Illinois 87, Maryland Eastern Shore 40 Postgame

[grue2]

There was some definite progress between the Alabama game and tonight. If the team learn to make their free throws, and to defend the 3pt line a bit better, they will be scary.

I was quite pleased with Boswell tonight. None of the earlier BS style over substance passes; not even after the game was clearly over.

Humrichous seems to be on the DGL plan of last year. He comes in and tries to do everything totally throwing the rest of the offense out of sync. Several of his shots in the first half were terrible. As the game went on, he smoothed out a bit offensively. He was still lost on defense the entire game, often leaving his man open for a three. I hope he follows the rest of DGLs path.

DGL continues to be the surprise of the season for me. I love his defensive effort, and how he plays within the offense. Yes, Riley is a scoring machine. He was supposed to be really good. I wasn't sure DGL was going to make the rotation.

Riley did a much better job of protecting the ball this game. I wasn't a fan of a few of his shots. The in the air one touch putback from 6' out seemed like a flashy, low probability shot. Grab the rebound and restart the offense.

I agree with some of the prior posters. KJ needs to finish some of his drives to keep the other team honest. He also seems to favor making tight passes in the lane vs. the short alley oop passes like Alabama kept running. It looks like we have several players who can finish the oops.

 

[Vinegarben]

All of these wins against cupcakes look and feel great but the Illini really need to win against a ranked team to get their confidence that they can not only compete with the big boys but beat them too. Looking at Arkansas and Mizzou.

 

[IlliniKat91]

So far KJ seems to be guilty of overpassing on drives. He gets into the lane a lot but most of the time seems like he's not looking to score himself when he does which leads to forced passes. I wouldn't mind seeing him be more aggressive on drives.

It's reminding me of when Curbelo first played for us. The chemistry wasn't there with the rest of the team for them to expect the pass, leading to turnovers. It feels the same way with KJ, but I think you're right when you say he's looking to score first. I think that's why Ivisic wasn't right under the basket for a couple of those passes today. He was looking for a rebound, not a pass.

 

[Brosky]

This was fun and games against a very weak opponent. But we're not going to beat good teams by shooting threes at 25% or free throws at 60%. Tomi seems to play soft. He needs to watch Morez to see what tenacious rebounding is all about. I can see Riley geting better and better. It won't be long brfpre he's ready for big time opponents.

 

[SescIllini]

The ghost of Jereme Richmond says hi.

Richmond no where near the talent of Riley. Recall Richmond shooting us out of games

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

I see Illini’s free throw shooting prowess continued yesterday — 11 of 18 (61%). What is it about Illini. Boswell shot 79% at Arizona and sits at 53% as an Illini. Ben, who shot 76% with Evansville, checks in at 63%. Tre White has improved his from 73% his first two years to 90% for this campaign. I know we say it every year, but free throw shooting is going to cost us games.

 

[blackdog]

It's reminding me of when Curbelo first played for us. The chemistry wasn't there with the rest of the team for them to expect the pass, leading to turnovers. It feels the same way with KJ, but I think you're right when you say he's looking to score first. I think that's why Ivisic wasn't right under the basket for a couple of those passes today. He was looking for a rebound, not a pass.

It's not only that other players arent their expecting passes its that sometimes there isn't a pass to be made. He's decided to pass the ball before he even picks his dribble up and has to force something which ends up going to the other team. He tried a hook around bounce pass from under the basket back to the top of key that was easily picked off when he could have tried a floater instead.

 

[21ChampaignSt]

Didn’t see game and obviously inferior competition, but the recently much maligned Tre White seems to have had a nice game.

He did. Played within himself. Made good decisions on offense and didn't over dribble. And he was all over the glass. That's the Tre White this team needs. On the post game radio interview, BU was asked about Tre and he said something like, 'Everyone has a role and good things happen when you play your role'. That's all I've been asking for from him.

 

[GrayGhost77]

I see Illini’s free throw shooting prowess continued yesterday — 11 of 18 (61%). What is it about Illini. Boswell shot 79% at Arizona and sits at 53% as an Illini. Ben, who shot 76% with Evansville, checks in at 63%. Tre White has improved his from 73% his first two years to 90% for this campaign. I know we say it every year, but free throw shooting is going to cost us games.

