Houston 68, Illinois 53 Postgame

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#303      

illinigiant80

I
illinigiant80
bootsy1974 said:
Agree for the most part. One thing that got pointed out by Bonner and has been a problem all year is when Kofi is double teamed no one on our team moves to the basket or a spot where Kofi can see to make a pass. Everyone just stands and watches Kofi. On that play that Bonner pointed it out RJ did finally move but Kofi didn't see him and it was too late for a turnover. If Kofi comes back that has to be a point of emphasis for the coaching staff next season. You can't get caught up in watching Kofi, move without the ball.
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And teach kofi to pass it back out 3 seconds faster before he has the entire defense surrounding him.
 
#306      

IllinistrandedinHouston

I
IllinistrandedinHouston
BoiseBaller said:
Personally, I think this is the high water mark for Brad here. Ayo and Kofi were special players. Not sure he can sustain getting that level of player.

My biggest disappointment is that we just run no offense. No movement, no screening outside the top of the key, no cutting. Guys just stand around and watch. Maybe Brad needs to bring in an assistant who can put in a decent offensive scheme. He's great for defense but man oh man, his offense makes my eyes bleed.
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Maybe we can get the two assistant coaches back from Kentucky. I hear they may be available!
 
#307      

Pennsy

P
Pennsy
sacraig said:
You wouldn't like to see Curbelo able to consistently hit 3s? Are you high?
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He hasn't hit any yet. Don't want him to even try. Make runners in the lane like Houston did all afternoon today.
 
#308      

Goode-for-3

Goode-for-3
Goode-for-3
LvilleILL said:
Good season. Onto next year, hopefully Jake and Kofi are back. Future is bright as we saw today
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If Jake and Kofi return, along with Goode and Melendez I feel really good about next year. Hawkins should be a monster next year with a few more lbs of muscle and another year of maturity.

And despite all the Curbelo hate, I still think he can be something truly special. I really hope our fans on Twitter don’t run him off. It’s be a real shame.

S
 
#309      

BBIQ

B
Texas
BBIQ
Ken said:
LOL he didn't bench Belo because he didn't know how to be a PG . If anything it was because he didn't seem as engaged as he thought he should be especially on that inbounds . The bigger problem is that weve seen those seniors come out and be just as bad and he went right back to them the next half so the question becomes why then did he decide that Belo was the one to not play the second half considering the play of the starters for quite some time .
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I don't know what games you've been watching but Curbelo doesn't know how to be a PG and Underwood knows that. He has tried to stick with him in the hopes that it improved but it hasn't.

Your PG needs to take care of the ball and value possessions. He has to be the smartest guy on the court in terms of basketball IQ just like a QB in football. Curbelo is the complete opposite of that. He is the antithesis of a Deron Williams.

Many posters here don't understand that wasted possessions might as well be turnovers (something Izzo even said after a loss to us recently) and don't seem capabale of thinking past what's in the scorebook. Curbelo's turnovers are just a small part of the overall problem, it's all the wasted possessions that kill us more then the actual turnovers that show up in the stat sheet. He doesn't recognize game situations. We recently had a 5 point lead with a minute and a half to go and he's still playing out of control. Completely clueless on how to protect a lead. It was really bad this year, no reason to surges coat it.

He has the potential to be a superstar but that's all it is right now, potential. If being benched in the National tourney because you're so careless isn't a wake up call then I don't know what else could be. I hope he finally learns his lesson cause I love him to death and want to see him be the player he has the potential to be. All the excuse making and special pleading around here for his play has to stop. It's okay to recognize reality even as fans with orange colored glasses on.
 
#310      

illinitiger

I
illinitiger
GBIllini said:
Part of the problem is that when Kofi gets double teamed most of the others just stand there. I can understand that if your open but if your covered move. Been a problem all year. RJ cutting to the basket when Kofi had the ball was the first time I had seen it in a while though I think Grandi also did that once in a while. Thats where we missed Grandison, he supplied more movement to the offense.
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This....saw several plays where Kofi had bal 7ft away.... if any player just broke to the basket Kofi would have an easy assist. This was a coaching adjustment we could have made.
 
#311      

Manual3for4peat

M
Manual3for4peat
IllinistuckinGopherland said:
I’m guessing we will soon learn the true extent of Trent’s shoulder and eye injuries. Hate to see it end this way, but I guess short of a natty, what better way to go out than showing his toughness through adversity.

#1 needs to be in the rafters.
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I love Trent. But, our school has too much success to just toss guys into the rafters. Dee Brown scored 174 points in the tournament in his career and he’s not up there.

I think the bar is just so high.
 
