Counterpoint, the criticisms are nonsense and they played like a final 4 team last night which is why their efficiency metrics have them at...4.
Illinois 113, Jackson State 55 Postgame
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And did it without our best offensive player and (likely) best PG
I'd argue that anyone who thinks they know who the best 4 teams will be 5 months from now is doing something similar to this horse...
Could not agree more that this team lacked penetration by dribble/drive last night. Actually, the way they came out hitting threes, it wasn't necessary. Boswell was the only one effective though Wagler pounded around quite often to no avail.
As for Petro, I hope to see a positive effect in that regard, but not ready to say "the offense will really take off". We might expect that, but ya gotta show me....I live in Missouri now. I hope he does not feel expected to wow the crowd immediately and lets the game come to him. He could really raise the ceiling but we don't know that yet.
All four of those kids sitting on the bench dressed in street clothes have talents this team needs. My fondest hope is that we see those talents displayed on the court before Dec. arrives.
Meantime, I pray this bunch of Illini can truly dedicate themselves to playing elite team defense. There is a long way to go in that regard but having 5 guys at 6'9 to 7'2" makes for some defensive advantages that do not need to be taught.
And who thought JJ would be ready to play at the level he showed last night? Keep working kid and your time will come.
For us Illinois small town guys and farm boys, it will always be Wags, Mirk, and Petro.
The only really noticeable difference was less emphasis on limiting opposing 3pt attempts and instead limiting chances at the rim.
Jackson State shot 27 3 pointers, and had 8 chances at the rim.
Last season, opening opponent EIU shot 13 3 pointers but had 18 chances at the rim.
Wagler had two dribble drive makes and was fouled on 5 others and shot 10 free throws
There is much to see before crowning AS as "our best offensive player". From all reports, that has not been displayed to date. But if he does prove to be worthy of the title, look out Nellie!!! He has the highest expectations of anyone on this team, not to mention the highest income. Let's hope we can look back and say it was worth it and we enjoyed watching him exceed our wildest dreams.
I prefer that people express themselves.
You gotta play your best players and this staff prioritizes offense over rim protection. I’d be absolutely shocked if Z played more minutes than Morez last year. To me he’s redundant piece.
Underwood has never played more than a core 8 guys in Big 10 play anyway.
Petrovic/Boswell/Wagler
Stojakovic/Davis/Humrichous
Mirkovic/Tomi
That’s the core 8 IMO. And Lee would be in there if they need ball handler
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Ok, he's not going to start, or play a lot, but Jakstys had 9 rebounds in 12 minutes. That's a higher rate than Mirkovic. He also had a nice assist and a steal.
Someone asked me what I thought the positives were (I didn't have time to respond this morning and now I can't find the post).
The positives:
- We shot the 3 ball really well. A number of them were passes in rhythm. [In original post.]
- Hum and Jake had solid games. No flash. Doing their role as needed. This bodes well. [In original post.]
- They did significantly better at setting/holding the screens up top than in the exhibition. A bit more work is needed IMO.
- They were, for the most part, not selfish.**
** There were 5-6 trips where you could just see when someone got the ball that they were going to take it and go 1:1 no matter what. These were with 15s+ left on the clock. Almost all of those sequences turned out poorly. I don't know if these were called plays. "I want to see if you can ..." or not. They might also have been "teaching" examples so the players learned why they should focus on the team play vs. 1:1 play. If they were called plays, then they are a positive for the teaching value.
The positives:
- We shot the 3 ball really well. A number of them were passes in rhythm. [In original post.]
- Hum and Jake had solid games. No flash. Doing their role as needed. This bodes well. [In original post.]
- They did significantly better at setting/holding the screens up top than in the exhibition. A bit more work is needed IMO.
- They were, for the most part, not selfish.**
** There were 5-6 trips where you could just see when someone got the ball that they were going to take it and go 1:1 no matter what. These were with 15s+ left on the clock. Almost all of those sequences turned out poorly. I don't know if these were called plays. "I want to see if you can ..." or not. They might also have been "teaching" examples so the players learned why they should focus on the team play vs. 1:1 play. If they were called plays, then they are a positive for the teaching value.
And the nice back door cut for the jam. I hope he gets some minutes…
I think you nailed it. Just hope those 8 guys are more or less healthy.
Also, Underwood is no different than a solid majority of coaches in the bolded. Coaches want their best guys on the floor as much as possible (which you rightly pointed out).
Is Mirk our Clingan? I dont remember how he played (and frankly didn't want to watch UConn) so maybe this is just a brain fart.
A lot of those 3s came when we got to the paint too….
Yea, just went and watched some of his old highlights. I had to suck back the vomit, but I did it to save face. DM is definitely not DC. The passing and ability to hit the 3 were all I remembered from our game against them. Please disregard.
Love this school
sacraig
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Wagler’s shot is absolutely filthy, I there’s something about the way it hits the bottom of the the net
I'd argue that Davis and Humrichous are more redundant skillset wise than Zvonimir and Tomislav.
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