Illinois 71, Jackson State 47 Postgame

#27      

FloridaMan

F
FloridaMan
Nice start despite missing half our starters. Hope we get our guards fully healthy quickly. One down, two more for the big man. Gonna be a fun season, I hope our guys are hungry after the quick exit from the dance last year.
 
#29      

Orangetool

O
Orangetool
Great game for BBV, Hawk coming into his own, some frosh and transfer sparks. Grandison shows his great value.

We are a very deep team.
We are gonna roll some teams.
 
#30      

Dfresh33

D
Dfresh33
Free throw shooting is the only thing that has worried me through these first few games. Also, Trent Meacham getting the call on the BTN late game. Nice.
 
#31      

IllinistuckinGopherland

IllinistuckinGopherland
IllinistuckinGopherland
BlueLeader said:
Only thing concerning me was watching Plummer. Grandi as prescribed carrying the active guys today along with Hawkins but BBV wow hello sir.
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I’ve liked the “Everyday Guys” mantra, but maybe was a little skeptical of how much that stuff really differs from team to team. Watching Plummer and Payne tonight, they just look like talented guys who aren’t part of our team. Hopefully it will come with time and I hope those two are great - just interesting that they seemed like the guys who were “off” in Game One.
 
#32      

hoopsfan47

H
hoopsfan47
Stars of the game? Hawk and BVV...and few if any would have picked either to start let alone star. Underwood's problem is regardless of whom he starts, about 20% of fans will think he is and idiot to not start another. Or, you could look at it as he could throw darts at a board for starters.

Personally, this will be one of the most riveting seasons in many a moon as to who can step up, step in, and fill the stat sheet. But I sure would like to see more fundamental play, better shooting, and valued possessions. If you shoot 50%+ without turning it over and play all out defense, you won't get on ESPN highlights....but in the end you walk away with the trophy that is worth a thousand time more.
 
#33      

Epsilon

Epsilon
M tipping over
Pdx
Epsilon
hoopsfan47 said:
Stars of the game? Hawk and BVV...and few if any would have picked either to start let alone star. Underwood's problem is regardless of whom he starts, about 20% of fans will think he is and idiot to not start another. Or, you could look at it as he could throw darts at a board for starters.

Personally, this will be one of the most riveting seasons in many a moon as to who can step up, step in, and fill the stat sheet. But I sure would like to see more fundamental play, better shooting, and valued possessions. If you shoot 50%+ without turning it over and play all out defense, you won't get on ESPN highlights....but in the end you walk away with the trophy that is worth a thousand time more.
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I am super impressed with the leaps those two guys have made this year. Really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out too.
 
#34      

OurMottoisOskeeWowWow

OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
Illinois
OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
That second half though... 3's all over. Talk about a shootout! Jackson State 6-11 from 3 and Illinois 7-12. Both teams shot over 50 percent.
wild west cowboy GIF by Morgan Creek
 
#35      

sully

sully
sully
skyIdub said:
This game full of our bench just ooozing the culture BU has established. If a floor could bruise, ours would be black and blue.
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Damn right. You can't be a wussy diva if you want to play for the Fighting Illini . No wimps allowed . Happy for the win and am so excited for this season!
 
#36      

ElGran

E
ElGran
hoopsfan47 said:
Stars of the game? Hawk and BVV...and few if any would have picked either to start let alone star. Underwood's problem is regardless of whom he starts, about 20% of fans will think he is and idiot to not start another. Or, you could look at it as he could throw darts at a board for starters.

Personally, this will be one of the most riveting seasons in many a moon as to who can step up, step in, and fill the stat sheet. But I sure would like to see more fundamental play, better shooting, and valued possessions. If you shoot 50%+ without turning it over and play all out defense, you won't get on ESPN highlights....but in the end you walk away with the trophy that is worth a thousand time more.
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Star of the game was J Grandison. BBV certainly impressed though. Really happy we've got both BBV and Payne for depth behind an All-American (not to mention Coleman who can also play C if necessary).

As far as fundamental play -- it's hard to be an efficient team w/o your starting backcourt.

As great as Kofi is, Andre and Trent might be our two most important players. I hope to never see Damonte or Plummer playing PG again this season.
 
#37      

illiniguy24

illiniguy24
illiniguy24
Krombopulos_Michael said:
If it’s possible to call a 24 pt win an “ugly win,” that’s this game. A win is a win especially down 4 key players.
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Couldn’t disagree more, all due respect. The game was never in question, and we were down 3 starters and 1 key bench player, with two of those being our unquestioned floor generals.
The team showed what a power house program does to inferior opponents, and that’s win convincingly. The fact we did it under these conditions is something I think we are not fully appreciating.

Team is deep and future is bright. I-L-L…!
 
#38      

illiniguy24

illiniguy24
illiniguy24
BlueLeader said:
Only thing concerning me was watching Plummer. Grandi as prescribed carrying the active guys today along with Hawkins but BBV wow hello sir.
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Plummer will come into his own eventually. Plus let’s be honest about what he is for this team, a microwave. Games where he isn’t hitting his shots he will likely struggle to impact the game. But when he gets hot, everyone will know it. He will be fine when he has Belo and Trent to get him the ball in his favorite spots.
 
#42      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
For me Grandison had the best performance. He was leading scorer and he did it within the framework that he’ll be used during the season. He is just so professional out there.

Hawk and BBV both did good things. With Hawk he was used in ways not likely to be used too much during season and was certainly better than Jackson St players But love how active he is. BBV falls into the latter category too. Can’t hold that against them, but still leads space for wondering. That said, both had very good games and if that is a foundation for season, things are good.

I was impressed by the frosh. All have talent. Would have liked to see Podz play more (loved him getting on the floor and made a nice drop pass into post). Also thought Payne and Plummer played pretty well. Plummer will definitely be in the midst of some victories this year. I think some people will over look Payne with the numbers Hawk and BBV put up, but I love Payne’s length. Think he’ll be very good backup 5.

All and all a good win. Number of turnovers (19) was problematic, but I think some of that was people having to do what they normally won’t have to. Lot to work on but certainly some good things to build upon.
 
#44      

Goldtop

Goldtop
Goldtop
So used to seeing the inside out game the last two years with Kofi and Gorgi. I don't remember seeing one pass to the post all night. A much different game than what we will be seeing once Kofi is back.
As a side, I hope to see Kofi kicking it out to an open shooter once and awhile this year when he is double teamed. We have a lot of shooters.
 
#48      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
IllinistuckinGopherland said:
I’ve liked the “Everyday Guys” mantra, but maybe was a little skeptical of how much that stuff really differs from team to team. Watching Plummer and Payne tonight, they just look like talented guys who aren’t part of our team. Hopefully it will come with time and I hope those two are great - just interesting that they seemed like the guys who were “off” in Game One.
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Plummer had at least 2 opportunities to get a lose ball and just didn't. BU was visibly unhappy with both because that's exactly what he has talked about before with Plummer needing to get tough. I thought he did a much better job at the point than Damonte in his limited opportunities but he really needs to buy in with more effort.