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Gonzaga 84, Illinois 78 POSTGAME
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<blockquote data-quote="Serious Late" data-source="post: 1429798" data-attributes="member: 5520"><p>It is hard to sit here and be negative when losing that closely to a top 5 team. I am not negative, and overall I view it as a real positive that there is this amount of passion (myself included) following another early season loss. I openly admit that evaluating offensive plays and "obvious" plays are so much easier than evaluating defensive rotations and accountability, that I won't pretend to try and interpret the play on that end of the court. That said, a few thoughts:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It is a complete over-reaction, I know, but Trent Frazier is one of the best guards in the B1G. That was unbelievable. There is no way we lose against Georgetown with anything close to a 100% Trent.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In general, the young guard play is something to look forward to. Alan Griffin gave us several moments that we really NEEDED, and if we had a bit of that from Aaron Jordan, we easily win. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ayo was not stellar, but the tools are clearly there. He deferred to Trent and didn't do much to cost us the game.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Georgi has consistently been a surprise for the Illini. Thank you, the play from him was undeniably strong.</li> </ul><p>On the flipside:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We don't have a consistent upperclassman. Jordan, Feliz, Adonis... Kipper! Gross. We get any real level of production from them, this is an easy win.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I will stand on an island here, but Feliz is not a B1G-caliber option at guard. I have yet to feel confident with the ball in his hands. Some positive results have certainly come from it, but that is no different from what you would expect from a starting Mid-Major guard. Don't get me started on what would happen if Loyola's basketball team tried playing a full season against a B1G schedule...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Aaron Jordan - Nope. CANNOT miss multiple wide open threes late in the game along with the front end of a 1 and 1. We HAD to have something there. I was really hoping for a Jon Diebler type season, but not only is he not hitting the shot when he HAS to hit it, he isn't creating the space to get himself open consistently enough. There were several plays where we really needed him to find space to get an open 3 and hit it, but he couldn't do it. That has to happen!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Kipper Nichols - I am speechless. There is so little being shown at this point, I don't really know what to say. It appears he is barely a rotation player.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Outside the Senior concern, as much as we benefited from creating chaos, the 7-second offense looked really, really, REALLY scary at so many points. NONONONO, don't dribble wildly toward the end-line without a plan!</li> </ul><p>The rest of this tournament will be fun. Does Damonte step up (needs to)? Does a Senior/Upperclassman do something more productive for us? Can Trent/Georgi continue to be the catalysts we need? Lots of questions and this season can go a lot of ways. Do we have a chance to make the tourney? Do we finish under .500? Either possibility is very real, I do appreciate having something to watch though...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Serious Late, post: 1429798, member: 5520"] It is hard to sit here and be negative when losing that closely to a top 5 team. I am not negative, and overall I view it as a real positive that there is this amount of passion (myself included) following another early season loss. I openly admit that evaluating offensive plays and "obvious" plays are so much easier than evaluating defensive rotations and accountability, that I won't pretend to try and interpret the play on that end of the court. That said, a few thoughts: [LIST] [*]It is a complete over-reaction, I know, but Trent Frazier is one of the best guards in the B1G. That was unbelievable. There is no way we lose against Georgetown with anything close to a 100% Trent. [*]In general, the young guard play is something to look forward to. Alan Griffin gave us several moments that we really NEEDED, and if we had a bit of that from Aaron Jordan, we easily win. [LIST] [*]Ayo was not stellar, but the tools are clearly there. He deferred to Trent and didn't do much to cost us the game. [/LIST] [*]Georgi has consistently been a surprise for the Illini. Thank you, the play from him was undeniably strong. [/LIST] On the flipside: [LIST] [*]We don't have a consistent upperclassman. Jordan, Feliz, Adonis... Kipper! Gross. We get any real level of production from them, this is an easy win. [LIST] [*]I will stand on an island here, but Feliz is not a B1G-caliber option at guard. I have yet to feel confident with the ball in his hands. Some positive results have certainly come from it, but that is no different from what you would expect from a starting Mid-Major guard. Don't get me started on what would happen if Loyola's basketball team tried playing a full season against a B1G schedule... [*]Aaron Jordan - Nope. CANNOT miss multiple wide open threes late in the game along with the front end of a 1 and 1. We HAD to have something there. I was really hoping for a Jon Diebler type season, but not only is he not hitting the shot when he HAS to hit it, he isn't creating the space to get himself open consistently enough. There were several plays where we really needed him to find space to get an open 3 and hit it, but he couldn't do it. That has to happen! [*]Kipper Nichols - I am speechless. There is so little being shown at this point, I don't really know what to say. It appears he is barely a rotation player. [/LIST] [*]Outside the Senior concern, as much as we benefited from creating chaos, the 7-second offense looked really, really, REALLY scary at so many points. NONONONO, don't dribble wildly toward the end-line without a plan! [/LIST] The rest of this tournament will be fun. Does Damonte step up (needs to)? Does a Senior/Upperclassman do something more productive for us? Can Trent/Georgi continue to be the catalysts we need? Lots of questions and this season can go a lot of ways. Do we have a chance to make the tourney? Do we finish under .500? Either possibility is very real, I do appreciate having something to watch though... [/QUOTE]
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Gonzaga 84, Illinois 78 POSTGAME
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