Illinois 73, Iowa 61 Postgame

#226      

djkirkpatrick22

djkirkpatrick22
djkirkpatrick22
NarrowJ said:
I seriously doubt Harding and Freeman are going to be a problem for years lol come on

In what way? They going to have average performances while we beat them by 12 in their own building and that's gonna be a problem?

Look, I get that Freeman is probably the B1G Freshman of the year, but there aren't any really good freshmen this year. Mbako is okay, I guess. Outside of those two? Dain punished Freeman yesterday. Amani is better than Freeman and if he played for Iowa he would and could likely be putting up similar #s. Freeman looked overmatched against our backup center. He's not a guy I would want at all given what we have now and what's coming in. Jakstys is rated higher than Freeman by 247 and many don't think he's good enough for us.

Harding, while he's going to be a nice gadget/change of pace type of player and maybe eventually a starter, I highly doubt he morphs into a star there.

Not saying these two kids can't play in the B1G or anything outlandish like that, but they aren't takes here with what we've been doing and the players we're bringing in and about to bring in based on our reportedly having the top NIL in the conference now. They can certainly play in the B1G... for Iowa. Not for us. I have my sights set much higher. Jmo.
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Never once in my post did I mention anything about either of them playing here. Players on other teams can be a problem while we still win. Simply was a comment based off what I watched yesterday. However, 8 pts., 8 rebs., and five blocks is a line I'd take any day from a Freshman center. 6 pts. and 6 assists from a Freshman guard off the bench is also a line that was pretty nice. Obviously, it's one game, but Freeman averages 10+ and 6+ while shooting over 60%. I don't see how anyone else can win FOTY. I also don't see how you can compare him to Amani with the limited PT we've seen this year. Wasn't trying to get into this what so ever, just wanted to point out what I saw yesterday....

Also, with this being said, I hope Amani is 10x the player considering he wears the Orange and Blue!
 
#227      

NarrowJ

NarrowJ
NarrowJ
djkirkpatrick22 said:
Never once in my post did I mention anything about either of them playing here. Players on other teams can be a problem while we still win. Simply was a comment based off what I watched yesterday. However, 8 pts., 8 rebs., and five blocks is a line I'd take any day from a Freshman center. 6 pts. and 6 assists from a Freshman guard off the bench is also a line that was pretty nice. Obviously, it's one game, but Freeman averages 10+ and 6+ while shooting over 60%. I don't see how anyone else can win FOTY. I also don't see how you can compare him to Amani with the limited PT we've seen this year. Wasn't trying to get into this what so ever, just wanted to point out what I saw yesterday....

Also, with this being said, I hope Amani is 10x the player considering he wears the Orange and Blue!
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Ok, fair enough. I still don't see them being much of an issue moving forward. Though, if we cannot hang with Iowa because they have Freeman & Harding, then we likely have other issues and are a sub .500 B1G team. I just don't see it and I'm not scared of those two one iota.
 
#229      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
InDaAZ said:
Coleman had 4 points (on 6 shot attempts), 10 boards, 3 assists and a block in those 25 minutes. Not his best effort, but hardly what can fairly be called “struggling.”

His nagging injury is the more likely reason BU limited his minutes…
We had the lead wire to wire, with more important games ahead.
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I also think Dain playing well with his minutes probably contributed to BU being more comfortable with Coleman being on the bench. His back to back plays with a reverse dunk then forcing Freeman into a travel really summed up what he can be capable of when he's dialed in.
 
#230      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
blackdog said:
I also think Dain playing well with his minutes probably contributed to BU being more comfortable with Coleman being on the bench. His back to back plays with a reverse dunk then forcing Freeman into a travel really summed up what he can be capable of when he's dialed in.
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And this will be important minutes in a potential second round matchup in tourney. We need to have Dain playing at this high level for the next (hopefully) 4 weeks. Allowing Coleman to get some rest during the game is essential, IMO.
 
#231      

BleedingOrange79

B
BleedingOrange79
djkirkpatrick22 said:
Never once in my post did I mention anything about either of them playing here. Players on other teams can be a problem while we still win. Simply was a comment based off what I watched yesterday. However, 8 pts., 8 rebs., and five blocks is a line I'd take any day from a Freshman center. 6 pts. and 6 assists from a Freshman guard off the bench is also a line that was pretty nice. Obviously, it's one game, but Freeman averages 10+ and 6+ while shooting over 60%. I don't see how anyone else can win FOTY. I also don't see how you can compare him to Amani with the limited PT we've seen this year. Wasn't trying to get into this what so ever, just wanted to point out what I saw yesterday....

