Ole Miss 91, Illinois 74 (Exhibition) Postgame

[Second place is 1st loser]

Things that I think will happen:

1. We will have a poor non-conference record

2. We will finish top 4 in the B1G

3. We will go to the sweet 16

This is Brad’s “Izzo” year. Get challenged, develop, hit our stride in 2025 & be a machine come March…

Go Illini.

I'm sure this is Brad's thought process. We're going to catch our lunch early given the schedule, but by the beginning of January, things should smooth out

That said, the importance of getting Tomi out there immediately can't be stated enough times. If he isn't eligible until the end of the December, that is going to dramatically change the arc of the season.

I hope that they have some insight.

 

[SkyysNotFalling]

It may be true, but the "we'll be better in February than we are in November" cliche is just as played out as any other. We say it literally every year.

@ Ole Miss, Tennessee, N Arkansas, N Mizzou, N Alabama all before Christmas. That’s an Izzo noncon schedule. Duke in February is great for this team.

There’s a reason Izzo’s teams have historically risen to the top in February/March. Because they get challenged in November/December. We very well might start the year something like 7-5 and people will be calling for brads head and they will look reallyyyyyyyy dumb by February. Book it.

 

[STATS GUY]

Good Thing about Freshmen is they become Soph.

It is not about who starts a game but more from who finishes games.

Most teams/years is about the process and putting improvement in place everyday to have the most separation from where you began to the end.

Win each day and 1% gain each day.

Sit back , blame no one, ride the process and you win as a team and lose as a team. Hard work gets rewarded. Not all of us can coach at the BIG TEN level and get a paycheck for very long.

 

[IMPE Legend]

I don't understand anyone having Boswell in the starting lineup based upon that game. He just looked slow and didn't seem to be giving full effort multiple times. (seems like Arizona had a similar opinion of his effort, and he didn't prove them wrong after that game)

Starters based only on what I saw yesterday:

KJ - High potential, but his game looked like it was hurt by everyone else standing around
DGL - Highest energy and active defender. If he doesn't move into the starting lineup after that its a bad message to the rest of the team
Ty- Gets the spot due to how bad everyone else defends
Ivicic - The obvious one. He looked smooth offensively. Just being 7'1 will be enough on the defensive end most nights
? - I didn't see anyone grab this spot clearly. Ben has to make his shots if he wants it. Yesterday he didn't and his defense didn't look great. Tre just looked present. Wasn't impressed at all by anything he did. Riley has potential but a bench role early would likely be the wisest choice. Boswell would make us too small. So of these options I like Ben the most. His skill set would seem to compliment the other 4 the best. This lineup is also how Brad ended the first half. And we looked way better during that stretch than at any other point. Just one game, but some people looked way more locked in than others.

But whoever winds up starting I'm hoping we actually run some type of offense. It looked like a bunch of AAU kids dribbling around and throwing up shots. I know the staff wants to promote a pro style...but NBA teams run sets. If not you look like we did yesterday against a good team.

 

[CoalCity]

LOL oh brother that is some 180 proof, weapons grade spin.

Like, nothing I could ever say could be as negative of a post as "but think about next year" when our 18 year olds got punched in the face in their first game, first game together, on the road, against an older more experienced team that's probably better than them anyway.

And yet it passes for optimism or hype somehow. Bizarre.

Meanwhile on planet earth, this game being a bridge too far at this stage was the most foreseeable thing ever. This year (THIS year) is going to be a process but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

And THEN we will have massive roster turnover and buy a new team that we will be talking ourselves into at this time next year, because BU is BU and CBB in 2024 is CBB in 2024. Trust the process, in case you haven't noticed it's been working.

Really need a thumbs down option

 

[sacraig]

I don't understand anyone having Boswell in the starting lineup based upon that game. He just looked slow and didn't seem to be giving full effort multiple times. (seems like Arizona had a similar opinion of his effort, and he didn't prove them wrong after that game)

Starters based only on what I saw yesterday:

KJ - High potential, but his game looked like it was hurt by everyone else standing around
DGL - Highest energy and active defender. If he doesn't move into the starting lineup after that its a bad message to the rest of the team
Ty- Gets the spot due to how bad everyone else defends
Ivicic - The obvious one. He looked smooth offensively. Just being 7'1 will be enough on the defensive end most nights
? - I didn't see anyone grab this spot clearly. Ben has to make his shots if he wants it. Yesterday he didn't and his defense didn't look great. Tre just looked present. Wasn't impressed at all by anything he did. Riley has potential but a bench role early would likely be the wisest choice. Boswell would make us too small. So of these options I like Ben the most. His skill set would seem to compliment the other 4 the best. This lineup is also how Brad ended the first half. And we looked way better during that stretch than at any other point. Just one game, but some people looked way more locked in than others.

