Kentucky 84, Illinois 75 Postgame

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#528      
Brosky
I don't know how the game was as close as it was. Ky couldn't miss in the second half while we...were pretty much the opposite. Maybe the worst game we've played all year, with the possible exception of the Duke game.
 
#529      
Ryllini
CHI 1086 said:
I'm not really sure what your point is. TSJ and Ayo stayed in college 4 and 3 years respectively, and left here with Greek god-like bodies. WR, while extremely talented, is a stick and still needs to mature to be in the same locker room as them. While the NBA lusts after potential, they don't wait too long on it...
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The point is, TJ and Ayo left very close to what their ceiling is. The NBA wants the raw talent that KJ and Will possess and they want those talents as early as possible. Different era now. NBA teams don't want to break any players of any habits they don't like. They want to teach their skills in their amazing facilities with their vast resources.
 
#530      
Todd99
Alot of talk all season about coaching changes. My question is how much of the coaching decisions are Underwood's and how much are Whitman's? Does Whitman let Brad have control of his staff and stay out of the way? Can he suggest changes? Can he make them himself? Just curious how the chain of command works here.

Seems like when you have your son on staff, it could lead to some interesting conversations.
 
#531      
Big Jack
Ryllini said:
The point is, TJ and Ayo left very close to what their ceiling is. The NBA wants the raw talent that KJ and Will possess and they want those talents as early as possible. Different era now. NBA teams don't want to break any players of any habits they don't like. They want to teach their skills in their amazing facilities with their vast resources.
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I am in no means a talent scout for the NBA. Heck I do not even like watching it anymore. However I will go out on a limb as I already did in saying that the only reason you will know who these 2 are in 5 years is because they both played for the Illini. If they were to see the real picture and not just the cash$$ they would be smart and play themselves into lottery positions, then they would have a chance at big bucks and long profitable careers. I just don't see that future in them without a lot more development, body, sole and intelligence. I had bright hopes for KJ but his inability to control the ball and terrible passes will lead him back to play his career in Europe. They both need 1-2 more seasons in CBB.
 
#532      
1m4tr
Chad Fleck said:
I'm not sure what we are upset about here.

It's my understanding that the hand is part of the ball. That looks pretty clean.
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You didn’t see the guy’s knee hit KJ’s forearm first which loosened his grip on the ball so that when the guy’s hand hit the ball it went flying? You aren’t allowed to play defense w your knee on someone’s forearm! That was as clear as a day a foul on Kentucky. 3 free throws.
 
#533      
pruman91
#534      
pruman91
this season was like my time with my alcoholic ex wife through her menopause days.....never knew what to expect daily.......
 
#535      
1m4tr
PepeSilvia said:
I mean Dalton Knect was an elite shooter at both. Some guys translate, some guys don't.
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Yep. Ben was twice the player this season as say Cade Tyson who was UNC’s sole portal guy. Got a bag and by the third game, everyone knew he couldn’t play at that level. And he basically rode the bench from there on in except for like two games. A total disaster. He was supposed to be the best 1-2 shooters in the portal and the kid had lead bricks for feet. Completely unplayable. It’s a gamble.
Illini hit pay dirt w Domask but no such luck w Ben who was still eminently more successful than Cade Tyson.
 
#536      
Mistakenj
aaeismacgychel said:
It needs to be said but one of the absolute toughest things to do is come into a brand new locker room and be the leader of the team. Generally you don't want to step on other people's toes, you simply want to build camaraderie and trust first and foremost. You simply want to come in and be a good teammate. It's something TSJ struggled with too in his first season here. There was a huge leadership void that someone needed to fill and it's hard to be the new guy and take command of that role.

As the season wore on, I felt Kylan trying to take ownership of that more and more. In the tourney he was that guy for us, that defacto leader. He played his heart out, he led by example, he communicated. He did everything that guy does. And if there's one good thing about losing in the playoffs, it's that you learn to absolutely despise that feeling. To recognize all that went wrong, and swear it won't happen again. And even better if you play well but see your team struggle, as you come back better next year with a renewed focus on being that leader, being that guy, making sure your team is prepared and ready, and also have the confidence that you can lead the way.

Sometimes you need to lose to win. I personally see Kylan as that guy ready to take that leap to captain and leader of men next year. Bring back Morez and Tomi, and you've got yourself a core you can build around with hungry guys who want nothing more than to win. While this year stings, I see Kylan leading us far next year, I really do. Combine that with a year of strength and conditioning on Morez and Ivisic, a senior pure as the driven snow shooter and an experienced slashing wing and that's a team that will make a run.
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Hear hear!
 