Also, with this being said, I hope Amani is 10x the player considering he wears the Orange and Blue!
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My money is on Cam Christie of Minnesota fwiw. Kid is going to be a star.
 
#232      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
Just getting to highlights since I missed the game for work!

Nobody talking about this absolute gem from CoHawk at the 1:00 mark of first half!!

This dude...
8afe9950b4244147a7245a481b64d672.gif
 
#233      

Battle89

Battle89
Battle89
WyattEarp said:
That’s an interesting interpretation? I’m saying he should have won it by now already…based on what he’s already accomplished.
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Not dissimilar to Lou's tenure here, though Brad was quicker to turn things around for the better. 21 seasons for Lou and only one BTCOY, and that to be honest was more of a lifetime achievement award later in his career.
 
#234      

HereSoIDontGetFined

H
HereSoIDontGetFined
InDaAZ said:
Coleman had 4 points (on 6 shot attempts), 10 boards, 3 assists and a block in those 25 minutes. Not his best effort, but hardly what can fairly be called “struggling.”

His nagging injury is the more likely reason BU limited his minutes…
We had the lead wire to wire, with more important games ahead.
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That's fair. I just happened to notice he wasn't in at the time and thought that long distance three he took at one point was Brad's hook moment.
 
#236      

aaeismacgychel

A
aaeismacgychel
bleedorange and blue said:
So to have Brad win coy we have to suck 1 year and be decent the following year? Not worth it. We can all pitch in and buy Brad the trophy he deserves
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Yeah, either that or be so dominant there's no real other option. Weber won it in '05 (15-1 B10), Matta in '07 (15-1 B10), Izzo in '09 (15-3 B10), Ryan in '15 (16-2 B10). And I think Painter stands a very real chance this year as well. There's a couple others I'm probably forgetting, but point is, it is possible to win COTY by domination in a year you're already expected to have a great team. But yes, the award usually goes to the coach of a team that was expected to finish bottom half of the standings and instead finishes Top 4
 
#238      

Roundball Sage

R
Roundball Sage
Peteronthespot said:
Underwood has to keep finding ways to make our guys play with chip on their shoulder. The Purdue debacle gave him a good springboard for that. Dain and TJ showing good emotion tonight. But how do we keep that up?
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We've all seen the Illini have trouble at times with focus. But this is not unique to our Orange. Most all teams go through this to some extent. Human nature to ease up or let the mind and intent drift around.

But this is a veteran core that's having its last shot at the big prize. That should be incentive enough for any player. And with the Dance being such a Must-Watch World event that it has become over the years... these guys have both a team and a personal imperative to make it their best.

We don't know what the Illini will look like next season other than to know they will be very different from this group. So let's go with the best of what we've got right now and make some serious noise on the Dance floor.
 
#239      

Brosky

B
Brosky
genxrex said:
Coach is right to invest in Nico. He has a lot of experience we might need. Also want all our guys to stay as fresh as possible. Would like to see DGL too, if his offensive game has matured.
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I agree with you about Nico. He brings an element we don't have. I want him to play more. I can't help worrying he'll enter the portal if he doesn't get more PT. As the starting point guard next year he could be huge.
 
#241      

jacekpardol

jacekpardol
jacekpardol
I dunno man. I'd be interested to see the +/- with Coleman vs Dain the past 5 games or so.
Our defensive woes are largely due to Coleman getting abused in the paint.
I'll miss TSJ and Domask much more.
 
#247      

Wrightandjohnstreet

W
Wrightandjohnstreet
thought the interior D was much better. didn't think the transition D was good to be honest, thought Iowa got a ton of open 3s in transition and we were fortunate they missed a lot of them. we deserve that after opponents have gone off against us all season long, but I don't think the actual D was THAT different despite what the score said
 
#249      

Bucktown

B
Bucktown
BillyBob1 said:
Did anyone notice Dain smiling in the locker room celebration?
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I am thinking the extra playing time Dain is getting is an attempt to encourage him stick around instead of transferring. The roster make up will be so much different next year, perhaps we'll have some guards than can get him the ball effectively.
 
#250      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
I would like to think that Dain is a smart enough fellow that he realizes the amount of NIL $$ that will be available after TSJ , Cohawk , QG and Harmon leave his year.....From almost all the accounts I read Dain is bought in on working with Fletch still and that there should be more tick next year.......myself , I hope he stays and has a breakout year next year , as in B$G accolades....at least HM....

I didn't include Doc Domask in the departing group above as it's been posted that the odds on a waiver for him to play next year for the Illini are getting better each day........I hope so.....I really really do......................
 
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