I remember it being an issue early last season also but then they got better as the season went on. Hopefully they work whatever magic they did again this year.

 

[BWA]

There was some definite progress between the Alabama game and tonight. If the team learn to make their free throws, and to defend the 3pt line a bit better, they will be scary.

I was quite pleased with Boswell tonight. None of the earlier BS style over substance passes; not even after the game was clearly over.

Humrichous seems to be on the DGL plan of last year. He comes in and tries to do everything totally throwing the rest of the offense out of sync. Several of his shots in the first half were terrible. As the game went on, he smoothed out a bit offensively. He was still lost on defense the entire game, often leaving his man open for a three. I hope he follows the rest of DGLs path.

DGL continues to be the surprise of the season for me. I love his defensive effort, and how he plays within the offense. Yes, Riley is a scoring machine. He was supposed to be really good. I wasn't sure DGL was going to make the rotation.

Riley did a much better job of protecting the ball this game. I wasn't a fan of a few of his shots. The in the air one touch putback from 6' out seemed like a flashy, low probability shot. Grab the rebound and restart the offense.

I agree with some of the prior posters. KJ needs to finish some of his drives to keep the other team honest. He also seems to favor making tight passes in the lane vs. the short alley oop passes like Alabama kept running. It looks like we have several players who can finish the oops.

Not sure we are watching the same team. Humrichous has been super efficient on offense. DGL, while I love what’s he’s doing, has not been super efficient yet.

 

[1m4tr]

Did not see the game, but followed by Live Stats.

Good
1. Turnovers in single digits...now cut it to avg. a handful. A slow, skilled team needs to protect every possession.
2. Morez.....10 pts. and 13 boards in 13 min. However, after making his first 3 FTs, he made only one of next 4. Get better.
3. Having not seen the defense perform, it would appear the guys played that end well....allowing only 40 pts. But then it was UMES!!

Bad
1. For a team reported to have shooters deep into the bench, they shot 45% for the game, 25% from the arc, and 60% from the line. ...against a team that will likely rank in the bottom 10. Simply unacceptable for what they are getting paid. Get better.

We aren’t a slow team like a UVA where 9 turnovers would be a killer. I think 9 is totally acceptable. I don’t want us to play safe. KJ’s creativeness will lead to more TO’s than you’d like. He’ll get better. But we play fast, so we’re gonna have some inevitable TO’s.

 

[grue2]

Not sure we are watching the same team. Humrichous has been super efficient on offense. DGL, while I love what’s he’s doing, has not been super efficient yet.

Imagine Humrichous' efficiency if he cut out the bad shots. As a comparison, look at Colemans 3pt efficiency last year once he stopped taking the pair of 26' shots early in the clock.

DGL is impressing me on defensive effort. His shots seem to be a good selection. They just are not falling.

 

[skyIdub]

It's reminding me of when Curbelo first played for us. The chemistry wasn't there with the rest of the team for them to expect the pass, leading to turnovers. It feels the same way with KJ, but I think you're right when you say he's looking to score first. I think that's why Ivisic wasn't right under the basket for a couple of those passes today. He was looking for a rebound, not a pass.

KJ has pro vision, and makes NBA passes, he needs teammates to make pro moves.

He's the kid in class who finishes his test in 10 minutes while the rest of the class looks up from page 1.

 

[jacekpardol]

I wish coach would stop this weird thing he does where is starts lesser talent in favor of better talent. Riley >> White.
Can someone help me understand the logic here?

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

Imagine Humrichous' efficiency if he cut out the bad shots. As a comparison, look at Colemans 3pt efficiency last year once he stopped taking the pair of 26' shots early in the clock.

DGL is impressing me on defensive effort. His shots seem to be a good selection. They just are not falling.

all the shots he's taken for the most part have been shots he's more than capable of making. just because it doesn't go in doesn't make it a bad shot.

