Illinois 68, Alabama A&M 47 Postgame

#276      

LoveIlliniHoops

L
LoveIlliniHoops
Preseason, we heard several prognosticators saying that the early season would see some surprising upsets, followed by shocking loses as we grow as a team and gel. Then it plays out perfectly, and everyone melts down into mass hysteria. This is a common occurrence with the Illini. It takes time to learn the system and find where players excel. Hopefully, we look back at season end and see how unreasonable we all were with the process. Let coach work his magic and see how everything works out.

I know I shouldn’t be surprised by this board, but the hot takes are cringe worthy.

PS. I’m not thrilled with these last few games, but I have to accept that it’s all a process.
 
#277      

chiefini

chiefini
Rockford, Illinois
chiefini
Emerson Bigguns said:
I believe I heard RJ is dealing with a mild shoulder injury. That's why he played so little, turned down open shots, and was only shooting short shots in warmups.
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We were at the game and thought the same thing (doghouse) until a friend texted that he was out because of a sore shoulder. We went to the shoot around in the morning before the game, and we wondered what was going on because RJ never practiced with the first team. We just watched the replay of the game, and RJ came into the game for the first time with 7 minutes left in the first half. There is one play in the four minutes he played there where he came down after a rebound wincing in pain as his arm hung at his side. It looks like he was really hurting…
 
#278      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
chiefini said:
We were at the game and thought the same thing (doghouse) until a friend texted that he was out because of a sore shoulder. We went to the shoot around in the morning before the game, and we wondered what was going on because RJ never practiced with the first team. We just watched the replay of the game, and RJ came into the game for the first time with 7 minutes left in the first half. There is one play in the four minutes he played there where he came down after a rebound wincing in pain as his arm hung at his side. It looks like he was really hurting…
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It’s more doghouse than shoulder
 
#282      

Illini-Rule

I
Illini-Rule
illini0440 said:
Trying to find ways to motivate him.
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Good that they looking for ways to motivate him. As a former teacher and coach I can tell you that everyone is different in how they respond to feedback and everyone is motivated differently. You have to find what works with each student/player. Sometimes that ends up looking like you are favoring one over another, when in reality you are just using what works to motivate each one. Sorry if that is redundant.
 
#283      

RockfordIllini

R
RockfordIllini
Illini-Rule said:
Good that they looking for ways to motivate him. As a former teacher and coach I can tell you that everyone is different in how they respond to feedback and everyone is motivated differently. You have to find what works with each student/player. Sometimes that ends up looking like you are favoring one over another, when in reality you are just using what works to motivate each one. Sorry if that is redundant.
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It does look like it worked with RJ at least for the moment. Shoulder clearly bothering him and he wasn’t 100% and I think it clearly impacted his shooting, but he was noticeably more intense/assertive on the defense/glass.

Frustrating because there’s nothing RJ can’t do on the basketball court and he’s got all the traits of a modern 3 and D wing and could play a decade in the NBA if he figure it out. But at this point he seems to lose focus at times during the game and you can also forget he’s out there. I’m rooting for him to figure it out. If his shoulder is right, I’m thinking he has a big bragging rights game.