I think some of the defensive woes (shots at the rim or drive & kick 3s) were due to us picking them up full court and then allowing a blow by. I think it was a point of emphasis to stick with it even if we were getting fried off it with it being exhibition. Assume we will play a little more zone in season especially w/ Mirk.
Baylor 95, Illinois 91 (Exhibition) Postgame
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Completely agree- quick guards going off on us is nothing new , but we can allow that AND points and the rim and not get the rebound when they do miss
I would have thought Cam Crocker would have been cooking something up over the summer on defense but it’s not apparent what our philosophy or approach is at all. Maybe the 12 man rotation and all the different lineups is making that impossible and they likely didn’t want to show too much schematically in exhibitions but he’s going to have to get creative and at least take something away- just laying back in a zone would be better than what we are doing right now
As much as folks want to crap on the defense, Illinois was 11th among power conference teams in FG% allowed on the first shot of possession.
Pair that with 28th in DREB%, 19th in DREB% on missed FGs, and 1st in FT rate allowed … it resulted in a top 20 defense. (I do think we could’ve been even better if our defensive rebounding was top 5 or top 10)
Rebounding, not fouling, and protecting the rim are our 3 non negotiables.
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Exhibitions are the test pilot stage of the season. We aren't yet even trying to see how best to use the craft (that's for non-conferance games). We are trying to see what causes the craft to fail so we can compensate for and address those weaknesses.
LouHenson
- Naples Florida
To me it seems Z is critical this year we need way more out of him. Park him in the middle on D and let him contest the shots that Tomi just drops to. We get killed because Tomi can’t control the rim, but on offense he is much more effective than Z. I hope we see much more from Z this year, he has NBA potential, not sure Tomi really does?
I don't see it with either at this point.
I mean it's a weak 2027 draft overall so I guess it wouldn't be a surprise if drafted.
JMO Theyd need to be a lot better shooters than they are for all their flaws elsewhere. Z was 28 from 3 and T was 31 last season I believe. I'll be frank, all I hear about them is them gaining weight.....yet it's not translated on the court IMO
LW was an elite scorer in HS. He just needs the confidence that comes with tick.
My hope is the young guys are playing their hearts out to earn a spot and the veterans are saving for when the bright lights come on....
Agreed completely.
If there's been no setback, then why is he no longer practicing?
At BIG media days, he was walking around perfectly fine, without any material assistance. The way he looked at the game, is how he looked after having surgery.
This is just Brad and Illinois trying to control the media narrative as best they can. But the signs are blatantly obvious.
The good news is that we'd rather have it now, than in the meat of the conference slate.
I know exhibition - so TIFWIW
They like to talk about: Body by Fletch
Against Baylor it was like: Body by Sally
They looked weak, the returners primarily.
I'd like to think they were told not to go full 100 speed to prevent unncessary injuries. The irony.
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