Nah. KJ plays really soft. Kid literally flops while dribbling 5-6 times this year. There’s a reason Tre White played so much on a Louisville team that won what? 7 games? Idk I just don’t see it with this group, again hope I’m wrong but besides the inexperience, young aspect.. they just don’t have it. Going to be a long year but just my opinion.
Alabama 100, Illinois 87 Postgame
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Overall I was encouraged. Easy to roll over and get 30 pieced by that team and we could have done it a couple of times.
Actually had our chances to tighten it up. Morez doesn’t touch that Will layup and all of a sudden it was a 7 point game under 4 minutes. And that’s not considering all our missed free throws.
Biggest disappointments for me were Kylan losing focus at times and not consistently sprinting back on defense. My guess is the staff will play Ben letting up for a split second and giving up an alley oop and one about a hundred times to remind him at this level you have to sprint back every time.
We now know what we need to work on both offensively and defensively. One more buy game and I like our chances against Arkansas on Thanksgiving. Go Illini!
Actually had our chances to tighten it up. Morez doesn’t touch that Will layup and all of a sudden it was a 7 point game under 4 minutes. And that’s not considering all our missed free throws.
Biggest disappointments for me were Kylan losing focus at times and not consistently sprinting back on defense. My guess is the staff will play Ben letting up for a split second and giving up an alley oop and one about a hundred times to remind him at this level you have to sprint back every time.
We now know what we need to work on both offensively and defensively. One more buy game and I like our chances against Arkansas on Thanksgiving. Go Illini!
I think we kind of knew games like this were coming. A lot of hard lessons for the boys tonight. We are too undisciplined right now. We weren’t out manned, we were out executed. It can be fixed.
Also, Grant Nelson is a big time flopper!
From what I've seen... Kylan, KJ, Will, Ben, Morez.
Would like DGL there too but we've got great guard play outside him too.
Agree with this for sure...
I feel like Brad has an issue on his hands with Tomi. He's nothing close to being a rim protector and he's not overly gifted athletically. I feel like Morez is by FAR the best fit at the 5 with how the roster is made up. He provides a level of aggression and nastiness that Tomi just doesn't have. That's not coachable. That's an attitude from the second you put the jersey on.
I'm hoping that the salary doesn't drive playing time.
Tomi with a - 20 today on the plus/minus scale.
I'm hoping that the salary doesn't drive playing time.
Tomi with a - 20 today on the plus/minus scale.
I think Bama is absolutely loaded. Just Uber athletic and I was very impressed with how they were able to stretch us out on defense. They always pushed and ran the ball hard as well.
The youngsters.. Riley and Rez showed some fight. I’m with others.. Riley has to start and Rez is a fighter and brings toughness.
I still think we can finish top 5 in the big ten. Bama is just that good.
The youngsters.. Riley and Rez showed some fight. I’m with others.. Riley has to start and Rez is a fighter and brings toughness.
I still think we can finish top 5 in the big ten. Bama is just that good.
Remember, they played Alabama, who was the #2 team prior to their loss at Purdue. We all know how hard it is to win at Purdue. This is a top 5 team we just played in what was a semi road game(I say semi b/c the crowd was not that great from the TV screen). The expectation was they would lose. I expected them to lose by minimum 10-15 points. They covered in my eyes. This could've easily been a 20-30 pt blowout but they fought in that second half. It shows that many of these players have some heart and grit to them that we may not be aware of right now. I take some positives from this game despite the horrendous defense that was played
ginabackes00
CrazedUIFan
Taking a step back and realizing most of these guys haven't seen the speed and physicality of division 1 basketball, it's expected to see them struggle. It should be a good barometer and motivation to get better.
frozenrope9190
- Aurora, IL
Im not all that disappointed. We needed a game against an offensive powerhouse to show where we need to get to. We have lots to work on, but showing some real talent.
The free throws though, man...
The free throws though, man...
That's what happens when you play a top 5 team with a bunch of veterans. You get punked. That's what Underwood signed up for. The hope is they do grow and get better as the year goes on
When KJ went out with the knee (non) injury is when we went on a run to
close to single digits. I know we need KJ down the line and as he matures. But can someone more knowledgable discuss what we did differently / better while he was out?
close to single digits. I know we need KJ down the line and as he matures. But can someone more knowledgable discuss what we did differently / better while he was out?
This is what I expected defensively this early. Our 1st year players and Europeans don’t play great defense. humrichhous has to step up his game defensively from playing in Evansville. Hopefully give Brad something to work with and improve their D. Work on free throws, make 7-8 of those misses is a different ball game. Especially from guys who would normally make them.
The analytics don’t paint the whole picture. Tomi is offensively gifted, but he got exposed on defense. The big runs or comebacks it seemed Morez was on the floor or made a big play..
I think everyone on this board will agree its time to put Will in the starting line up and move Tre to the 8th man. Only reason to keep Morez off the floor is the 4 fouls he had. He will get better and he will see 20 plus minutes again. The 2nd half Illini are the team we need to see for a full 40 minutes. We do that. We can be a sweet 16 of better team. Tre off the floor improves this team by leaps and bounds.
Tre looks like the bust of the starters. Looking for Riley to take his spot.
They are the most veteran guys on the team. Not a good sign.
People worry too much about who starts. Riley played 29 minutes to Tre’s 16. And Morez is never going to play 20 minutes at the rate he was fouling — 4 fouls in 9 minutes according to box score.
Tomi was a -20 tonight and was taken advantage of time after time on the perimeter. He's a work in progress defensively. This team needs a rim protector badly and Morez fits that mold much better.
Not claiming to be more knowledgable, but it seemed like the ball didn't "stick," and we weren't dribbling out front nearly as much as when KJ runs point. I know we want to run the pick and roll when he's in, and he is normally really good at it. But not against a team as athletic as Bama.
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