But whoever winds up starting I'm hoping we actually run some type of offense. It looked like a bunch of AAU kids dribbling around and throwing up shots. I know the staff wants to promote a pro style...but NBA teams run sets. If not you look like we did yesterday against a good team.

It's almost like the coaching staff has more than one individual exhibition game worth of data to inform their decisions, or something.

 

[New Creation]

Let's not lose sight....everyone but Humrichous is elgible to return next year. This team is SUPER talented, and has a ton of potential. It will take time, but I am confident Brad can get them to their ceiling by March.

Starting lineup should be:
Boswell
KJ
White
Hummer
Ivisic

Bench (In order of rotation)
Will Riley
DGL
Morez
Ty
Carey
Jake

just make the tournament this year and hope/pray and pay the right players to come back for year 2. This team is the opposite of what Brad has said for the last 3 years. He wants to be old and stay old.. Now, we are very young and inexperienced. The ole miss exhibition reminded him of why he hates being a young team. Brad is about to age 10 years this year with this young team that has to be taught everything.. communication, defense, ball movement, scouting reports, execution. It looked like players ( except DGL) that all play AAU ball. All offense and no defense.

 

[aaeismacgychel]

I don't understand anyone having Boswell in the starting lineup based upon that game. He just looked slow and didn't seem to be giving full effort multiple times. (seems like Arizona had a similar opinion of his effort, and he didn't prove them wrong after that game)

Starters based only on what I saw yesterday:

KJ - High potential, but his game looked like it was hurt by everyone else standing around
DGL - Highest energy and active defender. If he doesn't move into the starting lineup after that its a bad message to the rest of the team
Ty- Gets the spot due to how bad everyone else defends
Ivicic - The obvious one. He looked smooth offensively. Just being 7'1 will be enough on the defensive end most nights
? - I didn't see anyone grab this spot clearly. Ben has to make his shots if he wants it. Yesterday he didn't and his defense didn't look great. Tre just looked present. Wasn't impressed at all by anything he did. Riley has potential but a bench role early would likely be the wisest choice. Boswell would make us too small. So of these options I like Ben the most. His skill set would seem to compliment the other 4 the best. This lineup is also how Brad ended the first half. And we looked way better during that stretch than at any other point. Just one game, but some people looked way more locked in than others.

But whoever winds up starting I'm hoping we actually run some type of offense. It looked like a bunch of AAU kids dribbling around and throwing up shots. I know the staff wants to promote a pro style...but NBA teams run sets. If not you look like we did yesterday against a good team.

Kylan had a really rough game also, however, I'm going to be a bit lenient offensively as while he did turn the ball over, most seemed to be due to him not knowing where his teammates were going to be, which I'm not going to get upset about in an exhibition. It's why you play them. He also made some decent passes and had some good takes off the dribble, so I think potential is there, just going to take some time to build chemistry and gel. His defense though was fairly low energy as you said. His advanced stats suggested him to be a just under average defender with Arizona but with potential to improve. This game though wasn't it. Brad's going to need to get more from him on that side of the ball.

My Top 5 players from the scrimmage:
1. KJ
2. DGL
3. Ivisic
4. Morez
5. Ty (awful offense, very good defense)

 

[the juiceman cometh]

I don't understand anyone having Boswell in the starting lineup based upon that game. He just looked slow and didn't seem to be giving full effort multiple times. (seems like Arizona had a similar opinion of his effort, and he didn't prove them wrong after that game)

Starters based only on what I saw yesterday:

KJ - High potential, but his game looked like it was hurt by everyone else standing around
DGL - Highest energy and active defender. If he doesn't move into the starting lineup after that its a bad message to the rest of the team
Ty- Gets the spot due to how bad everyone else defends
Ivicic - The obvious one. He looked smooth offensively. Just being 7'1 will be enough on the defensive end most nights
? - I didn't see anyone grab this spot clearly. Ben has to make his shots if he wants it. Yesterday he didn't and his defense didn't look great. Tre just looked present. Wasn't impressed at all by anything he did. Riley has potential but a bench role early would likely be the wisest choice. Boswell would make us too small. So of these options I like Ben the most. His skill set would seem to compliment the other 4 the best. This lineup is also how Brad ended the first half. And we looked way better during that stretch than at any other point. Just one game, but some people looked way more locked in than others.

But whoever winds up starting I'm hoping we actually run some type of offense. It looked like a bunch of AAU kids dribbling around and throwing up shots. I know the staff wants to promote a pro style...but NBA teams run sets. If not you look like we did yesterday against a good team.

Chill. It's one game. An exhibition at that.

Boswell started 35 games for an Arizona team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen last season.

Also a reminder that BU REALLY wanted Boswell out of HS and BU has a pretty good track record as an evaluator of talent.

If he doesn't start that's fine. But it would be because we have someone even better, not because he's incapable.

