Illini Basketball 2018-2019

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#451      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
dbeverly26 said:
As of last season, Kipper Nichols was listed as one inch shorter and five pounds lighter than Leron Black, and he wound up blocking more shots in far fewer minutes. (He also blocked more shots than Finke.) Those are not material differences.
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Contesting shots isn't really what we do. One thing Black, and particularly Finke actually did not terribly was take charges. It's a get a steal, take a charge, or give up a layup type defense.

Playing the way we play, we're always going to be at the extreme in three stats: turnovers forced, fouls committed, and field goal percentage defense. That's the mix that will define our defensive success.

We were 5th nationally in turnovers forced last year, 339th in fouls committed, and 313th in FG% defense. The route to greater success is in improving in FG% defense while keeping the other stuff stable, that's where WVU is. But if you lose some of those turnovers to fouls and decline in FG%, then you get even worse. The idea that there is no room below where we are is wrong.
 
#453      

dbeverly26

dbeverly26
dbeverly26
Second and Chalmers said:
Contesting shots isn't really what we do. One thing Black, and particularly Finke actually did not terribly was take charges. It's a get a steal, take a charge, or give up a layup type defense.

Playing the way we play, we're always going to be at the extreme in three stats: turnovers forced, fouls committed, and field goal percentage defense. That's the mix that will define our defensive success.

We were 5th nationally in turnovers forced last year, 339th in fouls committed, and 313th in FG% defense. The route to greater success is in improving in FG% defense while keeping the other stuff stable, that's where WVU is. But if you lose some of those turnovers to fouls and decline in FG%, then you get even worse. The idea that there is no room below where we are is wrong.
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Yes, the team needs a goalie. Systematically, that's the only thing that will allow for significant improvement. I'm hopeful Kane will be at least useful in that role, though I am not expecting much from him as a freshman.

As to the question of whether or not it can get worse, I guess we'll see. There was exactly one P5 team that was worse on the interior last year. I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the gap between Black and Nichols won't drag us into MEAC territory on defense. And I'm hopeful that improved backcourt defense will help with both fouling as well as denying entry into the paint, whether by pass or drive, though I'd expect any improvement to be at the margins.

Either way, we'll see. Thankfully, there's only one week left in August.
 
#458      

dbeverly26

dbeverly26
dbeverly26
Second and Chalmers said:
"Goalie" is a great term for that role, I'm gonna steal that. That's what we're after Jitoboh and Cockburn and Tshiebwe to do.
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Kontate is basically the best around, and I expect WVU will be a top-ten team as long as he stays there.

I would love to see what this team could do with long, mobile players at the four and five -- one as the tip of the spear on the press and one at the back. That's nightmare fuel.
 
#459      

GForce

GForce
GForce
Just raise your hands up Samba


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#460      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
dbeverly26 said:
Kontate is basically the best around, and I expect WVU will be a top-ten team as long as he stays there.
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And he was just a 3-star recruit. Played limited minutes as a freshman, like he was being paid by the foul. Kane will likely be similar. Freshman bigs are either invisible, foul-prone, or Anthony Davis.
 
#462      

The Dave

The Dave
CA
The Dave
sacraig said:
At some level, that is unavoidable. Ultimately, there will be some possessions where the other team's defense plays well and you just end up having to shoot late in the shot clock. In those situations, it is always nice to have a go-to player or two who excel of making something out of nothing. One of the marks of a good team and a well-executed offense/offensive system is the ability to minimize those sorts of situations so that you don't have to rely on hero ball. Ultimately, hero ball really just boils down to luck.
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I agree. Unfortuantely the Groce era seemed to come down to Hero Ball way to often. and I think it was poor coaching/planning as opposed to an inability to execute.. I think last year's was due to growing pains and it should happen far less often as the BU system is fully implemented.
 
#463      

The Dave

The Dave
CA
The Dave
drewillini89 said:
I've been saying this and saying this, we have a good shot a surprising a lot of people this year, upsetting a lot of teams. I can't wait to see how this plays out.
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Think about how many games we were in last year. How many did we lose in the last 10 (or 5) seconds? It's not inconceivable our W total goes up. I also agree that we have a good shot at some upsets. That being said, I'd rather be in the position of being the favorite rather than pulling an upset or two.

