Illinois 87, UT Rio Grande Valley 73 Postgame

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#226      
RabidDawgClassic
LocalChief505 said:
Buddy. All of Underwood's teams during his tenure here have had the same issues.
Free throws, turnovers, scoring droughts, time out and in bounding issues, head scratching defensive efforts. I'm just saying when I watch this team, I see the same general issues I've seen through the years. The floor or ceiling of the team is irrelevant to year in and year out (there will be exceptions) statistics and results. I just want people to do better. That's all.
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We’re shooying 76% from the free throw line. We’ve had one clunker at the worst time, but so far that seems to be an outlier for this season. Scoring droughts have also been minimal, as we’re averaging 94 ppg and are the first Illinois team since the Flyin Illini to score 80+ in each of its first seven games. I also haven’t noticed any inbounding issues so far this year.

Defense… yup, gotta work on that. But those other issues are mostly imaginary.
 
#227      
NarrowJ
Resurrects the program, exciting fast-paced NBA-style basketball with consistent top 15 offenses, well on our way to seventh straight 20+ win season, recent E8 run, tied for best conference record over 6 year stretch, reached a top 20 ranking in seven straight seasons, conference championships, conference tourney championships, 1st team AAs, NBA players, one-and-dones with a top 10 strength of schedule every season.

AND NOTHING BUT F'N KARENS UP IN HERE LOL
 
#228      
blife
NarrowJ said:
Resurrects the program, exciting fast-paced NBA-style basketball with consistent top 15 offenses, well on our way to seventh straight 20+ win season, recent E8 run, tied for best conference record over 6 year stretch, reached a top 20 ranking in seven straight seasons, conference championships, conference tourney championships, 1st team AAs, NBA players, one-and-dones with a top 10 strength of schedule every season.

AND NOTHING BUT F'N KARENS UP IN HERE LOL
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Couldn't agree more. WTF. We have played 6 games, truly 1 with everyone available, still trying to figure our rotations and yet this reads like we just lost to Austin Peay in the dance. lol
 
#230      
21ChampaignSt
You need some kind of tension for virtually any kind of discussion or critical thought.

Otherwise the entire board would read like this lol

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#231      
FlyinIllini1
RollChief said:
This has been questioned a few times and honestly I feel like BU has explained it pretty clearly. The difference between MP and KJ in terms of leash and playing time is size. One of BU's themes and keys to victory over the past few years has been positional size and rebounding.

Average height rank has been 8th, 13th, and 2nd respectively for 2024, 2025, and 2026 so far, respectively. The shortest person in the starting lineup in 2024 was TSJ at 6'6". The only person to start consistently shorter than that in 3 seasons has been Kylan Boswell who is a full-on linebacker who I would be shocked is any less than 6'3". MP MAY BE 6'1".

For MP to get consistent minutes he has to get good (serviceable) at rebounding and defense or has to be so outstanding on offense that it outweighs any defense/rebounding deficiency. The latter may be the case if he can play like he's been playing at high volume. 19 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds in 37 minutes of play is pretty good. The last thing I'll say is I'm almost certain he's still dealing with some injury, he had a pretty big brace on in between playing on Monday.
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A lot of good thoughts and interesting talking points here.

I get BU’s size philosophy… it’s been the identity for a few years. But the on-court product isn’t matching what that size advantage is supposed to give us. Last year already proved the “chuck 3s and go rebound” approach isn’t sustainable. And even with all the size this year—Mirk and the Ivisic twins— we aren’t getting the athleticism, defensive versatility, or that “dog” factor that makes positional size an actual advantage.

And yes, if MP really is around 6’1 (looks that way) he’s never going to fit the template the way KJ did on paper. But that’s where the philosophy breaks down for me. KJ had the measurables, but the output never matched the theory. The defensive issues were still there, and while his rebounding was “serviceable,” those extra boards didn’t offset the turnovers and poor decision-making.

Kylan is the exception. He’s a dog, and we all love him (but he’s not a true PG and we knew that). So the real question is: if KB and MP “can’t” play together because of size, how does Brad solve that? Because talent-wise, those two together give you a backcourt that can actually run with the Alabamas of the world (mix Wagler in there). And with the amount of size we already have behind them, there’s no reason you can’t afford that smaller, more dynamic guard lineup.

At some point, when the offensive upside and pace clearly outweigh the theoretical size concerns, that rule has to bend. MP gives this offense a gear it simply doesn’t have otherwise.

I hope you’re right about UCONN!
 
#233      
RollChief
21ChampaignSt said:
You need some kind of tension for virtually any kind of discussion or critical thought.

Otherwise the entire board would read like this lol

View attachment 45267
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I agree both ways as long as it's pragmatic.

It seems that negative comments tend to be more anecdotal and "hair on fire" where positive comments are usually given with some measurable context. But again, this is anecdotal of my view so what do I know. I think it's a lot more fun being positive but everyone is different.
 
#234      
21ChampaignSt
RollChief said:
I agree both ways as long as it's pragmatic.

It seems that negative comments tend to be more anecdotal and "hair on fire" where positive comments are usually given with some measurable context. But again, this is anecdotal of my view so what do I know. I think it's a lot more fun being positive but everyone is different.
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Agree. I like seeing both sides. As long as you're not stating opinions as facts and insisting that others adopt your views, give me all the spicy takes. We all have the receipts if we need to pull them up later.
 
#235      
FlyinIllini1
Chillinini said:
For sure, KJ’s play became more and more inconsistent. Too many turnovers. But you saw the athleticism and playmaking ability and shooting that made him a first round selection. A bit raw and careless? Sure, but the basketball IQ and talent is there. And I do think getting hurt played some part in his struggles.

As for Mihailo, I do think it’s conditioning and defense before being utilized more. Also, he may play a huge part against UConn off the bench. I’d rather not give too many looks of Mihailo for Hurley to scout him.
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Yeah, I hear you. But TBH I thought the Heat massively overreached taking KJ where they did (tho I hope he proves me wrong).

On the MP side, I get the logic about conditioning, defense, and even not giving Hurley too much film. But let’s be honest, what would you rather have going into UConn…. a confident, conditioned, integrated MP who’s been allowed to build rhythm… or a guy capped at 16 minutes who gets yanked the second something goes wrong, but hey, at least Hurley has slightly less tape?

UConn isn’t losing sleep over two extra clips of MP running a ball screen. What will matter is whether he’s actually ready to play a real role when we need him. And that only happens if he’s allowed to settle in.
 
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