 

[21ChampaignSt]

Good Thing about Freshmen is they become Soph.

It is not about who starts a game but more from who finishes games.

Most teams/years is about the process and putting improvement in place everyday to have the most separation from where you began to the end.

Win each day and 1% gain each day.

Sit back , blame no one, ride the process and you win as a team and lose as a team. Hard work gets rewarded. Not all of us can coach at the BIG TEN level and get a paycheck for very long.

Coachspeak.ai?

 

[STATS GUY]

Coachspeak.ai?

No Real Coach at High School level 10 years ago.

 

[Illwinsagain]

just make the tournament this year and hope/pray and pay the right players to come back for year 2. This team is the opposite of what Brad has said for the last 3 years. He wants to be old and stay old.. Now, we are very young and inexperienced. The ole miss exhibition reminded him of why he hates being a young team. Brad is about to age 10 years this year with this young team that has to be taught everything.. communication, defense, ball movement, scouting reports, execution. It looked like players ( except DGL) that all play AAU ball. All offense and no defense.

I didn't see the game, but did see Brad's press conference after the game. He seemed pretty happy, thinking that he got exactly what he wanted from the exhibition. I think he knew what he was getting and seems good with it.

 

[Get yourself a new map]

One thing I can speak on from experience - it is super annoying to play with hair in your face. Jake gotta at least go headband. Seriously there was a play in the second half when he was flinging his head back to clear the hair out of his eyes while his guy curled to the top of the arc and buried a three.
As director of operations, first order of business is to ensure every player has an appt with the eye doctor, and then I’m telling them do whatever they want with the hair, as long as it doesn’t get in the way.

 

[champaignpak]

just make the tournament this year and hope/pray and pay the right players to come back for year 2. This team is the opposite of what Brad has said for the last 3 years. He wants to be old and stay old.. Now, we are very young and inexperienced. The ole miss exhibition reminded him of why he hates being a young team. Brad is about to age 10 years this year with this young team that has to be taught everything.. communication, defense, ball movement, scouting reports, execution. It looked like players ( except DGL) that all play AAU ball. All offense and no defense.

this is quite a take. he seemed happy after the game and said he expected the exact result and it is what is needed for this team.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

Replay is up on YouTube if anyone wants to watch.

 

[Battle89]

He's going to shrink by 18 inches, act like he invented college basketball and blame everyone else for his problems?

It will all be worth it when we get pictures of Brad in the elf costume

 

[Battle89]

Good Thing about Freshmen is they become Soph.

It is not about who starts a game but more from who finishes games.

Most teams/years is about the process and putting improvement in place everyday to have the most separation from where you began to the end.

Win each day and 1% gain each day.

Sit back , blame no one, ride the process and you win as a team and lose as a team. Hard work gets rewarded. Not all of us can coach at the BIG TEN level and get a paycheck for very long.

 

[JKR]

But whoever winds up starting I'm hoping we actually run some type of offense. It looked like a bunch of AAU kids dribbling around and throwing up shots. I know the staff wants to promote a pro style...but NBA teams run sets. If not you look like we did yesterday against a good team.

Looked like some of the IMPE Legends that I remember.

 

[Ty’s jump shot]

I think Bos and KJ will end up being quite the duo. Give it some time.

 

[JKR]

Coachspeak.ai?

STATS GUY = QUOTES GUY

 

[foby]

*throws dart at takes board*

 

[STATS GUY]

STATS GUY = QUOTES GUY

Just thinking a little early to start bashing This team has a lot of talent and young (minutes wise). This team will be entirely different in Jan than Dec 1. I have faith in the development and growth. I predict a tremendous lift in defense and offense from the beating in an Exhibition game.

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

Right now this team is not a tournament team. Not saying they won't be by the end, but right now they're not. We've got long ways to go. We damn-sure ain't winning any of those 3 non con games tenn, ark, bama. think that's pretty safe to circle in.

 

[fatboyslim]

Right now this team is not a tournament team. Not saying they won't be by the end, but right now they're not. We've got long ways to go. We damn-sure ain't winning any of those 3 non con games tenn, ark, bama. think that's pretty safe to circle in.

 

[Poe's Law]

just make the tournament this year and hope/pray and pay the right players to come back for year 2. This team is the opposite of what Brad has said for the last 3 years. He wants to be old and stay old.. Now, we are very young and inexperienced. The ole miss exhibition reminded him of why he hates being a young team. Brad is about to age 10 years this year with this young team that has to be taught everything.. communication, defense, ball movement, scouting reports, execution. It looked like players ( except DGL) that all play AAU ball. All offense and no defense.

I have higher expectations for this year than just make the tournament, but the 2026 road to the final four as a top seed would be STL -> CHI -> IND.

Start building that NIL war chest now.