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#312      

OrangeKrush1981

OrangeKrush1981
OrangeKrush1981
Ken said:
yeah but having the screener also not being able to shoot makes the pick and roll useless as well .

Kofi pulls every defender into the paint and so you really cant spread the flor with him in the game and its worsened by just how many guys we had that were struggling from the outside.
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Illini ran high pick and roll a LOT last year, with Ayo and Kofi. They scored a ton that way, and not just with Ayo shooting from the top of the key. Kofi often got it on the roll , and Ayo often got the bucket in the paint himself. It was virtually unstoppable in many games.

Today, Trent ran it at least once (off the top of my head) with Kofi, and got a beautiful assist to Kofi on the roll.
 
#313      

GrayGhost77

GrayGhost77
Centennial, CO
GrayGhost77
Goode-for-3 said:
If Jake and Kofi return, along with Goode and Melendez I feel really good about next year. Hawkins should be a monster next year with a few more lbs of muscle and another year of maturity.

And despite all the Curbelo hate, I still think he can be something truly special. I really hope our fans on Twitter don’t run him off. It’s be a real shame.

S
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Agree. I'll be really high on next year's team if Kofi returns, and even more if Grandy does.
 
#314      

sdfidaho

sdfidaho
Boise, Idaho
sdfidaho
Ken said:
The issue is that some of the adjustments you could see needing to be made as far back as 3 months ago . He got far too caught up in senior nostalgia instead of doing things to prepare the team for today .

I am in no way shocked with how things ended because the team just didn't seem to be well prepared . If you didn't know any better you would think that it was the first time a team double Kofi and dared them to shoot. The first 5 minutes of the game we got 5th year seniors gun shy on wide open threes .

How does that happen in game 33 and the coach not be at fault ?
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I don't want to keep playing this game as we can just disagree.
But reading the bolded....are you saying the coach told them not to shoot?
Pretty sure that's not the case.
 
#315      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
For those of you questioning the coaching....(not saying they didn't make some questionable decisions)......who do you think has been coaching those freshmen?

For those of you saying Kofi and Grandy should move on......I don't have any words. Oh wait yes I do have two....clue.
And less.
 
#316      

sacraig

sacraig
The desert
sacraig
Pennsy said:
He hasn't hit any yet. Don't want him to even try. Make runners in the lane like Houston did all afternoon today.
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That's the entire point in developing a shot in the off-season when it doesn't affect the record. The assumption in "develop a shot" is that it would be a usable weapon by the time it does count.
 
#317      

IllinistuckinGopherland

IllinistuckinGopherland
IllinistuckinGopherland
Only great teams win the championship. But you don’t have to be a great team to make the Sweet 16, and not all great teams make the Sweet 16.

We’ll look back at this as the year we got our rightful BIG championship. I will never wonder if ‘22 St Peters, ‘21 Oral Roberts, or John Groce’s Ohio team could have won the big ten. They call it Madness for a reason.
 
#319      

Keisersose

Keisersose
Keisersose
illinitiger said:
This....saw several plays where Kofi had bal 7ft away.... if any player just broke to the basket Kofi would have an easy assist. This was a coaching adjustment we could have made.
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Goode tried to cut once and it was thrown to the 3pt line . The commentators said something about why ever leave the 3pt line, but I think that was a joke at Reggie miller.

Goode has tremendous instincts.
 
#321      

amillini#2

A
amillini#2
For all those who base their opinion of the program solely on NCAA tournament results, here are the early tournament results of a coach who took over a loaded program coming off of a national championship runner-up:

1st year: Elite 8
2nd year: 0-1
3rd year: 0-1
4th year: Elite 8
5th year: Natty

After those two one and out seasons, would you say that program was in a bad place, or that the guy couldn’t coach?

We are finally in a great place as a program since the fallout of that coach leaving cleared. Losing in the first weekend sucks, but, the program is headed in the right direction, and, it’s not like there is nothing to show for the past two years.

So proud to be a fan of this team and excited for what the future holds!

I-L-L-
 
#322      

Illini_1979

Illini_1979
Oregon
Illini_1979
I haven't read all 13 pages of this thread (yet) but wanted to chime in and thank the team for this season. Big Ten Champs, round of 32. Not a bad season at all given the numerous injuries and other maladies. I am pumped by our freshmen (and Coleman and Belo) and the recruits we have coming in next year. Thanks to the seniors (and others) who are leaving us. You helped to get us to where are and our future success will be built on that foundation. Thanks also to Coach Underwood who not only had to mold this team but also replace two critical assistant coaches. I am already looking forward to next year's journey. Take care to all my Illini brethren and a BIG thanks to @Dan for doing such a great job with this forum - I can't begin to imagine how much work it must take. Now, on to football season! :illinois:
 
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