#538      
Mistakenj
I think the problem is Brad is the 8th highest paid coach in America and our NIL is top 10 or 15 and we’re not getting top 10 results….not even close
 
#539      
OrangeBlue98
AyoDos11 said:
If I have to read another post saying KJ and WR are "not ready for the NBA" one more time I will rip my hair out.
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If you are a NBA GM in need of a point guard, you have the 8th pick in the draft, and KJ is there, are you taking him?

If I'm the GM, I'm not taking a guy who averaged 6 turnovers a game in the post-season. That will ballon to 10-12 a game against NBA defenders. It's just reality.
 
#541      
BoiseBaller
SescIllini said:
I watched ever game on tv this year and traveled to MSG to see them live. Year was a success. We beat Mizz, Mich.Ind, UCLA, and Oregen. We had some disappointing losses mostly caused by the flu/injury bug.

Will and KJ not NBA ready but they are gone to next level. Tomi, Morez, Kylan, and Tre would be a solid core. I think we need that 6-5+ SG scorer. Also PG off the bench along with another wing and big. Next several months will be interesting.
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That is an interesting take, given you witnessed the worst loss in program history live and in person.

I came back for the USC game and was able to attend the game at Nebraska. Both disappointing losses.

I was actually pondering last night what "grade" I'd give this season. I saw someone else mention C+. That would also be what I'd give it. If we had won yesterday and made the S16 that jumps up in the B range but for me, the blowout losses, finishing mid-pack in conference, first weekend exit is pretty darn meh. I bumped it to C+ from C for beating Miznoz and IU. Just my .02.
 
#542      
Yes33
Really! What? Did he recruit everyone on the team? Did he hire every coach? Did he agree to let Tim go and still pay him then fill a very valuable coaching roll with an intern? Did he allow two kids to run the offense and defense?

We made the Elite 8 last year due to a great draw and a superstar that had a great game. Then we were embarrassed on national tv, by UConn, because we were not prepared and didn’t adjust.

We can’t get the ball in bounds without it being stolen after a dead ball! Brad’s recruiting gives us hope, his coaching and decisions not so much. Take the bag of cash away and where would we be?
 
#543      
NASchamp
PepeSilvia said:
This year just seems kind of meh. Not an outright failure but not a success either. No regular season/conference accolades while finishing 7th in conference(was a very winnable conference imo) and only a 2nd round appearance

Honestly, still kind of leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because of how winnable this game was. A sweet 16 berth against a very beatable Tennessee team(should have beat them at home) and they just failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

Really Illinois got as as good of a bracket draw as you could have asked for this year in stark contract to last year where they were a final four caliber team that drew UConn. Extremely beatable 2 and 3 seeds in Tennessee and Kentucky. The worst 1 seed in Houston where Illinois would have had a huge size advantage and a 4 seed in Purdue that the Illini were just better then.

I understand it's March and a single elimination tournament where anything can happen but everything played out perfectly to make a run if they just showed up to play.
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This 👆🏼

Had a good draw with an inconsistent team this year and a bad draw with a great team last year. Frustrating.
 
#544      
OrangeBlue98
BoiseBaller said:
That is an interesting take, given you witnessed the worst loss in program history live and in person.

I came back for the USC game and was able to attend the game at Nebraska. Both disappointing losses.

I was actually pondering last night what "grade" I'd give this season. I saw someone else mention C+. That would also be what I'd give it. If we had won yesterday and made the S16 that jumps up in the B range but for me, the blowout losses, finishing mid-pack in conference, first weekend exit is pretty darn meh. I bumped it to C+ from C for beating Miznoz and IU. Just my .02.
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I'd grade this season a C-. Too many bad losses, too many home losses, no recognition of things that clearly needed changing, and a general attitude of "Plan A, but better" when things weren't going well. When you lose games in the exact same way time after time after time, it gets old.

The staff makeup will be my real sign to see if Underwood thinks things really need to change. If Hamer is in his same role, then it's pretty clear Underwood doesn't see a problem even though one clearly exists.
 
#545      
71illini
I completely agree. Illini defense has been doing this chasing for years - drives me crazy. It’s the primary reason we lost to Loyola. Unless the opposing team is weak or really off, this defensive strategy is ineffective and harmful.
 
#546      
Yes33
OrangeBlue98 said:
If you are a NBA GM in need of a point guard, you have the 8th pick in the draft, and KJ is there, are you taking him?

