Illinois 76, Minnesota 71 (OT) POSTGAME

#101      

Dan

Admin
groce-finke.jpg
 
#102      

hooraybeer

Pittsburgh, PA
Saw that, but had two other thoughts on it. One, where was the medical guy? There was a guy sauntering out behind Groce; don't know whether that was him. If it was, would've thought he might have moved a lot faster to tend to a kid down like that. Second, MF may have got a bit lucky on that play, as it looked to me that the guy who took him down nearly hit his lower leg from behind as Finke was landing on it.

with how this year has went and with how promising finke has looked for us so far, very lucky and surprised that we would catch a break here
 
#103      
Thanks Dan for picture. This pic shows that at least Finke has not quit and that he has love, respect and wants to play for Groce.
I have a hard time envisioning that picture with Weber and McCamey. That's one of the big differences between the two. Weber's last team quit on him.
 
#104      
That's a great picture.
How tall is JG? Just thinking about a guy whose shoulder matches top of your head...
Don't think JG is short, just never have a dude 6' 10" leaning on me
 
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#106      
That's a great picture.
How tall is JG? Just thinking about a guy whose shoulder matches top of your head...
Don't think JG is short, just never have a dude 6' 10" leaning on me

5'10ish

Can't find his Taylor U or Danville HS bios or programs.
 
#107      
My Observations

1. Touching moment between Finke and Groce, pretty obvious there is a good relationship there. On a side note where was the Minny or Illini trainer? It appeared Finke had a significant injury at the time.

2. Why play a PG in our offense? Nunn and Hill often start the plays at top of the key and basically run Groce offense of penetrate and dish. Having JCL instead of our PGs gives us a scoring option and better rebounding/defense IMHO.

3. Maverick is becoming what I thought he would be, a solid back-up and contributor in the Big Ten. Don't blame him because he isn't all conference, he wasn't that type of player or recruit. Tate was recruited to be the 5-7 MPG PG.

4. We have talent on this team, just not the right "glue" to make the parts work. Hill and Nunn are good scorers and players, looking forward to further growth from both. Finke and JCL are having a better first year than Meyers/Richmond. Finke is going to be a stud next year, very lucky to have him. JCL will continue to get better.

5. Our season next year depends on all key players returning and Black/Abrams returning from injuries. Feel much better about Maverick but still need another big, Groce has done a good job of filling the void with 5th year transfers.

6. Need a offense that allows for easier buckets, between Hill's fade aways and Nunn's contested 3's we need to find back door screens for layups.
 
#108      
1. Touching moment between Finke and Groce, pretty obvious there is a good relationship there. On a side note where was the Minny or Illini trainer? It appeared Finke had a significant injury at the time.

He probably tripped and hurt himself trying to get up on the court from the floor
 
#111      

zpfled

Logan Square, Chicago
1. Touching moment between Finke and Groce, pretty obvious there is a good relationship there. On a side note where was the Minny or Illini trainer? It appeared Finke had a significant injury at the time.

2. Why play a PG in our offense? Nunn and Hill often start the plays at top of the key and basically run Groce offense of penetrate and dish. Having JCL instead of our PGs gives us a scoring option and better rebounding/defense IMHO.

3. Maverick is becoming what I thought he would be, a solid back-up and contributor in the Big Ten. Don't blame him because he isn't all conference, he wasn't that type of player or recruit. Tate was recruited to be the 5-7 MPG PG.

4. We have talent on this team, just not the right "glue" to make the parts work. Hill and Nunn are good scorers and players, looking forward to further growth from both. Finke and JCL are having a better first year than Meyers/Richmond. Finke is going to be a stud next year, very lucky to have him. JCL will continue to get better.

5. Our season next year depends on all key players returning and Black/Abrams returning from injuries. Feel much better about Maverick but still need another big, Groce has done a good job of filling the void with 5th year transfers.

6. Need a offense that allows for easier buckets, between Hill's fade aways and Nunn's contested 3's we need to find back door screens for layups.

Need all our freshman to improve. Need our juniors to improve. Fortunately, these are not uncommon things.

I'm pretty pumped to see what Hill and Nunn can do as seniors. They're proven players, and have been steadily improving over their careers, so there's no reason to doubt that they'll be top-notch next year, playing for their last shot at the tournament. Mav has steadily improved, just a lot slower than the other two. But maybe he'll be one of those guys who puts it all together as a senior (I'm counting on an incremental improvement from him, but hoping for a big jump).

Can Black come back and be the beast from the Euro trip and the home Purdue game last year? Can Tate get a little better? Can TJL come in and be a solid backup PG? Can Abrams still run?


Lots of questions, and we'll definitely be thin up front. But there are reasons to be optimistic that we'll be a tourney team, and have a fun season.
 
#112      
Need all our freshman to improve. Need our juniors to improve. Fortunately, these are not uncommon things.

I'm pretty pumped to see what Hill and Nunn can do as seniors. They're proven players, and have been steadily improving over their careers, so there's no reason to doubt that they'll be top-notch next year, playing for their last shot at the tournament. Mav has steadily improved, just a lot slower than the other two. But maybe he'll be one of those guys who puts it all together as a senior (I'm counting on an incremental improvement from him, but hoping for a big jump).

Can Black come back and be the beast from the Euro trip and the home Purdue game last year? Can Tate get a little better? Can TJL come in and be a solid backup PG? Can Abrams still run?


Lots of questions, and we'll definitely be thin up front. But there are reasons to be optimistic that we'll be a tourney team, and have a fun season.
I really think a difference will be freshmen improvement. DJ s development I think will be key to our future front line. He has the athletic skills to be special....just needs more reps and confidence.
 
#113      
I really think a difference will be freshmen improvement. DJ s development I think will be key to our future front line. He has the athletic skills to be special....just needs more reps and confidence.


And don't forget, DJ was getting reps at PG over the summer. We'll see if that was out of necessity or if Groce really thinks he could play some point.
 
#114      
I really think a difference will be freshmen improvement. DJ s development I think will be key to our future front line. He has the athletic skills to be special....just needs more reps and confidence.

I think Kipper Nichols will be huge for us on the front line as well. Can rebound from the the 3 or 4.
 
#115      
I could see one of AJ, DJ, or possibly TJL red shirting next year. I think all 3 would benefit greatly from it.
 
#121      
Anyone know just how tall Kipper ACTUALLY is? Not reported height, not exaggerated height, not in your dreams height. Actual.

I think Tupper said that when Nichols stood next to MH, that Nichols looked to be about 1" taller.
 
#123      
Kipper Nichols

From reports I heard he is somewhere between Hill and Black so I'm guessing 6'7. There is an interview in which Nichols walks past Coleman-Lands and Nichols is physcially more mature than any of our freshmen. No exaggeration that he is built like an NBA WF. I hope he plays a Wing and not a PF, we need to recruit those guys.

In high school I believe he was listed at 6'5, but looking at videos from last year to this year it appears he has grown.
 
#124      
From reports I heard he is somewhere between Hill and Black so I'm guessing 6'7. There is an interview in which Nichols walks past Coleman-Lands and Nichols is physcially more mature than any of our freshmen. No exaggeration that he is built like an NBA WF. I hope he plays a Wing and not a PF, we need to recruit those guys.

In high school I believe he was listed at 6'5, but looking at videos from last year to this year it appears he has grown.

He is definitely physically mature, without question. He looks every bit of 6'6-6'7. He might be able to straight bulldog people to the rack like Ray did but be an even better finisher being taller and longer.