It was mentioned earlier this week that maybe the Indiana game or Ohio State gameAny word on when Goode is back after his doctors appointment this past Thursday?
Sounds like a voice of experience.....
Maybe we should refrain from dumping on a kid who's clearly going through something.So as an Illini fan, is it safe to sum up the Skyy Clark experience as:View attachment 22776
Brad said Luke was a point guardIt was mentioned earlier this week that maybe the Indiana game or Ohio State game
We need another guy on the floor who can score.
It was an intentional decision to fight over picks so we didn't give up any 3's to shooters. We were fine with giving up midrange 2's.I think (after watching the Michigan State game), our guards need to move behind the puck instead of over the top. This gave MSU the opportunity to blow past the defender.
I’m sure it depends on the player and his ability to shoot from distance, but, they need to pay attention. MSU was not shooting from distance.
Our defenders need to move more to get back in front. The picks were the reason for the effectiveness of their drives.
In those situations, move under the pick. It happened over and over, especially in the first half.
5 assists against MSU? ..We should absolutely be building next year's team around Epps as a volume scorer. Which means, incidentally, that PG duties need to lie elsewhere. Epps is a smart player and good ballhandler and is doing remarkably well for a true freshman, but distribution is not his highest calling.
I respectfully disagree with that statement.-- switch on all picks allows you to guard tighter
-- switch on all picks requires better communication so nobody is left undefended
-- switch on all picks can you leave you in mismatch with smaller defender guarding somebody posting up
Last year we were too small on perimeter - Alphonso, Andre, Trent, Our bigs were too slow Kofi, Omar
This year we have size and speed to switch but got exposed with poor communication
-- TSJ, MM, Hawkins, Sencire, Skyy, RJ, Ty can all guard everyone
-- Dainja is much more agile than Kofi
I understand Brad's frustration about poor execution. he should show the team film from 1989 flying Ilini. I would rather lose more games now and improve our defense so when we get to March we can lock down teams. Our defense vs. MD, Missouri, Penn State and NW was horrendous. It was not switching vs fighting thru picks. It was lack of effort.
JMO
- Sencire is an awesome on ball defender
- Rogers is very good defender - has size and quickness to guard anybody under 6'9"
- Dainja is very underated. Despite his bulk he blocks a lot of shots and cannot be muscled in lane
- Hawkins is great on perimter and good shotblocker. His post defense is OK but not great
- TSJ has good quickness and makes the effort. Can be muscled in paint
- RJ good speed and size
- Jayden good effort - little small at 6'2"
Issues
- Skyy made effort but is not super athletic
- MM was inconsistent in his effort but seems to be trying harder now. Has size but not athletic. Maybe gambles for the steal little too much.
If you want to pressure you need all 5 defenders making maximum effort.
Agreed. Just based on what we know, I really don't think it's remotely reasonable to conclude that Skyy was the problem with this team and the reason there were locker room issues. But having a teammate leave the team in the middle of the season can certainly have that effect of waking people up or even giving some players a sense of guilt and making them better teammates. It also helps to have a coach willing to listen, work with you, and make changes to help benefit you.It’s hard not to take this as a shot at Skyy- which I don’t think is what occurred. IMO Skyy was not the problem and was one of the few guys that could help get shots for others
I do think when a stater/key player leaves mid season like that it’s a shock to the system and makes everyone Re-evaluate their role. Not having a PG makes everyone take more accountability etc. I do think that had a big affect on me layers coming together - Skyy wasn’t the problem but him leaving helped galvanize the team I think is a much more accurate take
Not bad but I'm going with 13-7Updated Big 10 Season Win-Loss Projection: 12-8
Brad said Luke was a point guard
Better in Illini gear. Anyways, back to 2022 Illini basketball...
Yeah, I remember which “insider” said that. That message was before his doctor’s appointment and well not all “insiders” are the same…It was mentioned earlier this week that maybe the Indiana game or Ohio State game
We need another guy on the bench who can score.
Not bad but I’m going 17-3Not bad but I'm going with 13-7
20-3Not bad but I’m going 17-3
The midrange shooting is what put us behind by nine.It was an intentional decision to fight over picks so we didn't give up any 3's to shooters. We were fine with giving up midrange 2's.
I think the point is that someone like Hoggard isn't interested in shooting 3's off the dribble and shoots under 30% on all 3's, so why not go under the screen and take away his drive/midrange?It was an intentional decision to fight over picks so we didn't give up any 3's to shooters. We were fine with giving up midrange 2's.
Correct. I can think of at least a hundred reasons why he might have felt a need to leave the team, and any one of those potential reasons has about a 1 per cent chance of being correct. Plus, aside from our curiosity, it is his business and no one else's. I say accept the fact that he is gone (at least for now) and move on.Maybe we should refrain from dumping on a kid who's clearly going through something.
Izzo was completely out of line commenting on another team's player who has taken time off because of unknown personal reasons. He could have been far more vague in his response. "they've made some changes really playing well..." whatever, be vague but don't comment on a young man who has stepped away for personal reasons. Leave it alone Izzo, you're better than that and you've been around too long to sink that low. Hoping someone asks Underwood about the comment or somebody calls Izzo out on it.
Izzo was completely out of line commenting on another team's player who has taken time off because of unknown personal reasons. He could have been far more vague in his response. "they've made some changes really playing well..." whatever, be vague but don't comment on a young man who has stepped away for personal reasons. Leave it alone Izzo, you're better than that and you've been around too long to sink that low. Hoping someone asks Underwood about the comment or somebody calls Izzo out on it.