the boards?
-When Kofi has the ball do teams sag off of Belo? Can he make them pay if they do?
-Does anyone play signifcantly better with Belo than without? I'm thinking Omar and Hawkins might be more dangerous in the pnr game with Belo.
-Who gets the ball in crunch time? Trent or Belo? If it's Trent, then should Belo even be on the floor in those moments with his lack of outside shooting?

This might sound crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Plummer's time decrease. He seems like the biggest liability defensively. Luckily the B1G doesn't really have any scary, loaded backcourts this year so we have been able to hide him on the worst opposing guard. So instead of him getting 35 mpg I could see him getting 25 and being a big spark to the offense when we hit our inevitable lulls. Theoretically, a lineup with 2 All-Americans plus Trent Frazier shouldn't need a lot of extra help offensively.
#goodproblems
 
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