 

[1m4tr]

I wish coach would stop this weird thing he does where is starts lesser talent in favor of better talent. Riley >> White.
Can someone help me understand the logic here?

Instant offense off the bench. He’s going against subs usually when he first gets in. How many times have we lamented putting in subs that can’t score and we let the other team back in the game. He’s playing starters minutes and gives us a tactical advantage IMO.

 

[Combo]

Instant offense off the bench. He’s going against subs usually when he first gets in. How many times have we lamented putting in subs that can’t score and we let the other team back in the game. He’s playing starters minutes and gives us a tactical advantage IMO.

Pretty sure he's averaging more MPG than White.

 

[Illiniguy13]

I wish coach would stop this weird thing he does where is starts lesser talent in favor of better talent. Riley >> White.
Can someone help me understand the logic here?

I’m not saying this is Underwood’s logic here…but who would you rather get going? Will can put up double digits off the bench against any opponent, any night. You don’t have to worry about him impacting the game because he’s lottery-level talent. If you can get Tre going early, that bodes well.

 

[AZILL]

Regarding the the White/Riley Starting/bench thing.... Plenty of NBA draftees came off the bench their one year in college. If it's working for us, why change it? That way of thinking may change here once we get into the heart of our schedule. But since Riley is a frosh, I think it's fine the way BU has it set up.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Pretty sure he's averaging more MPG than White.

Correct. MDES was the first game Tre got more minutes than Riley (by 3). And I’m sure the score of game and that Tre was hitting the boards are the reasons why. In each of two previous games I believe Riley had 12+ more minutes than Tre.

I think Brad would like to limit Riley’s minutes some to keep him from wearing down later in season too. He knows that Riley will be key to the success of the team in conference and in tournament. Don’t want him running out of gas. And I’ve not seen or heard anything to indicate that Riley has an issue with coming off the bench. If he’s OK with it, I certainly am.

 

[AZILL]

Correct. MDES was the first game Tre got more minutes than Riley (by 3). And I’m sure the score of game and that Tre was hitting the boards are the reasons why. In each of two previous games I believe Riley had 12+ more minutes than Tre.

I think Brad would like to limit Riley’s minutes some to keep him from wearing down later in season too. He knows that Riley will be key to the success of the team in conference and in tournament. Don’t want him running out of gas. And I’ve not seen or heard anything to indicate that Riley has an issue with coming off the bench. If he’s OK with it, I certainly am.

And that is why you give him the extra tic. We aren't sure exactly what Tre brings to the table just yet, so when he flex's his playing chops, let him run! Same as we did with Riley when he got hot. The staff needs to know how long it lasts, what style of play is working, when a player gets on a heater. Is he good for 5, 10, 15 minutes? It's important to know these things. Most of these comments are valid questions to ask, but the staff deserves some leeway, they have earned it.

 

[jacekpardol]

I’m not saying this is Underwood’s logic here…but who would you rather get going? Will can put up double digits off the bench against any opponent, any night. You don’t have to worry about him impacting the game because he’s lottery-level talent. If you can get Tre going early, that bodes well.

I suppose I hear you. I would argue Riley is our best player. Get your best player the most mins.

Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team’s best player not start - this might be a first.

But whatever, as long as everyone is happy and we’re winning let’s roll with it.

 

[AZILL]

Riley IS getting starter minutes. I'm not sure that we know Riley is our best player just yet. He may be the most draftable by NBA standards, but that's not even clear on this team. KJ may have something to say about that. Let's get 10-15 games under our belt, against B1G competition, before we throw out that accolade.

 

[grue2]

all the shots he's taken for the most part have been shots he's more than capable of making. just because it doesn't go in doesn't make it a bad shot.

I agree, which is why I think DGL is doing fine. Please watch the replay on youtube. I believe that 2 of Humrichous' first 3 (4?) shots were not good shots. One was a forced shot with a man in his face while there was still plenty of time on the clock. The other shot was a catch and shoot where he wasn't set. These are mental mistakes.

 

[NarrowJ]

Riley picked up 2 quick fouls in 1H and was why his minutes were down. He played his regular starter minutes otherwise.