OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
You clearly played some pickup or intramural ball against my brother then.
Illinois 105, Cincinnati 96 (Exhibition) Postgame
Fellas it was an exhibition, we tried so many different lineups to see different things. He didn’t go into it looking to play our best lineups to shut them down and get a win. Freshman played a ton, we didn’t scout cincy at all. He started guys based on pretty much their hustle in practice. Offense is obviously the strong point here but I’m not that concerned about the defense.
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
right, but our 9th man situation is still undeniably precarious
Yep. The fact that we got out of it injury free was my priority. This is nothing more than a dry run to get some rust off and give the new guys some real life experience. When you return 70% of the roster, just no need to get caught up in it. I, personally, think that it was best when the scrimmage was closed with both coaches stopping play to actually coach.
If we win by 50, but lose ANY starter to even a jammed thumb....just not worth it.
It's a scrimmage against a team in a different color uniform. No more, no less.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I want to be crystal clear that my position on preseason basketball is that any game in which no one gets hurt is an A+ and I don't care whatsoever about any other factor. I make no judgments of any kind based on exhibitions, in any sport.
HOWEVER, as the guy who started the 9th man nonsense by accident based on a misinterpretation of what I was saying, I do note that apparently a dynamic small guard was able to get whatever he wanted against our very big lineups without a traditional PG, which is the point I was making in the first place.
My understanding per sources here is that Lucas Morillo was injured, i.e., cut on the face, keeping him out for the remainder of the exhibition.
It's key that we get that resolved soon. As well as the 10th -13th man. So we can do hockey-style substitutions.
Out played Vaaks, I doubt but been a better listener and put forth more effort, probably. Vaaks is gonna start. He is a NBA type of talent and is experienced. Brad was sending him a message by benching him that he needs to drive the ball, rebound, defend and be more than an elite shooter. As Coach Knight you to say the best motivation is often a players !!! meeting the bench. Better now than a more meaningful game.
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Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
it's downright flippin' critical, man!
Valid point.
2 in response, 1, how well did that guard defend, how many easy 3 attempts did he give up?
2. Plus minus for him, (could be plus) just wondering and, scoreboard. Lol.
I appreciate your posts Gritty so well intentioned discussion here kind sir.
Vaaks scored 19 points in 20 minutes, so I suspect he will find his way into the lineup somehow
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
People are reading too much into Ethan Brown starting over Vaaks. Remember, AJ Redd started an exhibition game last year.
Isn't that where scouting, starters being in and defensive prep would be the most relevant?
Riley is a good bball player. With Riley scoring 31 it is that same issue of letting one guy score. Cincy is good shooting team. Really enjoyed the game and it was a great turnout by Orange clad Illini. Beat Baylor
Fans lamenting in players having great individual performances is understandable, but there are reasons why scoring concentrates against better defenses.
There is a triage aspect to high-level defenses, where they're designed to blow up ball movement, cut off passing lanes, and neutralize role players and secondary options/scorers. You also have the reactivity of on-ball defense (its fundamentally reactive) where the player controlling the ball dictates the timing, angles and movement. And high usage out of necessity is a thing where passing lanes are suffocated the offense naturally funnels through its highest-leverage creator or take a hot hand approach. Also diminishing returns of role players who rely on rhythm, spacing and catch-and-shoot opportunities created by ball movement. When ball movement is disrupted, those players efficiency plummets, leaving on-ball / primary players to shoulder a higher usage load.
In short, great defenses concentrate usage to a single player or action. Usually works out well, but if a guy makes the shots you choose to give up, it can backfire.
Just looking at Michigan, since they were the best defense last season:
David Coit, who averaged 13ppg, lit them up with 31 (8-12 from three)
Blackwell/Boyd made 12 threes in their 3 point loss to Wisconsin
Sean Stewart (who?) scored 22 against them
Jeremy Fears scored 53 across two games, with Kohler adding 23 in the second game
Jayden Reid (10ppg for Northwestern) doubled his output with 20
TKR 27, Smith 20 in game one & TKR 21, Cluff 20 in game two vs Purdue
Howard University, a 16 seed, had two players score 20 points against them
Labaron Philon dropped 35 on them in a tournament game
Illinois allowed a 20 point scorer 23x last season. Michigan allowed it 25x.
TL;DR - Concentrated scoring by the opposition does not necessarily mean your defensive approach as a whole is bad.
There is a triage aspect to high-level defenses, where they're designed to blow up ball movement, cut off passing lanes, and neutralize role players and secondary options/scorers. You also have the reactivity of on-ball defense (its fundamentally reactive) where the player controlling the ball dictates the timing, angles and movement. And high usage out of necessity is a thing where passing lanes are suffocated the offense naturally funnels through its highest-leverage creator or take a hot hand approach. Also diminishing returns of role players who rely on rhythm, spacing and catch-and-shoot opportunities created by ball movement. When ball movement is disrupted, those players efficiency plummets, leaving on-ball / primary players to shoulder a higher usage load.
In short, great defenses concentrate usage to a single player or action. Usually works out well, but if a guy makes the shots you choose to give up, it can backfire.
Just looking at Michigan, since they were the best defense last season:
David Coit, who averaged 13ppg, lit them up with 31 (8-12 from three)
Blackwell/Boyd made 12 threes in their 3 point loss to Wisconsin
Sean Stewart (who?) scored 22 against them
Jeremy Fears scored 53 across two games, with Kohler adding 23 in the second game
Jayden Reid (10ppg for Northwestern) doubled his output with 20
TKR 27, Smith 20 in game one & TKR 21, Cluff 20 in game two vs Purdue
Howard University, a 16 seed, had two players score 20 points against them
Labaron Philon dropped 35 on them in a tournament game
Illinois allowed a 20 point scorer 23x last season. Michigan allowed it 25x.
TL;DR - Concentrated scoring by the opposition does not necessarily mean your defensive approach as a whole is bad.
I loved that interview, !!! meets bench, !!! communicates to brain and brain communicates to body to play better. Paraphrasing a bit.
Some people think starting lineup will be mirk,tomi,Dre, Coleman and Davis.
But even in an exhibition, you can still see the bones of a team. And what we saw wasn’t some red flag — it was exactly what you’d expect when you’re experimenting instead of game‑planning.
Spacing that forces defenses to choose. Even average shooters become good shooters when the spacing is elite.
Illinois can put four shooters around any action. That means:
Help defense becomes dangerous. Rotations get stretched. Closeouts get longer. Driving lanes open up.
Yes Brad has started guys in preseason games before that would never start or maybe even play in a regular season game. However Brown is the first freshman he has done this with that I know of.
Better not to read too much into an exhibition game at all.
Me too. He is a cool cat. We are really fortunate to have our insiders. They all seem like very great people and their behind the scenes information is invaluable to the Illini family.