If I'm the GM, I'm not taking a guy who averaged 6 turnovers a game in the post-season. That will ballon to 10-12 a game against NBA defenders. It's just reality.
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I think a lot of KJ’s problems had to do with your previous post about “running an offense”. Our offense had a couple games after we were blown out when we ran some good sets and executed. Other than that, in most cases, it was pick and roll and hope for the best. Our offense did nothing to get KJ open looks or space the floor to give him open lanes. Getting to the rim got harder and harder for him as other teams adjusted throughout the season and our spacing didn’t . The last 1/2 of the season, in general, he was trying too hard to squirt thru as other teams started jumping a second defender around the screens. Per our offense, most others stood and watched. I think KJ is very talented but our offense did nothing to help him. Is he athletic enough to play defense in the NBA and be the 8th pick is another question?
 
#547      
SescIllini
BoiseBaller said:
That is an interesting take, given you witnessed the worst loss in program history live and in person.

I came back for the USC game and was able to attend the game at Nebraska. Both disappointing losses.

I was actually pondering last night what "grade" I'd give this season. I saw someone else mention C+. That would also be what I'd give it. If we had won yesterday and made the S16 that jumps up in the B range but for me, the blowout losses, finishing mid-pack in conference, first weekend exit is pretty darn meh. I bumped it to C+ from C for beating Miznoz and IU. Just my .02.
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We are fans, and I don't grade my experience on the scores. Yes they got blown out at MSG, but Illinois had more fans there than Duke. Let that sink in...Illinois flexing muscle in other ways that I see greater success. Also had a great time in NYC.
 
#548      
PasadenaIllini
PepeSilvia said:
I mean Dalton Knect was an elite shooter at both. Some guys translate, some guys don't.
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Dalton Knecht averaged 20 points a game at Northern Colorado and CONSISTENTLY performed against the top teams in his conference and was all-league. He was also a Junior College All American before that.

Dalton Knecht Northern Colorado

Ben Humrichous hasn't ever sniffed an all conference team. And if you look at his stats last season at Evansville, practically all of his best games were against the worst teams in the MVC other than an isolated 18 point performance against Drake.

Ben Humrichous at Evansville

This wasn't a "win some lose some" situation where we took a reasonable gamble and lost. Throwing the kind of money at someone who hadn't ever performed at an all conference level as a mid major player was just foolish on the part of our staff. The Ben Humrichous situation is emblematic of how our coaches' player evaluations need to change drastically. A great deal of this is likely due to Brad depending upon the advice of certain assistant coaches who have absolutely no business being in their positions.
 
#549      
OrangeBlue98
Yes33 said:
I think a lot of KJ’s problems had to do with your previous post about “running an offense”. Our offense had a couple games after we were blown out when we ran some good sets and executed. Other than that, in most cases, it was pick and roll and hope for the best. Our offense did nothing to get KJ open looks or space the floor to give him open lanes. Getting to the rim got harder and harder for him as other teams adjusted throughout the season and our spacing didn’t . The last 1/2 of the season, in general, he was trying too hard to squirt thru as other teams started jumping a second defender around the screens. Per our offense, most others stood and watched. I think KJ is very talented but our offense did nothing to help him. Is he athletic enough to play defense in the NBA and be the 8th pick is another question?
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I know I'm going to sound all Norman Dale/Hoosiers here, but I don't understand what value just having someone stand in the corner does for an offense and never will. It's why I don't like the five-out offense. Basketball is supposed to be about five players moving to get open shots. Just having someone stand in the corner clearly goes against that.

There has to be a way where you can still have ways of maintaining floor spacing while allowing those players to actually participate in the offense. I know Auburn runs a lot of "flex" sets where a baseline screen is set. That at least gets that player in the corner moving around some. Watching someone like Humrichous just standing in the corner (particularly when we all knew he wasn't going to hit that shot anyway) got so frustrating.
 
#550      
OneTime3
Found this tournament more disappointing than the last few. This game really felt like it was pissed away with those extremely lazy turnovers, other recent losses I felt like we never really had a chance to win.

I owe KB an apology for my negativity mid-year, he really stepped up. Hope he's back.

I'll be sad when DGL leaves, I honestly don't blame him for "quitting". He was one of the only guys playing team ball and busting his !!! during the slump mid season. His minutes were gone after he got the flu and it's gotta be mentally tough to come in and give 100% on defense when you got all your playing time zapped out of nowhere. His dunk was definitely a top 5 moment of the season.
 
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