In the end I think we'll be better than last year, but our record may not show it.
 
#464      

rcjord1

R
rcjord1
Malcolm HillCurrent Team: MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Rayvonte RiceCurrent Team: N/A
Jaylon TateCurrent Team: Pyrinto Tampere
Kendrick NunnCurrent Team: Golden State Warriors
Maverick MorganCurrent Team: Vytautas Prienu
Tracy AbramsCurrent Team: N/A
Leron BlackCurrent Team: Elitzur Yavne (Isreal)
Nanna EgwuCurrent Team: N/A
Ahmad StarksCurrent Team: N/A
Mike ThorneCurrent Team: N/A
Mark AlstorkCurrent Team: N/A
List of Players from 2015 to Present, did I miss anyone.....? Some players were not updated.
 
#467      

jmilt7

J
Waukegan
jmilt7
rcjord1 said:
List of Players from 2015 to Present, did I miss anyone.....? Some players were not updated.
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I thought I read here somewhere that Augustine is still playing pro so I looked it up.

"Augustine signed with Spanish club Unicaja for the 2017–18 season"
 
#469      

bobbob

B
bobbob
One thing I think can (and must) be improved on the offense is transitioning from the initial 7 second look to running the real offense. Last year if we went for the first quick look and it wasn't there, it would take the team way too long to pull the ball out and get the offense started. Lots of Frazier dribbling 35 feet away from the basket for 7 more seconds while people got in place. That just can't happen. That only leaves us time for a couple quick options before we turn to hero ball.

As for defense, I still think this board is more obsessed with blocks than the staff.
 
#470      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
bobbob said:
One thing I think can (and must) be improved on the offense is transitioning from the initial 7 second look to running the real offense. Last year if we went for the first quick look and it wasn't there, it would take the team way too long to pull the ball out and get the offense started. Lots of Frazier dribbling 35 feet away from the basket for 7 more seconds while people got in place. That just can't happen. That only leaves us time for a couple quick options before we turn to hero ball.

As for defense, I still think this board is more obsessed with blocks than the staff.
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The shortened shot clock also hurts us. Underwood’s greatest halfcourt teams were at sfa with a 35 second shot clock. When your willing to be patient in the halfcourt and work the defense till failure that extra five seconds is worth a lot.
 
#471      

TxChief

T
TxChief
Rap73 said:
Is Kane on campus?
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I would guess, unless there was a plane hijacking that hasn't made news yet. (See my earlier post #420 in this thread). Piper says he's here, but that seems to be based on the information and assumption that I've made. But in Loyalty, nothing's official until the Scholarship Grid colors change from Mustard Yellow to Orange.
1535215391772.png

rbachhuber ?, we're waiting . . . ?

I trust there arrivals (Kane and Higgs) means all of the transcript issues are resolved

Higgs and Kane = 10 additional fouls to give. Gotten make 'em count. Hopefully the added length in the back and midcourt will protect the Freshman somewhat while they adapt to this level.
But anything will be better than the "let me hold that door for you" rim defense from last year.
 
#474      

jmilt7

J
Waukegan
jmilt7
There is one, count ‘em, one game on the schedule so far that lists who is broadcasting:
Gonzaga 10:30 p.m. CT espn 2
We’re getting there!
 
#475      

Deleted member 4333

D
Guest
Deleted member 4333
TxChief said:
I would guess, unless there was a plane hijacking that hasn't made news yet. (See my earlier post #420 in this thread). Piper says he's here, but that seems to be based on the information and assumption that I've made. But in Loyalty, nothing's official until the Scholarship Grid colors change from Mustard Yellow to Orange.
View attachment 3465
rbachhuber ?, we're waiting . . . ?

I trust there arrivals (Kane and Higgs) means all of the transcript issues are resolved

Higgs and Kane = 10 additional fouls to give. Gotten make 'em count. Hopefully the added length in the back and midcourt will protect the Freshman somewhat while they adapt to this level.
But anything will be better than the "let me hold that door for you" rim defense from last year.
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I'm actually in Champaign this weekend visiting my daughter. Don't have the grid with me.

The fall semester starts tomorrow. I'll post it then. Any word on Higgs?
 
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